A statistical projection of traffic fatalities for the first three quarters of 2009 shows that an estimated 25,576 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes. This represents a decline of about 7.9 percent as compared to the 27,771 fatalities that occurred in the first three quarters of 2008, as shown in Table 1. Fatalities declined by about 10.8 percent in the first quarter, declined by about 4.8 percent in the second quarter, and declined by about 8.4 percent in the third quarter of 2009, as compared to the respective quarters in 2008. The third quarter of 2009 will be the 14th consecutive quarter of declines in fatalities as compared to the same quarter from the previous year, as illustrated by the highlighted percentages in Table 1. Traffic fatalities have been declining steadily since reaching a near-term peak in 2005. Preliminary data reported by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) shows that vehicle miles travelled (VMT) in the first nine months of 2009 increased by about 6.7 billion miles, or about a 0.3-percent increase. On a quarterly basis, the VMT dropped by 1.7 percent during the first quarter and increased by 0.6 percent and 1.8 percent in the second and third quarters, respectively. Also shown in Table 1 are the fatality rates per 100 million VMT, by quarter and for the first 3 quarters (January—September). The fatality rate for the first nine months of 2009 declined to 1.16 fatalities per 100 million VMT, down from 1.26 fatalities per 100 million VMT in the first nine months of 2008. (Author/publisher)
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