Report: Traffic Fatalities at Record Low, Seat Belt Use on the Rise

The number of deaths from vehicle accidents nationwide reached a record low in 2008, according to figures released today. Experts are pointing to last year's peak of $4 per gallon gas prices and increasing seat belt use to explain the numbers.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) estimated figures for 2008 show that 37,313 vehicle drivers and passengers were killed in vehicle accidents in 2008, the lowest number of fatalities since 1961, and also the lowest fatality rate ever recorded (1.28 fatalities per 100 million miles traveled). Check out the NHTSA Report: Early Estimate of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities in 2008.

Drivers and passengers continued to use seat belts more in 2008, with the state-by-state numbers showing the highest rate of seat belt use in Michigan (97.2 percent) and the lowest rate in Massachusetts (66.8 percent).

According to the NHTSA, seat belt use rates in a given state may be tied to the strength of traffic laws on use of restraint devices: "The survey shows that jurisdictions with primary belt laws continue to exhibit higher use rates than those with weaker laws. In Maine, for example, belt use increased from 79.8 percent to 83 percent a year after the state enacted a primary seat belt law." Check out the NHTSA Report: Seat Belt Use in 2008.

• NHTSA Press Release: Record Low Traffic Deaths, Improved State Seat Belt Use (NHTSA .gov)
• Early Estimate of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities in 2008 (NHTSA.gov)
• Seat Belt Use in 2008: State-by-State Use Rates (NHTSA.gov)
• AP: Bad Economy Holds Highway Deaths to 1960s Levels
• Motor Vehicle Accidents (FindLaw)
• Vehicle Accident FAQ (provided by Law Offices of Lawrence M. Simon) 
• Seat Belt and Child Restraint Violations (FindLaw)