Trucking news and briefs for Monday, July 14, 2025:
According to new estimates from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there were 6.3% fewer fatalities on U.S. roadways in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same quarter last year.
NHTSA estimates that 8,055 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes in Q1 2025, compared to the 8,595 fatalities projected to have occurred in the first quarter of 2024.
Traffic fatalities fell in nine out of 10 regions, with the largest decrease (18%) being seen in the New York-New Jersey-Pennsylvania tri-state area.NHTSA
If those estimates hold true, Q1 2025 will be the 12th consecutive quarterly decline in fatalities, which began with the second quarter of 2022.
The early-year decline in roadway fatalities coincided with an increase in vehicle miles traveled (VMT). According to Federal Highway Administration data, VMT actually increased by about 4.3 billion miles, or a 0.6% increase from Q1 2024.
For the NHTSA regional differences, nine of the 10 NHTSA Regions are projected to have decreases in fatalities and fatality rate per 100 million VMT in the first quarter of 2025 as compared to the first quarter of 2024. The only region projected to see an increase in fatalities is Region 7 -- Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas and Arkansas -- where fatalities are estimated to have increased by 3% during the quarter.
