Car Accident Deaths Declined In First Half of 2024: NHTSA Report

Traffic fatalities decreased by 3.2% compared to the same period in 2023, continuing a nine-quarter trend of declining car accident deaths in the U.S.

Federal highway safety officials have released a new report highlighting a drop in car accident deaths during the first six months of 2024, when compared to the prior year, continuing a steady decline that has been seen since a two-year surge in fatalities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) released early projections for 2024 traffic deaths earlier this month, indicating that there has been a 3.2% decline in fatalities in auto accidents over the first six months of the year, compared to the 19,330 deaths in the first half of 2023.

This new data represents the ninth consecutive quarterly decline in car accident deaths in the U.S., adding to a trend that began in the second quarter of 2022. A similar decrease was seen last year in the NHTSA’s projections for 2023, which demonstrated a more than 3% decline in deaths stemming from traffic accidents over the first three months of 2023, compared to the same period in 2022.

NHTSA’s most recent report (PDF) found that, despite the total miles traveled increasing by 0.8% from the first half of 2023 to 2024, an estimated 610 less auto accident fatalities were recorded during the first half of 2024.

The estimated car accident death rate for the first half of this year dropped to 1.17 per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT), down from 1.21 per 100 million VMT in 2023.

NHTSA estimates the number of fatalities decreased in 31 states and Puerto Rico, and one state remained unchanged. However, the rate increased in at least 18 states and the District of Columbia.

NHTSA Efforts to Reduce Traffic Fatalities

Following a spike in traffic fatalities during the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Department of Transportation has prioritized reducing roadway deaths by adopting the National Roadway Safety Strategy (NRSS) in 2022.

The NRSS is a comprehensive approach that integrates multiple layers of protection to enhance overall road safety. This strategy includes improving infrastructure designs, promoting safer behavior among road users, ensuring that vehicles are equipped with the latest safety technologies, managing speeds to prevent accidents, and providing superior post-crash care to reduce fatalities and serious injuries.

One of the first landmark achievements by NHTSA was recorded in January 2021, when the agency finalized a requirement for passenger cars and light trucks to come equipped with automatic emergency braking systems (AEB) by 2029, which is a safety technology in vehicles that detects potential collisions and automatically applies the brakes if the driver fails to respond in time.

Last week, the NHTSA proposed a new pedestrian safety rule, which would require manufacturers of vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 4,536kg or less to perform testing procedures that simulate a head-to-hood impact, and take steps to minimize the risk of head injuries to pedestrians.

The proposed rule outlines test procedures that would use human-like headforms that reflect a wide demographic range, from small children to adults, to perform comprehensive safety assessments. These simulations are designed to test vehicles’ ability to mitigate serious or fatal head injuries in pedestrian impacts at speeds up to 25 mph, covering approximately 70% of such incidents.

If the proposed rule is approved, these standards will conform to Global Technical Regulation No. 9, but with additional specifications for American vehicles, including pickups and large SUVs, to meet the enhanced pedestrian head protection requirements.