Public HealthHealth PolicyInjury PreventionPopulation HealthTransportTransportationMotor Vehicle Injury PreventionRoad SafetyTraffic Injury PreventionTraffic SafetyTransport SafetyTransportation SafetyDamage To Motor VehiclesDeath Rate AnalysisMotor Vehicle Crash Injury PreventionMotor Vehicle Crash PreventionRoad Traffic CrashesRoad Traffic Injury EpidemiologyRoad Traffic Injury RiskVehicle Safety
The reduction of the rate of death attributable to motor-vehicle crashes in the United States represents the successful public health response to a great technologic advance of the 20th century-the motorization of America. Six times as many people drive today as in 1925, and the number of motor vehicles in the country has increased 11-fold since then to approximately 215 million. The number of miles traveled in motor vehicles is 10 times higher than in the mid-1920s. Despite this steep increase in motor-vehicle travel, the annual death rate has declined from 18 per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in 1925 to 1.7 per 100 million VMT in 1997-a 90% decrease.