NHTSA Reports Decline in Traffic Fatalities: What’s Behind the Numbers?

Highway fatalities fell 3.2 percent in the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2023, data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show.

NHTSA’s early estimates of traffic fatalities for the first half of 2024 show that the number of fatalities has declined for the ninth consecutive quarter. An estimated 18,720 people died in road accidents, down 3.2% from the first half of 2023. Deaths decreased in both the first and second quarters of 2024. These decreases occur as drivers travel more kilometers on the road.

Federal Highway Administration data released in June showed that in the first half of 2024, vehicle miles traveled increased by 13.1 billion, up 0.8 percent from a year earlier. Despite this, the traffic fatality rate fell to 1.17 deaths per 100 million miles traveled from 1.21 per 100 million during the same period last year.

NHTSA expects the final numbers to show a decrease in fatalities in at least 31 states and Puerto Rico, with a significant improvement in about eighteen states and the District of Columbia.

Starting in 2021, NHTSA finalized a number of safety initiatives aimed at reducing traffic fatalities, such as a new requirement that passenger cars and light trucks be equipped with automatic emergency braking systems by 2029.