THE CAR AND TRUCK FLEET AND LEASING MANAGEMENT MAGAZINE
Roadway fatalities in the U.S. dipped slightly in 2018 to approximately 40,000, representing just a 1% decrease from 2017 and 2016, when 40,231 and 40,327 people were killed in motor vehicles crashes, respectively.
In 2018, 264 people lost their lives in crashes in Utah, making roadway fatalities as low as they been since 2014 when 256 people were killed.
For the first time in the U.S., the odds of dying in a motor vehicle crash (one in 103) have been surpassed by the chance of dying accidentally from an opioid overdose, which have risen to one in 96, according to new data from the National Safety Council.
Traffic fatalities in Maine decreased 19% to 140 deaths in 2018 compared with 173 in 2017, which is among the lowest on record in 60 years.
Road traffic deaths continue to rise globally, climbing to 1.35 million in 2016 and are now the leading cause of death eighth leading cause of death for people of all ages.
The National Safety Council's Road to Zero Coalition has started accepting applications for its third annual grant competition for innovative solutions to making the nation's roadways safer and eliminating preventable fatalities.
Thanksgiving was the second deadliest holiday on the roads in 2017, and this year some 433 people could lose their lives in traffic fatalities during the holiday period, according to the latest estimates from the National Safety Council.
Drunk driving fatalities fell 1.1% in 2017 compared with 2016, and alcohol impairment remains the leading cause of highway deaths, according to the most recent data released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Highway fatality numbers are down overall except in cases involving large trucks. According to the latest Department of Transportation statistics, there were 673 fewer highway deaths in 2017 than in 2016.
Approximately 40% of crashes, 37% of injuries and 29% of fatalities involving passenger vehicles could be avoided by equipping all cars, pickup trucks, vans, minivans, and sport utility vehicles with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), according to a recent analysis from the AAA Foundation.