Highway fatalities involving large trucks increased 3 percent, from 5,036 in 2003 to 5,190 in 2004, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced.
That trend contrasted with 42,636 overall highway fatalities, which NHTSA said was the lowest since record-keeping began 30 years ago. The number of alcohol-related fatalities also dropped for the second straight year.
“We anticipate the vehicles-miles-traveled/large truck fatality numbers due this fall from the Federal Highway Administration to confirm that truck safety continues to improve,” said Mike Russell, spokesman for the American Trucking Associations. ATA often points to the rate of fatalities per million miles traveled as a more accurate gauge of truck safety.
The District of Columbia’s number of highway fatalities took the biggest percentage drop – 36 percent – while Vermont, with a 42 percent increase in the number of highway fatalities, saw the biggest percentage gain.
The 2004 nationwide highway fatality total was 248 less than the 2003 total, 42,884. The fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled was 1.46 in 2004, down from 1.48 in 2003. The rate has been improving since 1966, when 50,894 people died and the rate was 5.5.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta said that the lower rate is attributable to safer cars, more people using seat belts and safety laws pushed by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
“As long as the number of highway deaths remains as high as it is, we will keep advocating for the kind of vehicles, roads and driving habits that make people safer in their cars and trucks,” Mineta said.
