Traffic fatalities on US roads declined slightly in the third quarter of 2022, marking the second straight drop in road deaths after rising for nearly two years.
(Bloomberg) — Traffic fatalities on US roads declined slightly in the third quarter of 2022, marking the second straight drop in road deaths after rising for nearly two years.
The quarterly decline came even as Americans have been driving more. Some 11,690 people died in car crashes from July to September, down 0.8% from the same period in 2021, according to estimates released Monday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Road deaths had risen from the third quarter of 2020 to mid-2022.
“Fatalities have not increased for two quarters now, but we have far more work to do to save lives and address the crisis on our nation’s roadways,” NHTSA Acting Administrator Ann Carlson said in a statement. “That means investing in safety, implementing strategies that work, and embracing the safe system approach outlined in the Department’s National Roadway Safety Strategy.”
The rate of road fatalities during the first three quarters of last year was 1.30 per 100 million vehicle-miles traveled, NHTSA said, a small decline from 2021 levels even as people spent more time behind the wheel. Total US driving increased by an average of 1.6%, or about 39 billion miles, according to preliminary data reported by the Federal Highway Administration.
Overall, total US road deaths during the first nine months ticked down to 31,785 following a decrease in the second quarter.
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