New Fatality Counts from NHTSA

Early Estimate of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities in 2015 A statistical projection of traffic fatalities for 2015 shows that an estimated 35,200 people died in motor vehicle traf­fic crashes. This represents an increase of about 7.7 percent as compared to the 32,675 fatalities that were reported to have occurred in 2014. If these projec­tions are realized, fatalities will be at the highest level since 2008, when 37,423 fatalities were reported. Preliminary data reported by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) shows that vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in 2015 increased by about 107.2 billion miles, or about a 3.5-percent increase. The fatality rate for 2015 increased to 1.12 fatalities per 100 million VMT, up from 1.08 fatalities per 100 million VMT in 2014.