Marginal US road safety improvement for 2018?

US roads have been slightly safer in 2018, according to new data from the National Safety Council (NSC). The research shows that motor-vehicle deaths have decreased in the first five months of 2018.There were 15,280 deaths in motor vehicle related incidents through January and May 2018. This represents a drop of 0.5% from the 15,330 deaths recorded through January and May 2017. However for the period through January and May 2016, the data shows that the rate of motor vehicle related deaths was 9% higher, h
July 19, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
US roads have been slightly safer in 2018, according to new data from the National Safety Council (NSC). The research shows that motor-vehicle deaths have decreased in the first five months of 2018.There were 15,280 deaths in motor vehicle related incidents through January and May 2018. This represents a drop of 0.5% from the 15,330 deaths recorded through January and May 2017. However for the period through January and May 2016, the data shows that the rate of motor vehicle related deaths was 9% higher, highlighting an overall improvement.


The US scores poorly amongst developed nations for its rate of road deaths, with 12.2deaths/100,000 of population in the period through January and May 2018, a drop of 1% from the same period in 2017. The number of injuries from motor vehicle crashes in the first five months of 2018 stood at around 1,742,000, a drop of around 0.5% from the same period in 2017. In all the cost of motor vehicle related deaths, injuries and property damage in the US during the first five months of 2018 was around US$157.7 billion. This represents an increase of some 2% from the figures for same period in 2017.

One point to note is that NSC data is not directly comparable with figures from the 2467 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). This is because the NSC counts both traffic and nontraffic deaths that occur within a year of the incident, while NHTSA counts  only traffic deaths that occur within 30 days.

The 2016 data comes from the National Center for Health Statistics. All other figures are National Safety Council estimates.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Lower speed limits help to boost road safety
    February 24, 2025
    Research shows that lower speed limits help to boost road safety.
    Read More
  • Set the ALARM for repairs in England and Wales
    January 10, 2019
    More than 3,900km of roads in England and Wales will need essential maintenance within the next year, according to the annual ALARM survey* Cash-strapped local governments are reporting that the gap between the funds they received and the amount they needed for repairs and maintenance was almost €639 million. This equated to an average shortfall of €3.75 million for every authority. It would take 14 years to get local roads back into a reasonable steady state, but only if adequate funds and resources wer
    Read More
  • Changes seen in Netherlands and Italian road safety
    November 19, 2015
    Changes in the number of road crashes as well as casualty statistics have been observed in Italy and the Netherlands. For Italy, the long term trend is positive, although this may have been influenced by recession. Data reveals that commercial vehicle traffic fell by 11.2% on Italian highways between 2006 and the first half of 2015. This analysis was carried out by Continental Autocarro based on data provided by AISCAT. In the same period, the number of crashes occurred on highways and involving commercial
    Read More
  • Tanzania’s road safety improvement
    November 8, 2017
    Tanzania’s road network is becoming safer according to the latest official figures. Information from Tanzania's Police Traffic Department shows that the number of crashes from July to September 2017 was 48% lower than for the same period in 2016. There were just 1,264 crashes in this time in 2017 compared with 2,639 in 2016. With fewer crashes it follows that deaths and injuries have also seen a reduction of 32% and 40% respectively.
    Read More

Highlighted Content