Trucking news and briefs for Tuesday, June 27, 2023:
Traffic fatalities are estimated to have fallen in all 10 regions across the U.S. in the first quarter.NHTSA
The first quarter of 2023 represents the fourth straight quarterly decline in fatalities after seven consecutive quarters of year-over-year increases in fatalities, beginning with the third quarter of 2020, NHTSA said.
Preliminary data reported by the Federal Highway Administration show that vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in the first three months of 2023 increased by about 19.3 billion miles, or about a 2.6% increase. The fatality rate for the first quarter of 2023 decreased to 1.24 fatalities per 100 million VMT, down from the projected rate of 1.32 fatalities per 100 million VMT in the first quarter of 2022.
For the NHTSA Regional differences, all 10 regions are estimated to have had decreases in fatalities and the fatality rate per 100 million miles in the first quarter this year compared to a year ago. Additionally, 32 states are projected to have had decreases in fatalities, the agency said.
The actual counts for 2022 and 2023 and the ensuing percentage changes from 2022 to 2023 will be further revised as 2022 numbers are finalized this year and 2023 numbers are finalized next year. The estimates will be further refined, NHTSA said, when the projections for the first half of 2023 are released in late September.
NHTSA’s quarterly fatality estimate reports do not take into account the vehicle types involved in fatal crashes.
