Traffic deaths and serious accidents in D.C. are substantially down compared to this time a year ago, according to District officials.
City officials said they are convinced their traffic safety messages are getting through to drivers, and people behind the wheel are paying attention.
Nine people have died, and that includes drivers, passengers and pedestrians in vehicle crashes in D.C. through the end of June, that compares to 29 for the same period a year ago.
Two people have died on D.C. roads in the month of July, bringing the yearly total so far to 11, still well behind 2024’s 33 to date.
Charlie Willson runs D.C.’s Vision Zero program, which has a goal of reducing traffic deaths to zero.
“Each of those fatalities is a life lost and a family tragically broken up. But it does represent an improvement, because at this time, at midpoint last year, in 2024, we were at 29 fatalities,” he said. “In calendar year 2025, we’re seeing a decrease in both major injuries and fatalities. If trends continue, 2025 will be the fourth consecutive year we’ve seen a decrease in major injuries to folks traveling on our roadways.”
Willson said he believes after seeing traffic deaths soar nationally and locally after the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s now less reckless driving and people are getting the message about drunken driving and texting while driving.
There’s also more enforcement.
“I would attribute some of the success to the effects and effectiveness of the automated camera safety program,” he said. “People’s driving behavior is absolutely a huge factor in traffic safety, but it’s also showing us the effects of all of the different cumulative safety interventions that we’ve been doing.”
Meanwhile, according to a National Safety Council preliminary estimate released earlier this year, preventable traffic deaths in the U.S. in 2024 reached 44,680. This represents a slight decrease of less than 1% compared to 2023, with only 82 fewer deaths, and the Chicago-based safety organization said the crisis on U.S. roadways continues with little improvement.
“There is still critical work needed to make our roadways safer,” Mark Chung, executive vice president of safety leadership and advocacy at NSC, said in a release. “Without significant changes, potential danger will continue to pose ongoing risks to the millions of Americans who rely on our roads daily. We must make new commitments to support safer conditions for all road users to ensure everyone makes it home safely.”
The NSC said in 2024, six states and D.C. experienced increases of 10% or more in motor vehicle fatalities from the previous year: Maine was up 38%; California showed an increase of 34%; Alaska notched up 23%; Oklahoma saw deaths increase by 21%; Minnesota’s jump was up 14%; New Jersey was up 12% and D.C. saw an 11% increase.
However, 10 states saw decreases of 10% or more.
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