Traffic Fatalities Keep Falling

In a bit of good news this week, traffic fatalities fell in the first six months of the year, marking the ninth consecutive quarter of death declines.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a division of the U.S. transportation department, estimates that 18,720 died in crashes on the road, down 3% year-over-year, and that fatalities fell in the first and second quarters.

The positive trend came despite the fact that miles traveled inched up by just under 1%, for a fatality rate of 1.17 deaths for every 100 million vehicle miles traveled, down from 1.21 a year earlier.

“Reversing the rise in roadway deaths has been a top priority for this Department, so we’re encouraged to see continued reductions in traffic fatalities—yet the overall proportions of this issue remain at crisis levels and there is much more work to do,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a press release on the statistics.

The deaths decrease follows a surge in traffic fatalities during the Covid pandemic. In response, the department instituted a requirement that new passenger cars and light trucks come with automatic emergency braking by 2029. The NHTSA said that it and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration aim to establish a companion requirement for heavy vehicles, estimating that it would prevent more than 19,000 crashes and save more than 150 lives each year.

DIG DEEPER: Time Changes Affect Traffic Deaths