For the primary 3 months of 2023, the estimated fatality fee fell to one.24 deaths in line with 100 million car miles traveled, unwell from the projected fee of one.32 for a similar length in 2022.
Site visitors deaths throughout the three-month length additionally diminished in 32 states, although they higher in 18 states and Puerto Rico, in keeping with NHTSA estimates.
“This is very good news, but we know that far too many people are dying on our roadways in preventable crashes,” Ann Carlson, NHTSA’s eminent recommend, mentioned in a commentary. “We are taking significant action to reduce traffic fatalities, including moving forward on new vehicle standards to make cars even safer, investing millions of dollars to improve infrastructure and roadway safety, and working with our state and local partners to help drivers make safe decisions on the road.”
Advocates for Freeway and Auto Protection — a consortium of shopper, nation fitness and protection teams in addition to insurance coverage firms — mentioned NHTSA’s untouched projections for visitors deaths have been “still excessively high.”
“The last time the U.S. was at this fatality level in a first quarter before 2020 was 2007. Over 9,000 people not returning home because they were killed in a violent crash remains a reason for our nation to mourn, not make merry,” Cathy Chase, the crowd’s president, mentioned in a commentary. “More can and must be done to save lives.”
The crowd referred to as on NHTSA to finish car protection rule-makings mandated within the 2021 infrastructure legislation, together with efficiency requirements for complex driver-assistance programs that may prohibit or mitigate crashes.