There has been a steady increase in car accidents as well since 2001 and that is gradually increasing car insurance in many countries. A smaller effect than inflation but still quite an interesting pattern.
absurdly defensive driving (causing, e.g., 10 cars backed up behind someone who can't turn in to cross street traffic because no one signals when they're changing lanes any more, so you have to wait for completely sight-clear passage in all lanes to turn into the nearest one)
or an unasked-for game of chicken multiple times a day, both cases driving up road rage, exacerbating the problem further.
And the only alternative to this for a lot of people seems to be buying the biggest, bulkiest, most Mad Max kill-your-kids-so-mine-survive vehicle that can or can't afford.