Consumer Law

Fatalities on US Roads Hit 60-Year Low

By Brian Wolfman

I remember when the number of traffic deaths on U.S. roads regularly exceeded 50,000. In 1970, for instance, traffic deaths were 52,627.

Because of safety improvements in cars and public education, both spurred by changes in law and regulation, the landscape has changed. According to today's Washington Post, "[d]eaths on America's highways have plunged to their lowest level in 60 years, as smarter designs make streets and vehicles safer and aggressive campaigns are waged against drunk and distracted drivers.The number of people killed dropped to 33,808 in 2009, a total 3,615 below the previous year. It was the lowest total since 1950 and marked the fourth consecutive year highway fatalities have declined since 2005, when 39,252 people died. Motorcycle deaths were down by 16 percent, the first decline in 11 years."

It's important to note that these numbers represent an absolute decline in the number of deaths, while the number of miles driven have increased over the decades.

Go here for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's press release, which announces the new numbers and explains that more improvement is needed. Go here to view the data.

Full post as published by CL&P Blog on September 10, 2010 (boomark / email).