US Traffic Fatalities Down Last Year

US Traffic Fatalities Down Last Year

Last year, 37,133 people died as a result of traffic incidents in the US. While the number is shockingly high, it's actually down almost two percent from the previous year. 2015 and 2016 were viewed as anomalously high to members of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Our partners at Collision Works Of Tulsa Hills of Tulsa, OK and myself hope that this represents a trend of safer driving, but the factors may be complicated.

Despite the fact that Americans drove more last year, the rate of fatalities fell to 1.16 deaths per 100 million miles driven. This figure is encouraging, especially considering the upswing in recent years of distracted driving primarily caused by smartphones. 

One unfortunate statistic that stood out in the more recent findings is the high number of fatalities involving big rigs and other large vehicles.

These spiked nine percent last year, though the agencies reporting have not been able to find a direct cause. 

Our partners at Collision Works Of Tulsa Hills in Tulsa, OK urge all motorists to drive safely.

Hopefully the trend of falling fatality statistics will continue. 

Written By: Todd Hendrickson
Source: Bloomberg