Traffic deaths down, but are US roads safer than before?
Traffic fatalities in the U.S. decreased in 2024, with 39,345 deaths reported by the United States Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The death toll represents a 3.8% decrease compared to the 40,901 deaths reported in 2023. This marked the first time since 2020 that the number of deaths fell below 40,000.
'It's encouraging to see that traffic fatalities are continuing to fall from their COVID pandemic highs,' NHTSA Chief Counsel Peter Simshauser said in the release. 'Total road fatalities, however, remain significantly higher than a decade ago, and America's traffic fatality rate remains high relative to many peer nations.'
The 2024 early estimates aligned with 2023, showing Americans driving more miles while fatality rates continued to decrease, the NHTSA said. The agency found that vehicle miles traveled increased by 1% while the fatality rate for 2024 decreased to 1.20 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled.
The 1.20 per 100 million 2024 fatality rate is the lowest it's been since 2019. However, these numbers are still above the average rate of 1.13 in the seven years before the pandemic.
The NHTSA also noted that 14 states and the District of Columbia saw an increased death toll, while 35 states and Puerto Rico had decreased fatalities.
Simshauser stated that in order 'to reduce fatalities further, [the United States Department of Transportation] is working closely to partner with the law enforcement community to enhance traffic enforcement on our roads, including speeding, impairment, distraction and lack of seatbelt use.'
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