Drop in US road deaths for 2024

The US suffers from desperately poor road safety in comparison to other developed nations, but there are encouraging signs of improvement. According to data from the US Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there was a drop in road deaths for 2024 of 3.8% compared with 2023.

The early estimates of traffic fatalities for 2024 show 39,345 fatalities from road crashes, a notable drop from the 40,901 deaths recorded for 2023. This is also the first time since 2020 that the number of fatalities fell below 40,000.

According to the NHTSA, the quarterly fatality declines that began in the second quarter of 2022 also continued, with the fourth quarter of 2024 marking the 11th consecutive quarterly decrease in traffic fatalities.

“It’s encouraging to see that traffic fatalities are continuing to fall from their COVID pandemic highs. Total road fatalities, however, remain significantly higher than a decade ago, and America’s traffic fatality rate remains high relative to many peer nations,” NHTSA chief counsel Peter Simshauser said. “To reduce fatalities further, USDOT is working closely to partner with the law enforcement community to enhance traffic enforcement on our roads, including speeding, impairment, distraction, and lack of seatbelt use.”

However, the US has yet to implement fully measures that have been well proven in other developed nations over many years and in some cases, decades. Breath testing kits to detect alcohol use or saliva testing kits to detect drug use have been used successfully in Europe and Australia for many years. Enforcement of laws against drink driving and speed proved highly successful in France for example, more or less halving the country’s annual road deaths between 2010 and 2020. 

The 2024 early estimates show trends in line with 2023, with Americans driving more while fatality rates continued to decrease. Preliminary data from the Federal Highway Administration shows total distance increased by 1%, while the fatality rate for 2024 was the lowest since 2019, but still above the average rate in the seven years before COVID.

NHTSA also estimates that fatalities decreased in 35 states and Puerto Rico in 2024, while increases are projected in 14 states and the District of Columbia, as compared to 2023. One state remained unchanged.

NHTSA also released its final 2023 Fatality Analysis Reporting System and Crash Reporting Sampling System traffic crash data and analysis. There were 1,820 fewer people killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes on US roads during 2023, a 4.3% decrease from 42,721 in 2022 to 40,901 in 2023. It represents the second year-to-year decrease since 2021.