US traffic deaths have fallen to levels that havent been seen since the Korean War. The decline has been attributed to seat belt use, better safety equipment and efforts to curb drunk driving.
The Transportation Department estimated Friday that 32,788 people were killed on U.S. roads in 2010, a decrease of about 3 percent from 2009. Its the fewest number of deaths since 1949 when more than 30,000 people were killed. Since 2005, highway deaths have fallen about 25 percent.
The Pacific Northwest region, which includes Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Alaska, saw fatalities fall 12 percent. Western states including Arizona, California and Hawaii also reported large declines.
Despite this good news, we are not going to rest on our laurels, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Friday. The number of people killed in preventable roadway tragedies is still too high. We need to keep doing all that we can to make sure that vehicles are as safe as they can possibly be and drivers are making responsible decisions behind the wheel.
The numbers are projections for 2010. The government expects to release final data on deaths and injuries, including specific state-by-state totals, later this year.
Traffic deaths have typically decreased during tough economical times because of the decision by many to cut back on unnecessary travel. The number of road fatalities also declined to coincide with the struggling economy in the early 1980s and early 1990s.
