Bituminous Insurance Companies
Release Date: January 27, 2010
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has developed a statistical projection of traffic fatalities for the first three quarters of 2009. The report 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.
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. 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 traveled (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, when compared to the first three quarters of 2008. The estimated 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.
The NHTSA report, Early Estimate of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities for The First Three Quarters (January–September) of 2009, can be accessed at the following link: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811255.PDF.
COPYRIGHT ©2009, ISO Services Properties, Inc.
The information contained in this publication was obtained from sources believed to be reliable. ISO Services Properties, Inc., its companies and employees make no guarantee of results and assume no liability in connection with either the information herein contained or the safety suggestions herein made. Moreover, it cannot be assumed that every acceptable safety procedure is contained herein or that abnormal or unusual circumstances may not warrant or require further or additional procedure.