1993 Highway Death Rate at All-Time Low
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WASHINGTON — The nation’s highway death rate fell to an all-time low last year, only the second time in three decades that fewer than 40,000 people have been killed on the roads.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the 1993 death rate was 1.7 fatalities for every 100 million vehicle miles of travel. A vehicle mile is one vehicle traveling one mile.
Total highway deaths for 1993 were 39,850, the agency said. That was up from 39,235 in 1992, but the death rate fell because of an increase in driving.
The motor vehicle accident rate has been calculated since 1921, when it was 24 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles.
The department estimated that alcohol use was involved in about 44% of fatal accidents, down from 45.1% a year earlier.
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