WASHINGTON — U.S. traffic deaths fell 8.2% in the first half of the year, the lowest number since 2020, officials said on Tuesday.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said 17,140 people were killed in vehicle crashes through June 30, down from 18,680 deaths during the year-ago period.

U.S. road deaths jumped dramatically during the 2020 COVID pandemic and remained elevated for years, sparking calls to address the public health crisis. The fatality rate in the first six months of the year is the lowest since 2014.

“These preliminary figures are encouraging,” NHTSA Chief Counsel Peter Simshauser said in a statement. “But even as we see progress, these numbers are far too high, and we remain focused on reducing traffic fatalities even further.”

Traffic deaths fell 3.8% in 2024 to below 40,000 for the first time since 2020.

As U.S. roads became less crowded during the pandemic, some motorists perceived police as less likely to issue tickets, experts said, resulting in riskier driving. Some drivers were also more likely to drive while being impaired by alcohol or drugs consumed at home during the pandemic.

The U.S. fatality rate rose much higher than for other developed nations during the pandemic.

Congress approved $5 billion over five years as part of a $1 trillion 2021 infrastructure law to address road safety.

U.S. traffic deaths jumped 10.8% in 2021 to 43,230, the most in a single year since 2005. Pedestrians and cyclists killed on American roads rose to the highest number in more than four decades.

A 2023 NHTSA study found crashes directly cost taxpayers $30 billion, and society as a whole $340 billion. When quality-of-life valuations were included, the total cost to society ran to $1.37 trillion – equivalent to 1.6% of U.S. economic output.

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(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chris Reese and Richard Chang)