NHTSA finds traffic fatalities back down to pre-pandemic levels

Traffic fatalities last year dropped to their lowest rate since before the pandemic, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported Tuesday.

The agency, part of the Transportation Department, said preliminary data from the Federal Highway Administration found 1.2 people died for every 100 million vehicle miles traveled in 2024, the lowest since 2019, even as the number of miles driven increased by 1%.

Nationwide, 39,345 people died in traffic crashes last year, a 3.8% decrease from 40,901 deaths in 2023. According to NHTSA, it’s the first time the number has fallen below 40,000 since 2020.

“It’s encouraging to see that traffic fatalities are continuing to fall from their COVID pandemic highs,” said Peter Simshauser, NHTSA’s chief counsel. “Total road fatalities, however, remain significantly higher than a decade ago, and America’s traffic fatality rate remains high relative to many peer nations.”

Mr. Simshauser said the Transportation Department is working “with the law enforcement community to enhance traffic enforcement on our roads, including speeding, impairment, distraction, and lack of seatbelt use” to reduce fatalities further.

Insurance companies and driving-safety groups tracked a surge in impaired driving, road rage and other reckless driving habits that started during COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders.

According to separate reports from Insurify and S&P Global Market Intelligence, car insurance rates surged 12% in 2021 as speed demons overtook depopulated roadways during pandemic travel restrictions.

Before the pandemic, insurers hiked automobile rates by an average of 3% annually.

“During the COVID-19 pandemic there were marked increases in fatalities and the fatality rates per 100 million [vehicle miles traveled] in 2020,” NHTSA reported Tuesday.

According to NHTSA, traffic fatalities began to drop again in the second quarter of 2022.

The agency said Tuesday that motor vehicle traffic deaths on U.S. roads dropped 4.3% two years ago, from 42,721 fatalities in 2022 to 40,901 in 2023. The rate of deaths per 100 million miles driven declined by 6% from 1.34 in 2022 to 1.26 in 2023.

In 2024, NHTSA estimated that traffic fatalities decreased in Puerto Rico and 35 states, including a 26.8% drop in Rhode Island and a 25.7% decline in Wyoming.

They increased in the District of Columbia and 14 other states, including a 32.6% surge in Maine and a 16.9% jump in Minnesota.

The report did not explain why fatalities continued to increase in some places.

Ragina C. Ali, a spokeswoman for AAA Mid-Atlantic, which includes the D.C. region, said various factors could explain the discrepancy.