25th Annual Highway Report: Urban Fatality Rate

The urban fatality rate measures fatalities on all urban arterials in the state.

The nation’s urban highway fatality rate worsened slightly from 0.77 in 2016 to 0.78 in 2018, (Table 19, Urban Fatality Rate Per 100 Million Vehicle-Miles, 2018, Figure  14). The urban fatality rate has increased over the last several years after a decades-long downward trend. While there is no one cause, distracted driving appears to be the biggest contributor. In 2018, 10,777 urban fatalities were reported, more than the 9,917 urban fatalities reported in 2016, as urban VMT (vehicle-miles of travel) increased to 1.31 trillion from 1.29 trillion in 2016. There were more urban fatalities in 2018 than in any year since 2007.

For 2016, Maine reported the lowest urban fatality rate, 0.14, while New Mexico reported the highest, 1.58. Twenty-seven states reported an increase in their urban fatality rates compared to 2016, led by Mississippi, Alaska, and Idaho, which worsened 1.06, 0.5 and 0.38 points, respectively.

Twenty-three states saw their fatality rate decrease, led by Wyoming, Kansas, and Montana, which improved by 0.63, 0.48, and 0.32 points, respectively.

Urban Highway Fatality Rate (Per 100 Million Vehicle-Miles Traveled)