It’s been a long time since we’ve had positive news to report about traffic accidents. America’s roads have been growing steadily more dangerous for years. But a preliminary report released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) this week held good news about American road safety: road deaths are now steadily declining.
Traffic fatalities have now declined for five straight quarters, NHTSA reports. “An estimated 19,515 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes, representing a decrease of about 3.3% compared to 20,190 fatalities in the first half of 2022. Fatalities declined in both the first and second quarters of 2023.”
Related — Up: Distracted Driving Deaths, Drunk Driving Deaths, Unbelted Driving Deaths, Cyclist Deaths…
The decline comes even as Americans have started driving more coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Preliminary data shows vehicle miles traveled in the first half of 2023 increased by about 35.1 billion miles, roughly 2.3% higher than the same time last year,” the agency reports.
The result isn’t uniform nationwide. NHTSA estimates that 29 states saw traffic deaths decrease, while 21 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia saw them increase.
Still Higher than Pre-Pandemic
Deaths are still more common than pre-pandemic. Advocates for Auto and Highway Safety, a safety advocacy group, points out that “the number of deaths is estimated at 14.6% higher than the number of fatalities in the first six months of 2019.”
The group is calling on the government to speed up a plan to require automatic emergency braking in all new cars. The feature is already standard equipment on most 2023 and 2024 models.
The systems also have limitations. A recent round of testing by the insurance industry’s primary safety watchdog group found them ineffective at night.
Another set of tests conducted by the American Automobile Association (AAA) showed that they only reliably prevent crashes at low speeds.
Another new regulation will require drunk driver detection systems in all cars by 2026.
