Racial and ethnic disparities in traffic deaths revealed in NHTSA report

Significant disparities exist in the U.S. traffic fatality rate per capita based on race and ethnicity, according to new federal research. The solution may lie in a safe system approach to traffic regulation, rather than a punitive approach, said officials April 6 at the World Traffic Safety Symposium in New York.

The disparity came to light in 2022 research that was the first federal examination of traffic safety in the context of race and ethnicity, said Rajesh Subramanian, director of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Traffic Records and Analysis, at the event.

In 2018, Subramanian said, 11.28 Americans per 100,000 died in traffic accidents — both in-vehicle and as pedestrians. For American Indian or Alaska Native people, the rate was 24.75; for Black or African American people, the rate was 13.47, slightly higher than the 13.31 rate for the Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander population. For White people, the rate was 10.92, slightly below the average. The fatality rate for Hispanic or Latino people was 9.44; for Asian people, it was just 3.00. To learn more about the report findings, click here.