Traffic Deaths Lowest Since 1949

The Washington Post reports:

Surrounded by air bags, buckled in place and fearful of drunk driving, Americans are less likely to die on the highway today than at any time since the middle of the Truman administration.

The number of people killed in accidents dropped to 32,788 in 2010, the lowest total since 1949, according to the annual death tally released Friday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The 3 percent decrease from 2009 was recorded even as the nation’s drivers put nearly 21 billion more miles on their odometers in 2010 than they had the previous year. The death rate has declined by 25 percent since a peak of 43,510 in 2005, NHTSA said.

“The recession is still a little bit of a factor,” said Barbara Harsha, executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association, “but the big reasons are programs aimed at driver behavior, safer vehicles and safer roads.”

After years of publicity and police enforcement, more drivers are buckling seat belts and fewer are driving drunk, she said.

Stability control, anti-lock brakes and air bags have made accidents less likely and more survivable.

“I just bought my son a little Toyota, and it has five air bags,” Harsha said. “My 10-year-old car only has one.”

Click here to read more.