fatalities

The U.S. economy has come a long way over the past decade, from the highs of the housing bubble to the lows of the Great Recession and slowly, surely back again. The good news is, America's financial health continues to improve (even though some have begun sounding alarms about another potential...Read More»

Nissan thinks that it's found the solution to the problem of distracted driving: a new and improved armrest. "New and improved" are relative terms in this case, because the technology behind Nissan's armrest is nearly 200 years old. Of course, distracted driving isn't a new problem, either: eating...Read More»

Earlier this year, two reports revealed that the number of auto-related fatalities in America increased sharply in 2016. A new study from the Governors Highway Safety Association suggests that pedestrian deaths may be partly responsible for that uptick. The organization's projections show an 11...Read More»

In January, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued some preliminary data on traffic fatalities for the first nine months of 2016. Now, the National Safety Council has released estimates of its own, providing more strong hints that the number of roadway deaths in America rose...Read More»

It's only January, and official stats on traffic fatalities for 2016 aren't expected for at least 10 more months. However, early estimates from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration suggest that auto-related deaths surged during the first nine months of last year. If those stats prove...Read More»

Given America's extensive system of highways and byways, it's easy to forget that many of our roads aren't as safe as they seem. As we've reported many times before, U.S. streets are in a serious state of disrepair--and don't get us started on bridges. America isn't alone in that, though. To prove...Read More»

We're in the midst of a distracted driving crisis, and mobile phones are largely to blame. Motorists young and old can't seem to resist the temptation to check text messages, email, and social media when they're behind the wheel. As the New York Times recently noted, mobile networks and phone...Read More»

During economic downturns like the recent Great Recession, auto fatality rates fall. The common-sense explanation for that phenomenon is that in tough times, companies cut jobs (reducing the number of commuters), and consumers buy fewer goods (reducing the number of big-rigs and other cargo...Read More»

It takes a while to gather data on auto fatalities. Typically, annual stats aren't available until late in the following year. However, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration already has a solid hunch that deaths on U.S. roads increased in 2015, and now, the National Safety Council says...Read More»

It goes without saying that drunk driving is a very, very bad thing. Though the number of traffic fatalities involving alcohol has fallen over the years, so has the total number of auto-related deaths. As a result, alcohol continues to play a role in 30 - 40 percent of U.S. traffic fatalities. In...Read More»

Earlier this week, we received some alarming news: preliminary data compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration suggests that the number of U.S. traffic fatalities rose by nearly 8 percent in 2015. All told, NHTSA believes that some 35,200 drivers, passengers, cyclists, and...Read More»

It's a question that's been on our mind for years: when autonomous cars collide, who's at fault? Sadly, the question is no longer hypothetical, but very, very real following the death of a driver using Tesla's Autopilot self-driving system in his 2015 Model S. Less than a year ago, several...Read More»

The figures aren't yet official, but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's early estimates suggest that 35,200 motorists, passengers, cyclists, and pedestrians died on U.S. roads in 2015--an increase of 7.7 percent over 2014. That's a remarkable uptick. In fact, the last time the...Read More»

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has launched an investigation of Tesla and its self-driving Autopilot software in the wake of a driver's death. The fatal collision took place in Williston, Florida on May 7 when a tractor-trailer crossed the path of a 2015 Tesla Model S. Accounts...Read More»

India is a dangerous place for drivers, passengers, and pedestrians. The latest stats from the World Heath Organization report more than 137,000 traffic fatalities per year, though a study from the Pulitzer Center pegs the actual number above 200,000. Why is the situation so bad? For starters...Read More»

We've got good news and bad news for auto safety advocates. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has released official fatality statistics for 2014 (that's the good part), and the agency has also unveiled preliminary data from 2015 (that's the bad). Let's start with the good news. In...Read More»

We've spilled a lot of ink discussing the most congested cities for drivers. But what about the most dangerous states for auto-related deaths? Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle of the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute asked themselves the same question -- and unlike us...Read More»

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued some very early traffic fatality stats for 2015, and we hate to break it to you, but they don't look so good. In fact, they're pretty darned depressing. Official numbers for 2015 won't be available for a while -- likely, the end of 2016...Read More»