Dive Brief:
- Traffic fatalities in the U.S. declined below 40,000 for the first time since 2020, according to early estimates by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, issued April 8.
- The traffic fatality rate for 2024 decreased to 1.20 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, down from 2023’s reported rate of 1.26 fatalities per 100 million VMT, even as total vehicle miles traveled increased by 1% or about 32.3 billion miles.
- Fatalities came down in all regions of the country except the Northeast, from Maine to New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Dive Insight:
Beginning in 2021, the U.S. experienced a spike in traffic fatalities that has been attributed to speeding, distracted driving and aggressive driving. A decline in traffic law enforcement has allowed drivers to get away with these unsafe behaviors, according to Governors Highway Safety Association Chair Michael Hanson, speaking at a Feb. 12 subcommittee hearing of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
Arizona recorded the highest fatality rate among the 50 states last year, although its rate declined by 4.1% over the previous year. Rhode Island was the safest state in the nation with a rate of 0.66 deaths per VMT compared to Arizona’s 1.59. The NHTSA report did not ascribe causes for the difference in fatality rates among states.
NHTSA also released final traffic crash data for 2023 this month, showing that 40,901 people died in motor vehicle collisions that year. Nearly 24,000 people died in passenger vehicles and over 6,300 motorcyclists were killed that year in traffic crashes. Deaths among pedestrians and large trucks accounted for the remainder. The traffic safety agency cited alcohol-impaired driving, speeding and failure to use a seat belt or child restraint in its report. Of the total passenger vehicle occupants who died in 2023, nearly half were unrestrained.
More fatalities occurred on urban roads than in rural areas, according to the 2023 report, but people outside vehicles — pedestrians and cyclists — accounted for three times more deaths in urban areas than along rural roads. Pedestrian fatalities of 7,314 in 2023 declined 3.7% from the prior year while 1,166 bicyclists were killed, a 4.4% increase over 2022.
States and cities are taking actions to reduce reckless driving. Virginia enacted the nation’s first state-wide law this month that allows judges to require drivers convicted of exceeding 100 mph to install a device on their vehicle limiting speed to no more than 10 mph above the posted speed limit. It will take effect July 1, 2026.
California authorized six cities to deploy automated speed safety cameras under a pilot program. New York City and Philadelphia are increasing their use of speed and red light cameras. New York City has seen a 94% decrease in red light violations since the camera program began in 1994 along with a 65% reduction in right-angle crashes at intersections protected by red light cameras, according to the city’s 2024 report.
