Saving lives and preventing injuries on our nation’s roads — that’s what we do here

at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

I’m James Owens, Deputy Administrator of NHTSA.

We’ve made tremendous progress over the last 50 years — traffic deaths have dropped

from more than 52,000 lives lost in 1970 to about 36,000 in 2019.

There are a lot more people in America today than back then.

So this change comes as more people are driving more — and today’s fatality rate is just

Traffic deaths

1 quarter of what it was in 1970.

If we still had the fatality rate of 1970 that would mean nearly 120,000 additional

people would have lost their lives just last year.

That’s almost the exact number of American lives lost fighting in World War I.

Can you believe that?

Buckle up

One of the ways you’ve helped bring that number down is by buckling up.

We’ve all learned that buckling up is one of the most important ways to protect ourselves

while traveling and seat belt use is at an all-time high of 91 percent.

About 30 years ago we were at just 66 percent.

Tremendous improvement over the last 3 decades.

Vehicle safety

Also, vehicle safety developments and improved safety technologies are helping to keep us

safer on the road.

We estimate these safety improvements saved more than 600,000 lives between 1960 and 2012.

Conclusion

As NHTSA's marks its 50th year, and as we look to the next 50, our work continues to

build on successful traffic safety programs and to find new ways to drive down traffic

deaths even further.

Let's work together to continue making progress.

Whether you’re a driver, pedestrian, bicyclist or motorcyclist — you play a critical role

in making our roads safer.

Learn more about risky driving, road safety, and other traffic safety information at NHTSA.gov.