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The percentage of passenger vehicle drivers talking on handheld phones decreased from 2.5 percent in 2021 to 2.1 percent in 2022 (Figure 1 and Table 1). The percentage of drivers speaking with visible headsets while driving remained unchanged from the previous year’s level of 0.4 percent (Figure 1 and Table 2). Drivers’ visible manipulation of […]
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has taken the first step toward making impaired-driving prevention technology standard in new passenger vehicles. The Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that NHTSA is announcing today helps fulfill a requirement in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and supports the Department’s National Roadway Safety Strategy. Read the full article here.
NHTSA has recently issued a projection report of traffic fatalities and the fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT) for the first half of 2023 (Early Estimate of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities for the First Half (Jan–Jun) of 2023, Report No. DOT HS 813 514). That report shows an estimated 19,515 people died […]
Communication campaigns are among the most widely used efforts to promote traffic safety and can be used to promote safe driving practices and knowledge of traffic laws, and otherwise educate the public. One way campaigns could be improved is to use behavior change theory in campaign development. Behavior change theories are developed to explain and […]
A statistical projection of traffic fatalities for the first half of 2023 shows an estimated 19,515 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes, a decrease of about 3.3 percent as compared to 20,190 fatalities projected to have occurred in the first half of 2022, as shown in Table 1. The second quarter of 2023 represents […]
This project aimed to determine if excessive device use while driving is the result of an addiction, why this behavior persists, and what countermeasures to consider. This Traffic Tech briefly summarizes it. Reviewers consulted academic, government, and private-sector material from several disciplines including human factors, traffic safety, psychology, and demography. More than 270 sources were […]
This week – and every week, parents should have conversations with their teens about the important rules they need to follow to stay safe behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. These rules address the greatest dangers for teen drivers: alcohol, inconsistent or no seat belt use, distracted and drowsy driving, speeding, and number of […]
Every October, NHTSA celebrates National Pedestrian Safety Month. States, local leaders, traffic safety professionals, transportation planners and engineers, other stakeholders and concerned residents are invited to join us in helping to create a transportation system for all people to easily and safely walk. NHTSA is strengthening its efforts to improve safety for pedestrians and other […]
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration today released its early estimates of traffic fatalities for the first half of 2023, estimating that traffic fatalities declined for the fifth straight quarter. An estimated 19,515 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes, representing a decrease of about 3.3% as compared to 20,190 fatalities in the first half of […]
This project started with a broad question: What can new, rich naturalistic driver data such as in the Second Strategic Highway Research Program’s Naturalistic Driving Study (SHRP2-NDS), tell us about how drivers react to roadway designs and access management techniques? To address this question, the project team reviewed and analyzed 6,209 trips that drivers in […]