NHTSA: U.S. traffic-related deaths hit 60-year low

Although the tally is not quite yet official, the Department of Transportation says that for 2009 traffic-related deaths hit the lowest level since 1954, and the lowest deaths per mile since the statistic has been recorded. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration will deliver their complete report during a future congressional hearing in summer 2010.



The U.S. Department of Transportation's latest report on traffic-related deaths makes the final quarter of 2009 the 15th consecutive quarter to show a decline in traffic fatalities. When the numbers are analyzed based on the number of miles driven, the figure also represents the lowest level ever recorded.

"This is exciting news, but there are still far too many people dying in traffic accidents," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "Drivers need to keep their hands on the steering wheel and their focus on the road in order to stay safe."

Although the final data is not in, the projected death count for 2009 is 33,963 - an 8.9 percent drop from 2008. The deaths per million miles driven also dropped from 1.25 to just 1.16.

"This continuing decline in highway deaths is encouraging, but our work is far from over," said National Highway Traffic Safety Administrator David Strickland. "We want to see those numbers drop further. We will not stop as long as there are still lives lost on our nation's highways. We must continue our efforts to ensure seat belts are always used and stay focused on reducing distracted and impaired driving."

The NHTSA report does attribute some of the gains to increased public campaigning for seat belt use, ads against drunk driving, safer roads through better engineering and drivers simply driving less. The reduction in driving is likely a result of the poor economy and higher fuel prices, but that does explain the lower deaths per mile figure, which is likely a better indicator of actual safety than any other figure.

The report does acknowledge safer vehicles, but falls short of highlighting the significant advancement in safety technology by many manufacturers, with more five star crash tested vehicles on the road than ever before. Safety advancements are particularly common in high-end and luxury vehicles, which boast more airbags, more sophisticated restraint systems and more application of higher strength steel, on average, than entry-level vehicles.