Road fatalities projected to drop to all-time low this year

The number of Americans killed in traffic crashes is expected to reach a record decline this year, with early projections from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration showing an almost 10% drop in highway deaths during the first 10 months of 2008.

Early estimates indicate 31,110 people perished on the nation's roads from January to October compared to 34,502 in the same 10-month period last year.

"Our focus on safety–from our highways, railways, seaways and airways–has led to one of the safest periods in our nation's transportation history," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, who announced the early numbers Dec. 18 in Kansas City, Mo. "Every American can be more confident than ever they will arrive at their destination safe and sound."

This is the first year in which NHTSA has been able to project fatality figures prior to the end of the calendar year. Using new electronic data-gathering techniques, the administration is working to make projections in near real-time to give safety professionals the data they need to keep motorists safe, Peters said.

This year's numbers are on pace to be the lowest traffic fatality figures since the government began tracking them in 1966. They come at a time when Americans have significantly reduced the amount they drive in response to an economic recession and record-high gasoline prices this past summer. The Federal Highway Administration has reported 12 straight months of year-over-year declines in the number of vehicle miles traveled by Americans.