Just under 33,000 people died in traffic accidents in the U.S. in 2010, according to recently released data from the U.S. Department of Transportation. At the same time, the number of total miles driven rose by 1.6 percent, with Americans driving an estimated 46 billion miles during the year. In total, there were 1.10 fatalities for every 100 million vehicle miles driven in 2010, which is a decline from 2009 when there were 1.15 deaths per 100 million miles driven.

The 2010 fatalities mark the lowest number of traffic deaths on U.S. roads since 1949. The highest fatality rate on record occurred in 1972, when more than 54,000 people were killed in car accidents in Arizona and throughout the U.S. Since then, the fatality rate has been on the general decline, although it has ebbed and flowed along with changes in traffic laws and other events.

There are several reasons for the drop in fatalities that continued into 2010. There have been significant innovations in vehicle safety features such as rollover prevention, as well as insistent public campaigns to encourage safe driving behaviors. In addition, changes to the laws regarding drunk and distracted driving and teenage driver's licenses have removed some of the most dangerous drivers from the roads.

According to transportation officials, there are other reasons for such a decline that have little to do with vehicles or traffic safety. In 2008, at the start of the economic recession, traffic deaths dropped by nearly 10 percent. This was because fewer people were traveling to jobs, reducing the possibility that they would be involved in fatal car accidents.

Source: CNN, "Traffic deaths trended down again in 2010, says DOT," Mike M. Ahlers, Dec. 8, 2011