Motor vehicle deaths drop slightly in first half of year, but still above 2015

Motor vehicle deaths drop slightly in first half of year, but still above 2015

Motor vehicle deaths in the first six months of 2017 were 1 percent lower than in the first half of 2016, according to preliminary estimates from the National Safety Council (NSC).

But the country is still fresh off the steepest estimated two-year increase in motor vehicle deaths since 1964, and it is too early to say that the upward trend is over, the group said. The estimated deaths in the first six months of 2017 are 8 percent higher than the first half of 2015, and the second half of the year tends to be deadlier than the first half.

An estimated 18,680 people have been killed on U.S. roads since January and 2.1 million were seriously injured. The total estimated cost of these deaths and injuries is $191 billion.

–The price of our cultural complacency is more than 100 fatalities each day,” said NSC resident and CEO Deborah A.P. Hersman. –Although the numbers may be leveling off, the road to zero deaths will require accelerating improvements in technology, engaging drivers and investing in our infrastructure.”

More deaths on the road are a serious downside of an improved economy and lower gas prices. Those two factors helped fuel a 1.7 increase in miles driven from 2016 to 2017, the NSC said.