NHTSA Announces Lowest Traffic Fatality Levels Since 1961

Good news from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood of the Department of Transportation recently announced that traffic fatalities have reached a record low. 2008 experienced a 9.7% drop in fatalities over 2007, with only 37,261 traffic fatalities. This statistic is made up of a number of subcategories, which also have dropped for the most part. Passenger car occupant fatalities, for example, have dropped for six years straight, hitting the lowest level since the DOT started counting. Motorcycle deaths, however, increased, and have been increasing for 11 straight years, now accounting for 14% of traffic fatalities. These figures are likely due in part to improvements in vehicle safety, but especially due to the reduction in the number of miles driven because of gas price increases. Increases in the price of gas have also likely increased the number of motorcycle drivers on the road, thus increasing the number of motorcycle fatalities.