Projections from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) indicate first quarter traffic fatalities are down 3.3% compared to the same period a year ago.
The NHTSA estimated 9,330 people died in traffic accidents during the first three months of 2023, down from 9,645 in Q1 2022.
The first quarter of 2023 represents the fourth straight quarterly decline in fatalities after seven straight quarters of year-to-year increases in fatalities, beginning with the third quarter of 2020, said the NHTSA.
The projected decrease occurred as vehicle miles traveled increased 2.6%. The estimated fatality rate for the first three months of 2023 decreased to 1.24 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, down from the projected rate of 1.32 during the same time in 2022.
Also, 32 states are projected to have had decreases in fatalities in Q1.
“After spiking during the pandemic, traffic deaths have been on a slow but consistent decline for the past year,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “This is an encouraging sign as we work to reverse the rise in roadway deaths, but there is much more work ahead to reinforce this downward trend and make it permanent.”
Read the NHTSA report: Early Estimate of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities For the First Quarter of 2023
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