Traffic Deaths in U.S. Fall to Lowest Levels Since Pandemic

by Michael Strong

Published: April 13th, 2026

traffic deaths in u s fall to lowest levels since pandemic

Federal safety officials reported 36,640 people died on American roadways in 2025, a 6.7-percent decline compared with the previous year. Fatalities are at their lowest level since 2019, the year before the COVID pandemic.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, traffic deaths in the U.S. have fallen for 15 consecutive quarters. In 2024, NHTSA reported 39,254 people died in traffic crashes, which was a 4.3-percent drop from 2023.

The falling numbers come despite American’s driving more than ever. The Federal Highway Administration says Americans traveled 29.8 billion more miles in 2025 than they did in 2024, a 0.9-percent increase.

Perhaps most impressively, the improvement is evenly spread out across the country, with 39 states and the District of Columbia reporting falling fatality rates on a year-over-year basis. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy noted safety officials have been pushing efforts to educate “the public about the dangers of distracted driving, drunk driving, and driving without a seat belt.”

Duffy added the DOT is working with automakers to find ways to make new cars safer and more affordable. “At this Department, the safety and success of American families drive our work,” he said in a release.

The message is timely as April has been designated National Distracted Driving Awareness Month. Law enforcement officers will be stepping up their efforts to identify and stop distracted drivers before they can hurt themselves or others on the road, according to the agency.

Vehicles are safer than ever, but efforts to cut down on distracted driving, whether it’s through increased enforcement measures, raising awareness about unsafe driving habits, or in-car technologies forcing drivers to focus on the task at hand, appear to be working.

Traffic deaths have fallen every year since 2022, when they dropped 1.2 percent compared to the high-water mark for the past decade in 2021, when 43,230 Americans died in traffic incidents.

[Images: NTSB]

#NHTSA #TrafficDeaths #trafficfatalitiesfall #highwaydeathsfall

Michael Strong

Michael Strong has spent more than 25 years writing about the automotive industry. A Detroit-area native, he’s written about everything from local car shows to product reviews to financial news. Currently he writes and edits for a variety of national and local publications. He’s also a longtime member of the Automotive Press Association and the International Motor Press Association, and a graduate of Georgia Southern University. Hail Southern! Despite a love for ’70s land yachts and BMWs from the late ’80s and early ’90s, his personal vehicle is neither of those.

More by Michael Strong

Comments

Join the conversation

3 of 24 comments

Program on Apr 13, 2026

this is actually surprising news

Like Reply
Drj138549217 on Apr 14, 2026

If that's true, than why do auto insurance rates keep going up?

1 Reply
- Slavuta on Apr 14, 2026
  
  Because again, we're given a number. This absolute number shows no meaning. Americans drive more than in 2024 but still less than 2018. Once you dig deeper, you might find that these numbers hide actual picture
  
  Like

Recent Comments

Amwhalbi My 1972 Mercury Capri was my first stick shift car. God, I miss that thing. It was a blast to drive.
Vid169489471 The technology exists today to produce a variable color temperature (kelvin) LED lamp. It can vary from 2700k that soft orange look to 6500k the bright daylight with the bluish tint.Since everything in a late model car is computer controlled, it would be an easy task to write a few lines of code that enables your vehicle to not only dim down from hi to low beam but to shift color temp down to the 2700k range for oncoming traffic, then back up to 5000k once oncoming traffic has passed. For the operator it would be automatic and seamless. For older cars they could be retrofitted with LEDs that are 2700k on low beam and 5000k on hi beam. As far as standards, there could be a lumens max, and a minimum. Several States already have minimum lumen standards going back to the old incandescent bulbs. Why not update these to national standards.
Jam169859557 More regulation is needed for ALL vehicle lighting systems. [list=1][*]The lighting that is most blinding are the rapidly flashing red, blue and amber lights on emergency vehicles. The lights themselves are blinding, flashing so rapidly that it's impossible for even the sharpest eyes to adjust. What's worse, is the nature of the emergency requires a careful view of the area surrounding the emergency vehicle. There is something going on that needs to be seen. More flashing lights is not the solution.[/*][*]Brighter headlights need to be regulated. The tall riding vehicles do not need headlights positioned so high that they blind drivers in lower riding vehicles. And those heasdlights need to be aimed properly. When I first started driving my 2020 Subaru Outback, many drivers would flash their lights, hoping I would dim my lights. This stopped after I performed am easy adjustment that tilted the beam lower. Late model Subaru headlamps are designed with a sharp cutoff that project less glare above the hood line. When the headlights are properly aimed, other drivers are not blinded by the beam.[/*][*]Customized light assemblies make it more difficult to see the marker lights (tail lamps, turn signals and side marker lamps) that have been tinted. There are many municiple codes that prohibit this tinting, but these laws are seldom enforced.[/*][/list=1]Solutions: Tight controls on emergency vehicle lighting. In trying to make these vehicles more visible, a dangerous side effect is reducing the ability of drivers to see the surrounding perils.Headlight design regulations that reduce the height of the headlight assemblies. Just because a pickup truck has a hood that sits 4 feet abouve the pavement, it does not mean the headlights need to be so high. Owneres should maintain proper adjustments to their vehicle headlights.Establish and enforce regulation requiring a illumination standard be followed.
Stl170698708 as someone who hates big government, and their interference;but you can add me to the list of people that are blinded by the lights.unfortunately "the poop is out of the horse and no way is it going back in"They have had 5 years to make lights bigger, badder and brighter because in the vehicle work it is go big or go home!Trucks are the worst because so many people use them to express their dominance and that is big, big, big $$ both at the Original Purchase and in the Aftermarket world.If, we are so lucky to get some good government regulation on this it will also take some very good Court enforcement to get the aftermarket people with fines and lawsuits.Much like the EPA did with the Diesel Tuner Industry that felt emission regulations didn't apply to them.This is from someone that owns said pickup truck with the same bright headlights,but i only use the truck when I have too and always turn off the Fog lights when driving in traffic.
Art65765977 I saw a porsche 911 with the most amazing headlights from behind approaching the Sunshine skyway in Florida. The pattern was 108 degrees across sweeping the road like a broom. My brother and I were amazed. I don't know what it looked like from the front but i am sure it was better than American cars