Federal safety officials reported 36,640 people died on American roadways in 2025, a 6.7-percent decline compared with the previous year. Fatalities are at their lowest level since 2019, the year before the COVID pandemic.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, traffic deaths in the U.S. have fallen for 15 consecutive quarters. In 2024, NHTSA reported 39,254 people died in traffic crashes, which was a 4.3-percent drop from 2023.
The falling numbers come despite American’s driving more than ever. The Federal Highway Administration says Americans traveled 29.8 billion more miles in 2025 than they did in 2024, a 0.9-percent increase.
Perhaps most impressively, the improvement is evenly spread out across the country, with 39 states and the District of Columbia reporting falling fatality rates on a year-over-year basis. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy noted safety officials have been pushing efforts to educate “the public about the dangers of distracted driving, drunk driving, and driving without a seat belt.”
Duffy added the DOT is working with automakers to find ways to make new cars safer and more affordable. “At this Department, the safety and success of American families drive our work,” he said in a release.
The message is timely as April has been designated National Distracted Driving Awareness Month. Law enforcement officers will be stepping up their efforts to identify and stop distracted drivers before they can hurt themselves or others on the road, according to the agency.
Vehicles are safer than ever, but efforts to cut down on distracted driving, whether it’s through increased enforcement measures, raising awareness about unsafe driving habits, or in-car technologies forcing drivers to focus on the task at hand, appear to be working.
Traffic deaths have fallen every year since 2022, when they dropped 1.2 percent compared to the high-water mark for the past decade in 2021, when 43,230 Americans died in traffic incidents.
[Images: NTSB]
