The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that traffic fatalities declined 2.5 percent during the first half of 2026 compared to the first half of 2025. The agency added that crash fatalities fell to an estimated 16,750 from January through June 2026, down from 17,175 during the first half of 2025.
[Above photo by Arkansas DOT]
NHTSA noted that decline in fatalities occurred even as vehicle miles traveled or VMT increased during the first half of 2026.
Preliminary data reported by the Federal Highway Administration indicates that VMT in the first half of 2026 increased by about 12.9 billion miles or 0.8 percent; meaning the fatality rate for the first half of 2026 dropped to 1.02 fatalities per 100 million VMT, down from 1.05 fatalities per 100 million VMT in the first half of 2025.
Jonathan Morrison, NHTSA administrator, said that – through the new “Pathways to Safer Streets” initiative unveiled back in April – the agency continues to tackle the leading causes of traffic deaths, such as from reckless driving to impaired driving, while also promoting critical lifesaving measures for crash victims, such as pre-hospital blood transfusion programs.
NHTSA noted that enabling emergency medical services units to administer blood before crash victims reach the hospital decreases mortality for trauma patients with severe bleeding by 37 percent.
“We’ve made progress on road safety, but [we’re not] letting up,” Morrison noted in a statement. “Even with near-record low fatality rates, we will continue to work with a sense of urgency to make sure more Americans get home safely.”
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