highway fatalities News

Traffic Deaths Declined 3.3% in the First Half of the Year, but Fed Officials See More Work Ahead

Traffic fatalities dropped 3.3% in the first half of the year compared with the prior-year period, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The agency said Thursday that an estimated 19,515 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes in …

‘It’s Just Horrendous’: Highway Fatalities Top 170 in Maine

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine is likely to finish the year with its highest number of highway fatalities in 15 years, as a pandemic trend of speeding and reckless driving continues across the state, officials said. The unofficial number of …

Today is the Deadliest Day of the Year for Car Wrecks in the U.S.

It’s not Super Bowl Sunday or even New Year’s Eve that makes for the most lethal day on U.S. highways. It’s Aug. 2. Thursday is when, on average, car wrecks are likely to kill more Americans than any other day …

Highway Fatalities Climb 8.1% in 2015, Likely Driven by Lower Fuel Prices

The death toll on U.S. highways rose 8.1 percent in the first half of 2015 as low fuel prices contributed to a jump in miles driven by Americans, according to new figures from the Transportation Department. The preliminary figures represent …

More Drug Deaths Than Highway Fatalities for Virginia in 2014

Deaths from heroin and opioid use outnumbered highway fatalities in Virginia for the first time last year, officials said. Records show that 728 Virginians died from drug overdoses in 2014, while 700 people died on the state’s roads. The increase …

Highway Fatalities Drop 18% in West Virginia in 2014

Division of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Pat Reed says an 18 percent decline in highway fatalities could be due to recent safety laws and public awareness campaigns. Reed said Tuesday that highway fatalities dropped from 332 in 2013 to 271 in …

Deaths Prompt Effort to Fix Less-Traveled Missouri Rural Roads

In 2009, Randy Frump and Shannon Follwell each lost a child on a rural highway in St. Charles County. Frump’s son Bryan, 26, died in a crash on Highway D near Defiance on New Year’s Day. Follwell’s daughter, Brianna Carron, …

South Dakota Highway Fatalities Up Compared to 2013

Fatalities in car wrecks on South Dakota highways so far this year have almost doubled compared to the same period in 2013. The state’s Department of Public Safety says 24 people have died in crashes in 2014. The state recorded …

West Virginia Highway Fatalities Drop in 2013 to 325

Stricter seatbelt and distracted driving laws have contributed to a decline highway fatalities in West Virginia, a state highway safety official said. Figures released Wednesday by the West Virginia Southern Regional Highway Safety Program show 325 people were killed in …

Vermont Officials Urge Driver Safety

Vermont officials are trying to prevent any more highway fatalities this year by urging drivers to slow down, buckle up and not drive drunk or drug-impaired this holiday season. Officials say Vermont has seen a spike in fatal crashes over …