US traffic deaths fell sharply in early 2026

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, July 8 (Reuters) – U.S. traffic deaths fell to the lowest rate since 2014 in the first three months of the year after a ​sharp rise in road fatalities during the COVID pandemic.

The National ‌Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Wednesday traffic deaths had dropped 4.3% to 7,770 in the three-month period ending March 31, the lowest number since 2015. The fatality rate fell to 0.99 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, the lowest quarterly figure since 2014.

Full-year traffic deaths for 2025 fell to the lowest number since 2019 and the fatality rate fell to 1.10 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, the ​second-lowest yearly figure in U.S. history, NHTSA said.

American road deaths jumped dramatically ​during the 2020 COVID pandemic and remained elevated for years.

One area of concern remains bicyclist deaths, which rose 4% to 1,148 last year and hit their highest figure in 2023 in more than four decades.

2026 is on pace to be the fifth straight year of declines. U.S. ⁠traffic deaths jumped 10.8% in 2021 to 43,230, the most ​in a single year since 2005.

As U.S. roads became less crowded during the pandemic, some motorists perceived police as less likely to issue tickets, experts said, resulting in riskier driving. Some drivers were also more ​likely to drive ​while being impaired ⁠by alcohol or drugs consumed at home during the pandemic.

The U.S. fatality rate rose much higher than ​for other developed nations during the pandemic.

A 2023 NHTSA study found crashes directly cost taxpayers $30 billion, and ⁠society ​as a whole $340 billion. When quality-of-life valuations ​were included, the total cost to society ran to $1.37 trillion.

(Reporting by David Shepardson, Editing by Franklin Paul)