Good newsUS Road Death Rate Falls to Lowest Level Since 2014
NHTSA estimates 16,750 people died on US roads in the first half of 2026, down 2.5 percent, with the fatality rate at 1.02 per 100 million miles. Progress slowed in the second quarter, and 15 states saw increases.
This story runs on the good side only. The biggest stories of the day are told on both sides.
Fewer people are dying on American roads, even as people drive more. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that 16,750 people died in crashes in the first half of 2026, down 2.5 percent from 17,175 a year earlier. The fatality rate fell to 1.02 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles travelled, which Reuters reports is the lowest since 2014.
What the numbers say
NHTSA released the early estimates on 10 November. Vehicle miles travelled rose 0.8 percent over the same six months, so the drop came with more driving, not less. The agency describes 1.02 as the second-lowest rate ever recorded for the first half of a year. FOX 4, with Reuters reporting, says the first-half toll is the lowest since 2015 and that the country is on track for a fifth straight annual decline.
The trend has been building. Deaths in all of 2025 were the lowest since 2019. The 2025 fatality rate of 1.10 was the second-lowest annual rate in the nation’s history, according to NHTSA as reported by FOX 4. The country is a long way from the pandemic peak: traffic deaths rose 10.8 percent in 2021 to 43,230, the highest annual toll since 2005.
| Period | Deaths | Rate per 100 million miles |
|---|---|---|
| First half 2025 | 17,175 | not given |
| First half 2026 | 16,750 | 1.02 |
| Full year 2025 | not given | 1.10 |
| Full year 2021 | 43,230 | not given |
Table: GoodBad. Data from NHTSA early estimates, 10 November 2026, and FOX 4. Full-year 2025 deaths were the lowest since 2019.
Where it is still not working
The good news slowed in spring. Deaths fell 5 percent in the first quarter but only 0.2 percent in the second, and one outlet reports that May and June were higher than a year earlier. NHTSA projects fewer deaths in 35 states and Puerto Rico, and increases in 15 states and the District of Columbia.
Cyclists are going the wrong way. Bicyclist deaths rose 4 percent to 1,148 in 2025, FOX 4 reports, and two years earlier they reached their highest total in more than four decades. A fall in the overall rate does not help the people on bikes.
Why it matters, and what comes next
Crashes carry a bill. A 2023 NHTSA study put their cost to society at an estimated 340 billion dollars, including 30 billion paid by taxpayers, and more than 1.37 trillion dollars once quality-of-life losses are counted.
These are early estimates, and NHTSA revises them as crash reports come in. None of the sources we read explains what caused the fall, so we do not offer a reason. The agency’s next estimate, covering the full year, will show whether the second-quarter stall was a blip or the start of a plateau.
