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Early Estimate of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities for the First Quarter of 2024
A statistical projection of traffic fatalities for the first quarter of 2024 shows an estimated 8,650 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes, a decrease of about 3.2 percent as compared to 8,935 fatalities projected to have occurred in 2023, as shown in Table 1. The first quarter of 2024 represents the eighth consecutive quarterly decline in fatalities beginning with the second quarter of 2022. Preliminary data reported by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) show that vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in the first 3 months of 2024 increased by about 4.7 billion miles, or about a 0.6-percent increase. Also shown in Table 1 are the fatality rates per 100 million VMT, by quarter. The fatality rate for the first quarter of 2024 decreased to 1.13 fatalities per 100 million VMT, down from the projected rate of 1.18 fatalities per 100 million VMT in the first quarter of 2023. For the NHTSA regional differences, 6 of the 10 regions are estimated to have decreases in fatalities and fatality rate per 100 million VMT in the first quarter of 2024 as compared to the first quarter of 2023. Also, 30 States and Puerto Rico are projected to have experienced decreases in fatalities. The fatality counts for 2023 and 2024 and the ensuing percentage change from 2023 to 2024 will be further revised when the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) Annual Reporting File for 2023 is available later this year, as well as when the Final File for 2023 and the Annual Reporting File for 2024 are available next year. These estimates will be further refined when the projections for the first 6 months of 2024 are released in late September.
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