The U.S is on pace to record close to 40,000 roadway and highway deaths for the third consecutive year, according to preliminary figures released Wednesday by the National Safety Council. The silver lining in those dark numbers is that the number of people dying each year in traffic collisions nationwide appears to be leveling off after two years of sharp increases.
Based on state-reported statistics, the National Safety Council says approximately 18,720 people died on U.S. roadways between January and June of this year. That’s a less than 0.5 percent dip from 18,770 deaths recorded in the first six months of last year.
From 2014 to 2016, the number of people killed in motor vehicle collisions jumped from a little over 35,000 to more than 40,000, before leveling off at about 40,000 fatalities last year, a trend that appears to be continuing.
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