Yes, we’re getting safer, and road deaths are falling, both
in the U.S. and over a broad group of countries that are working together to
improve safety. Though final stats on traffic fatalities for 2014 won’t be
available until later this year, the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration already issued a preliminary report that shows some encouraging
trends. However, parts of the country still have plenty of room for
improvement.
The good news is, NHTSA projects a slight year-over-year
decline in the total number of roadway fatalities. In 2013, a total of 32,719
people died in traffic accidents in the U.S., including drivers, passengers,
and pedestrians. In 2014, NHTSA projects that number to slip to 32,675, a dip
of 0.1 percent.
The better news is that the fatality rate is expected to hit
a record low. That rate is determined by comparing the total number of miles
driven on U.S. roads with the number of deaths. With the exception of 2012, the
fatality rate has been declining steadily for a full decade.
In 2013, NHTSA says that 1.09 people died for every 100
million vehicle miles traveled in the U.S. In 2014, the number is projected to
fall to 1.08 — which may not seem substantial, but in figures like this, every
tiny point counts. The decline is due not only to the small dip in fatalities,
but also to the fact that traffic surged in the U.S. last year: all told,
Americans put about 27.3 billion additional miles on their odometers in 2014.
Portions of the Midwest, in particular, have some improving
to do. The region containing Colorado, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming had the
highest projected increase in fatalities for 2014: 9%. Louisiana, Mississippi,
New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas saw a four percent increase, as did
Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
However, those increases were countered by declines in other areas of the
country. A different portion of the Midwest comprised of Illinois, Indiana,
Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin saw fatalities fall 5%, and the region
of Arizona, California, and Hawaii dropped 4%. The biggest drop came in the
densely populated area of New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, where traffic
deaths dipped 6%.