Consumer Protection Matters: Highway Traffic Deaths at Lowest Level in More Than 60 Years

A combination of safety factors -- safer vehicles (prompted by government rules), more seat belt use (prompted by government rules, increased enforcement, and public education), and less drunk driving (prompted by government rules, increased enforcement, and an all-out public awareness campaign) -- have come together to bring the number of highway traffic deaths, in absolute numbers, to their lowest level since 1949. That's astounding given the immense increases over the period in the number of drivers and miles driven and the increased speeds at which people drive. A triumph of government regulation that is hard to overstate. Here is the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's press release, which links to various reports and data.