AppId is over the quota
By Todd Spangler/USA TODAY and Detroit Free Press
Federal analysts expect to report later this year that traffic fatalities in the U.S. for 2011 were the lowest yearly total on record, down nearly 2% from 2010.
While the final official tally is not yet finished, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has released a preliminary report estimating that 32,310 people died on the nation's highways last year. That's down from 32,885 deaths in 2010.
If the 2011 projection holds when actual fatalities are reported later this year, the number will be the fewest since records started being kept in 1949.
The number of traffic fatalities has fallen steadily in recent years -- down from 43,510 in 2005. The fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles of travel has dropped also, 1.46 in 2005 to 1.11 in 2010. The rate is expected to be an even lower 1.09 for 2011.
The number of projected fatalities dropped or held steady in every region of the country as well, except for one: California and Arizona, where fatalities were projected to increase by 3.3%.
NHTSA's report with actual numbers of fatalities from 2011 is likely in the fall.
