Absolutely this…. I started riding a motorcycle last year in a small coastal city in Southern California, and the number of local street incidents has been noticeable to say the least. Streets traditionally safe for cyclists, two wheel motorists and pedestrians have become more dangerous, and the phone distraction component is a huge factor in this.

Also, the pandemic caused untold amounts of stress and driving is a great way to let off steam - yet also induces more stress - vicious circle.

"Motor Mania"[1] from 1950 is just as applicable 70 years later.

That being said, you don't see the same trend in e.g. the Netherlands; from [2] (which also has a chart from 2000):

   2019 - 661 deaths
   2020 - 610 (-51)
   2021 - 582 (-28)

So I don't know what's different about the US which causes this uptick in traffic deaths. We got COVID, and the associated stress, and distracted driving due to phones, and all these things. And the many differences in driving culture, road design, etc. have remained identical in the last 3 years.

[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwPSIb3kt_4

[2]: https://www.cbs.nl/nl-nl/nieuws/2022/15/minder-verkeersdoden...

Bit of a wildcard suggestion, but I wonder if it's "fatalism".

The pandemic triggered a real split between people keen to take more precautions and people rejecting the concept of precautions altogether. If you're embracing your freedom not to wear a mask, why not embrace your freedom not to wear a seatbelt?

> 42,915 people killed in crashes

That's about an eighth of the number of people killed by COVID.