The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently released the 2013 Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) data that shows a 3.1 percent decrease from the previous year and a nearly 25 percent decline in overall highway deaths since 2004. In 2013, 32,719 people died in traffic crashes. The estimated number of people injured in crashes also declined by 2.1 percent.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx noted that a broad partnership of safety-driven individuals and organizations contributed to making roads safer for everyone. “Safety truly is a shared responsibility, and we’ve all got more work to do in the New Year to keep more families together – that’s my resolution to the American people.”

Earlier this year, Secretary Foxx announced grants totaling approximately $1.6 million for public education and enforcement initiatives to improve pedestrian safety as part of the Department’s “Everyone Is a Pedestrian” campaign to help communities combat the rising number of pedestrian deaths and injuries that have occurred from 2009 through 2012. Earlier this week, the Department kicked off the annual “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” holiday crackdown on drunk driving by unveiling a new mobile app to help people who have been drinking get a safe ride home.

The more than 3 percent decline in traffic fatalities continues a long-term downward trend leading to the fatality rate matching a historic low – 1.10 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled in 2013, down from 1.14 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled in 2012. Other key statistics include:

* The number of passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes declined by 3 percent to 21,132 – the lowest number on record dating back to 1975.
* Passenger vehicles include passenger cars, SUVs, minivans and pickup trucks.
* Large truck occupant (0.9 percent) and motorcyclist (6.4 percent) fatalities declined for the first time since 2009.
* Pedestrian fatalities declined by 1.7 percent to 4,735, but remains
15 percent higher than the record low of 4,109 pedestrian fatalities in
2009.
* Pedalcyclist fatalities increased by 1.2 percent, the highest since 2006.
* The estimated number of people injured in crashes decreased across all person types in 2013 when compared to 2012, with declines among passenger vehicle occupants (2.2 percent), large truck occupants (4 percent), motorcyclists (5.4 percent), pedestrians (13 percent) and pedalcyclists (2 percent).
* The number of people killed in distraction-affected crashes fell to 3,154 in 2013 from 3,380 in 2012, a 6.7 percent decrease. However, the estimated number of people injured in distraction-affected crashes (424,000) increased by 1 percent compared to 2012.

“Almost 90 people on average lose their lives each day – and more than 250 are injured every hour – due to drunk driving, not wearing a seatbelt and the many other factors associated with traffic crashes,” said NHTSA Deputy Administrator David Friedman. “As we work each day at NHTSA, these are tragic reminders of the importance of our efforts and how we must build on our many successes and continue to work even harder to protect the American public.”

Alcohol-impaired-driving fatalities decreased by 2.5 percent in 2013 to 10,076, accounting for 31 percent of the overall fatalities in 2013. Thirty-four states experienced reductions in overall traffic fatalities, led by Ohio (132 fewer fatalities), Kentucky (108 fewer), Pennsylvania (102 fewer), South Carolina (96 fewer) and Arkansas (77 fewer).

The Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) contains data for a census of fatal traffic crashes within the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. To be included in FARS, a crash must involve amotor vehicle traveling on a trafficway customarily open to the public and must result in the death of at least one person (occupant of a vehicle or a non-motorist) within 30 days of the crash. FARS was conceived, designed and developed in 1975 by NHTSA’s National Center for Statistics and Analysis (NCSA) to provide an overall measure of highway safety, to help identify traffic safety problems, to suggest solutions, and to help provide an objective basis to evaluate the effectiveness of motor vehicle safety standards and highway safety programs.