Roadside responder deaths are vastly underreported, AAA study says

Of late, studies and data on U.S. traffic keep returning suboptimal findings. Risky behaviors are up, distraction is up, fatalities are up. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety has more fuel for that fire, its latest study finding that roadside responders are being "struck and killed nearly four times more than reported."

By roadside responders, AAA means the people arriving to help drivers through roadside emergencies — folks like the tow truck drivers and roadside technicians who work for AAA, giving the AAA a keen interest in improving the issue, as well as others like mobile mechanics and safety service patrols.

We think there are two parts to this, the first being a look at the raw numbers: The foundation says it looked through "diverse information sources" to find that 123 roadside responders were killed in the seven-year span from 2015 through 2021, a little more than 17 people per year. This compares to what AAA says is reflected in national crash statistics, where only 34 roadside responder fatalities were recorded in the same period.