U.S. traffic deaths fell slightly in first 3 quarters of 2022, federal data shows

U.S. traffic deaths fell 0.2% in the first nine months of 2022, reversing a sharp rise in the two prior pandemic years when speeding and other unsafe behavior increased, regulators said on Monday (Source: “U.S. says traffic deaths fell slightly in first nine months of 2022,” Reuters, Jan. 9).

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimated that 31,785 people died in traffic crashes through Sept. 30 compared with the 31,850 deaths in the same period in 2021. U.S. traffic deaths jumped 10.5% in 2021 to 42,915, the largest number killed on American roads in a year since 2005 after rising 7% in 2020.

The traffic fatality rate through September is still higher than in any pre-pandemic year since 2007. A total 4,766 more people were killed on U.S. roads in the 2022 ninth-month period versus in 2019.