The New Jersey Police Chief Magazine | November 2024 NHTSA Estimates Traffic Fatalities Declined in the First Half of 2024
The number of traffic fatalities declined by 3.2 percent compared to the same period in 2023 , marking the ninth straight quarter of declines .
In 2022 , USDOT adopted a comprehensive road safety plan to bring the number of roadway deaths to the only acceptable number of deaths : zero
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has released its early estimates of traffic fatalities for the first half of 2024 , estimating that traffic fatalities declined for the ninth straight quarter . An estimated 18,720 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes , a decrease of about 3.2 % as compared to 19,330 fatalities projected to have occurred in the first half of 2023 . Fatalities declined in both the first and second quarters of 2024 .
Continuing the trend identified in the first quarter estimates released in June , preliminary data reported by the Federal Highway Administration show that vehicle miles traveled in the first half of 2024 increased by about 13.1 billion miles , or roughly 0.8 % higher than the same time period last year . More miles driven combined with fewer traffic deaths resulted in a fatality rate of 1.17 fatalities per 100 million VMT , down from the projected rate of 1.21 fatalities per 100 million VMT in the first half of 2023 .
“ 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 . “ Safety is at the core of our mission , and we are using funds from the Biden-Harris infrastructure package to deliver lifesaving resources to communities across the country so that roads become safer for everyone .”
“ We are heartened by this decline in fatalities and are continuing to work hard to get to zero fatalities through our National Roadway Safety Strategy ,” Deputy Secretary Polly Trottenberg said . “ This initiative addresses every aspect of this crisis — ensuring that our work results in safer vehicles , safer speeds , safer roads and safer people while also addressing saving lives after crashes .”
“ We ’ re encouraged that after spiking during the pandemic , traffic deaths are coming down ,” NHTSA Deputy Administrator Sophie Shulman said . “ NHTSA continues to advance traffic safety with all the tools at our disposal , including rulemakings for lifesaving vehicle technologies and increased Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding for state highway safety offices .”
NHTSA estimates a decrease in fatalities in 31 states and Puerto Rico . The fatality rate in one state remained unchanged , while 18 states and the District of Columbia are projected to have experienced increases .
Since January 2021 , NHTSA finalized a significant number of safety initiatives aimed at reducing traffic deaths , such as a new requirement for passenger cars and light trucks to come equipped with automatic emergency braking systems by 2029 . In coordination with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration , the agency continues to work toward finalizing a similar requirement for heavy vehicles . These initiatives support the Department ’ s National Roadway Safety Strategy , a comprehensive approach to significantly reducing serious injuries and deaths on our nation ’ s highways , roads , and streets .
Earlier this year , the Department published its 2024 Progress Report , a departmental update two years after the release of the National Roadway Safety Strategy on January 27 , 2022 . The Department-wide adoption of the safe system approach remains the foundation of the safety strategy ’ s implementation and is pivotal to addressing the fatality crisis on our roads . The progress report provides an update on the Department ’ s efforts to address serious and fatal injuries on our roadways and details the Department ’ s accomplishments related to addressing actions in 2023 .
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