Getting your player ready...
The number of people killed in highway accidents dropped to 32,788 in 2010, the lowest total since 1949, according to the annual tally released today by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The 3 percent decrease from 2009 was recorded even as the nation’s drivers put nearly 21 billion more miles on their odometers in 2010 than the previous year. The number of deaths has declined by nearly 25 percent since 2005, NHTSA said.
“The recession is still a little bit of a factor,” said Barbara Harsha, executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association, “but the big reasons are programs aimed at driver behavior, safer vehicles and safer roads.”
