Traffic fatalities fell nearly 25% between 2004 and the end of 2013, according to Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) data released yesterday by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Compared with the year before, 2013 saw 3.1% fewer fatalities and 2.1% fewer injuries.
“With the holidays upon us, I give thanks that more of our friends and family are with us this year because of the broad partnership of safety-driven individuals and organizations who have joined us in making our roads safer for everyone,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “Safety truly is a shared responsibility and we’ve all got more work to do in the New Year to keep more families together—that’s my resolution to the American people.”
The news was not as good for cyclists and pedestrians. The FARS data show that pedestrian fatalities declined by 1.7% but remain 15% higher than the record low of 4,109 pedestrian fatalities in 2009. Pedalcyclist fatalities increased by 1.2% in 2013, the highest since 2006.
Interestingly, despite the proliferation of mobile devices and in-car infotainment systems, the number of people killed in distraction-affected crashes fell 6.7%, although injuries due to distraction increased 1%.
In the Wall Street Journal, Andrea Fuller and Christina Rogers write, “Safety improvements, in particular electronic stability control systems that make vehicles less likely to flip, are responsible for at least part of the drop in deaths, according to auto-safety and industry experts.”
They quote John Capp, director of global vehicle safety for General Motors, as saying, “Stability control is huge. It’s head and shoulders above any other technology, since the seat belt, in terms of effectiveness.”
The findings come amid widespread reporting of fatal defects leading to vehicle recalls.
