Mixed News On Highway Safety

Traffic Death Rate Hits New Low, But Number Of Fatalities Increases

(AP) 
Deaths of drivers and passengers in sport utility vehicle rose 4.9 percent, though it was not clear how many more SUVs were on the road last year. Rollover fatalities in these popular vehicles increased 6.9 percent, while SUV rollover injuries dropped 3 percent.

The number of deaths dropped 2.4 percent for people in passenger cars and fell 2 percent for pickup trucks. Among large trucks, the number of people killed grew 3.7 percent.

Jacqueline Gillan, vice president for watchdog group Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, called the results "bad news for the American public."

"The government wants us to believe that even though more family members and friends were killed in crashes last year that things are really getting better because we spent more time driving," Gillan said. "The cold hard reality is that we are stuck in neutral."

In 2004, there were more vehicles registered — 235.4 million — and they drove more miles — 2.92 trillion.

Fatal crashes involving drivers between the ages of 16 to 20 increased slightly, from 7,353 in 2003 to 7,405.

The figures predicted the seventh straight increase for motorcycle fatalities. In 2004, 3,927 motorcyclists died, an increase of 7.3 percent over 2003.

The data released Thursday are considered projections. NHTSA plans to release final 2004 fatality figures in August. NHTSA collects crash statistics from all 50 states.