This object reports whether a static route is actively used in forwarding decisions (active) or is a backup/down route not currently used (inactive), where down means the IP interface the route is configured on is down, whether due to its own admin status or the underlying Layer 2 interface's status. Admins check this to see whether a configured static route is actually influencing traffic forwarding right now, not just present in the configuration. A value of inactive(2) on a static route would tell the admin that route exists in config but isn't currently steering any traffic, likely because its outgoing interface is down.