Car Crash Deaths Have Been Going Down for 50 Years

A recent Michigan Public Radio story on an increase in the number of fatal car crashes was titled: “Side effects of better economy: more traffic deaths.” The story cites a 14 percent increase in traffic deaths in the U.S. so far this year compared to the same period in 2014.

ForTheRecord says: While the article did describe the reduction in drunken driving deaths, it was silent about a 50-year trend that has seen dramatically lower overall traffic death rates. In 1964 there were 2,122 deaths in Michigan from motor vehicle crashes, and the death rate per 100 million miles traveled peaked at 5.5, according to the Michigan State Police. Technological and road safety improvements lowered that toll to just 951 in 2013, the most recent data available, with just one person killed for every 100 million miles traveled. Driving on Michigan roads has never been safer.