U.S. Road Deaths Drop Below 40,000 for First Time Since 2020

The number of people killed on U.S. roads fell to 39,345 in 2024. This represents a significant 3.8% decrease from the previous year's total of 40,901 - the first time in four years the number has gone below 40,000.

"It's encouraging to see that traffic fatalities are continuing to fall from their COVID pandemic highs," said NHTSA Chief Counsel Peter Simshauser to Roads & Bridges.

While Americans drove 1% more miles in 2024, deaths on the road dropped to 1.20 per 100 million vehicle miles - reaching the lowest point since 2019. This welcome improvement shows safety gains even with more cars on the road.

This declining trend has now continued for eleven straight quarters since mid-2022. While this shows real progress after the pandemic surge, today's death rate remains higher than the pre-COVID average of 1.13 deaths per 100 million miles.

The picture looks different across the country. While 35 states plus Puerto Rico saw fewer deaths, fourteen states and D.C. experienced increases.

Transportation officials say better law enforcement deserves credit for the improvements. Police have stepped up their efforts to catch speeders, drunk drivers, distracted drivers, and people not wearing seat belts.

Despite these gains, U.S. roads are still more dangerous than those in comparable countries. The death count remains higher than it was ten years ago, showing there's still much work to do.

Police will keep cracking down on dangerous driving behaviors that often lead to crashes.