NHTSA estimates Q1 traffic fatalities down 6.3% compared to 2024
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has released new estimated data that shows a 6.3% decrease in the number of people killed in vehicle crashes during the first three months of 2025.
NHTSA projects that traffic fatalities dropped to 8,055 lives in Q1, marking the 12th consecutive quarterly decline. Q1 also saw the lowest estimated quarterly fatality rate in six years.
In April, NHTSA estimated that 39,345 people died in traffic crashes in 2024, which is a decrease of about 3.8% compared to the 40,901 fatalities reported in 2023. Last year was the first time since 2020 that the number of fatalities fell below 40,000.
“While traffic fatalities remain far too high, we are encouraged to see such a decline and pledge to continue working to drive down these numbers even more,” said NHTSA Chief Counsel Peter Simshauser in a press release. “NHTSA will continue to use all of its resources to educate Americans about dangerous driving behaviors and advance meaningful policies that will save lives. The agency is also strengthening its relationships with law enforcement to ensure traffic laws are being enforced to save lives.”
NHTSA estimates that fatalities decreased in 33 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
The Q1 fatality rate decreased to 1.05 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, down from the Q1 2024 rate of 1.13.
Vehicle miles traveled in the quarter remained mostly flat at 4.3 billion miles, or about a 0.6% increase.
According to NHTSA’s latest estimations, Statistical Region 7 — Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Arkansas — was the only region to see an increase (3%) in fatalities during the first quarter.
Region 2 — New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania — saw the greatest decline (18%). Region 9 — California and Arizona — saw the smallest decline during the quarter (1%).
Catherine Chase, president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, said in a statement that the decline in vehicle crash fatalities is “welcome news, it is no time to celebrate.”
“Over 8,000 people are still projected to have died on U.S. roads in just three months,” she said. “Without swift federal and state action, tens of thousands of people will continue to perish each year on American roadways while millions more are impacted by devastating injuries, emotional trauma, and significant financial burdens.
“I recently testified before a Congressional committee on the state of NHTSA and motor vehicle safety. In my remarks, I described the dire situation affecting every category of road user in this country and laid out a hopeful path forward rooted in evidence-based solutions. Additionally, Advocates’ 2025 Roadmap to Safety report is a blueprint our elected leaders should use to end the devastating ripple effect traffic crashes impose on families, friends, and entire communities. While any reduction in deaths on our roadways is a positive development, so many more lives can be spared.”
Chase also said during the hearing that one of the largest parts of a family’s budget is spent on a vehicle, and they want a safe car.
“They know that five stars means something and in the absence of NCAP stepping up, I have to say the the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety has done an exceptional job in terms of rating and crash testing vehicle so that consumers can be informed but this should be the role of our government and of the agency that is NHTSA,” she said.
Alliance for Automotive Innovation’s John Bozzella and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s David Harkey also testified at the hearing, criticizing NHTSA’s New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) as being behind safety programs in other countries.
On Wednesday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy testified before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on the department’s fiscal 2026 budget request.
In his written testimony, Duffy focuses primarily on planned updates to U.S. airports and air traffic control systems. He also mentions an automated vehicle framework for “safe deployment of this revolutionary technology,” which was unveiled in the spring.
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