A statistical projection of traffic fatalities for the first nine months of 2013 shows that an estimated 24,270 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes. This represents a decrease of about 3.7 percent as compared to the 25,214 fatalities that were reported to have occurred in the first nine months of 2012, as shown in Table 1. On a year-to-year quarterly basis, until the third quarter of 2013, the percentage change in fatalities has been steadily decreasing each quarter since the significant 11.6-percent increase reported for the first quarter of 2012. Preliminary data reported by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) shows that vehicle miles travelled (VMT) in the first nine months of 2013 increased by about 9.8 billion miles, or about a 0.4-percent increase. Also shown in Table 1 are the fatality rates per 100 million VMT, by quarter. The fatality rate for the first nine months of 2013 decreased to 1.09 fatalities per 100 million VMT, down from 1.13 fatalities per 100 million VMT in the first nine months of 2012. The fatality rate for the third quarter of 2013 decreased to 1.15 fatalities per 100 million VMT, down from 1.20 fatalities in the third quarter of 2012. The actual counts for 2012 and 2013 continue to be updated and the ensuing percentage changes between the fatalities for any of these years are therefore subject to revision. (Author/publisher)
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