The National Safety Council says we’re headed for the lowest annual rate of traffic deaths ever recorded. It attributes that to people not being able to drive as much because of the lousy economy.
From January through October, about 29,450 people were killed in motor vehicles, down 10 percent from the same time last year. That’s a rate of 11.5 deaths per 100,000 people, also down 10 percent.
Miles traveled will be about the same as in 2008 because the economy was just as bad then, so that can’t be the only explanation for fewer deaths. The Council also says improved safety features in cars, and greater visibility and enforcement of traffic safety laws likely had something to do with it.
