New data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicates that the number of people killed in motor vehicle crashes declined during the first three months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024.
[Above photo by INDOT]
NHTSA projects that traffic fatalities declined about 6.3 percent in the first quarter of 2025, with 8,055 lives lost, compared to the first quarter of 2024.
“While traffic fatalities remain far too high, we are encouraged to see such a decline and pledge to continue working to drive down these numbers even more,” noted NHTSA Chief Counsel Peter Simshauser in a statement.
NHTSA pointed out that the fatality rate for the first quarter decreased to 1.05 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, down from the rate of 1.13 from the same time in 2024 – the lowest quarterly fatality rate since the first quarter of 2019.
The agency noted that vehicle miles traveled or VMT in the first quarter remained mostly flat at 4.3 billion miles; a small 0.6 percent increase in VMT compared to the first quarter of 2024.
NHTSA also estimates that fatalities decreased in 33 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
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