Traffic Deaths Drop 3% to Record Low

U.S. traffic deaths fell 3% last year to the lowest level on record, even as vehicle miles traveled rose, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported Friday.

The rate fell 3% from 2009 to 32,788 deaths, the fewest since records started in 1949, NHTSA estimated.

Fatalities have dropped 25% since 2005 and detailed death and injury data will become available later this year, NHTSA said.

The rate of deaths per 100 million miles traveled also fell to a record low, to an estimated 1.09 rate, compared with 1.13 in 2009, said NHTSA, which is an agency of the Department of Transportation.

The decreases come despite the fact that Americans drove 0.7% more miles in 2010 than the previous year, NHTSA said, citing Federal Highway Administration figures.

“Last year’s drop in traffic fatalities is welcome news and it proves that we can make a difference,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

“Still, too many of our friends and neighbors are killed in preventable roadway tragedies every day,” he added. “We will continue doing everything possible to make cars safer, increase seat belt use, put a stop to drunk driving and distracted driving and encourage drivers to put safety first.”