Stats show a decrease in roadway fatalities for first half of 2017
Posted August 21, 2017
Motor vehicle deaths dipped slightly the first six months of 2017 as compared to 2016, the National Safety Council (NSC) reports in preliminary estimates.
Even though the year-to-year comparison for the same six-month period shows a 1 percent decrease, NSC cautions against viewing this as an upward trend. NSC reports:
- The decline is on the heels of the most dramatic two-year increase of motor vehicle fatalities since 1964.
- The six-month estimate for 2017 is still considerably higher (8 percent) than 2015 for the same period.
- The deadliest months of year tend to be July to December.
In the first half of 2017, according to NSC, motor vehicle accidents on U.S. roads have resulted in an estimated:
- 18,680 fatalities,
- 2.1 million seriously injured people, and
- $191 billion in costs associated with the deaths and injuries.
NSC indicates in Winter 2016:
- As many as 40,000 people were killed on the roads, and
- The number of motor vehicle deaths was 6 percent higher than 2015.
Motor vehicle fatalities are impacted by the number of miles Americans are traveling. From 2016 to 2017, motorists were traveling 1.7 percent more miles due to an improved economy and lower gas prices.
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