DETROIT (AP) — The number of U.S. traffic deaths in the first half of 2021 hit 20,160, the highest first-half total since 2006, the government reported Thursday. The estimated number was 18.4% higher than the first half of last year, prompting Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to call the increase an unacceptable crisis. The department, which includes the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, announced that it will develop a national strategy for steps to save lives on the roads. ““We cannot and should not accept these fatalities as simply a part of everyday life in America,” Buttigieg said in a statement...