USDOT Releases 2016 Fatal Traffic Crash Data |
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National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
6 October 2017
NHTSA 01-17
Friday, October 6, 2017
Contact: NHTSA Public Affairs
Phone: (202) 366-9550
Email: Public.Affairs@dot.gov
USDOT Releases 2016 Fatal Traffic Crash Data
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration today released fatal traffic crash data for calendar year 2016. According to NHTSA data, which was collected from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, 37,461 lives were lost on U.S. roads in 2016, an increase of 5.6 percent from calendar year 2015.
The number of vehicle miles traveled on U.S. roads in 2016 increased by 2.2 percent, and resulted in a fatality rate of 1.18 deaths per 100 million VMT – a 2.6-percent increase from the previous year.
NHTSA found that distracted driving and drowsy driving fatalities declined, while deaths related to other reckless behaviors – including speeding, alcohol impairment, and not wearing seat belts – continued to increase. Motorcyclist and pedestrian deaths accounted for more than a third of the year-to-year increase.
The 2016 national data shows that:
NHTSA continues to work closely with its state and local partners, law enforcement agencies, and the more than 350 members of the Road to Zero Coalition to help address the human choices that are linked to 94 percent of serious crashes. NHTSA also continues to promote vehicle technologies that hold the potential to reduce the number of crashes and save thousands of lives every year, and may eventually help reduce or eliminate human error and the mistakes that drivers make behind the wheel.
Click here to view 2016 Fatal Motor Vehicle Crashes: Overview
Click here to view 2016 Quick Facts
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