The U.S. Transportation Department said on Thursday it is awarding $1 billion for a series of projects aimed at reducing traffic crashes, as road deaths remain sharply higher than pre-pandemic levels.
The department separately on Thursday estimated that 18,720 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes in the first six months of 2024, down 3.2% over 19,330 deaths in the first half of 2023.
While traffic fatalities have declined for nine straight quarters, they remain sharply higher than prepandemic levels, when just over 17,000 people were killed in the first half of 2019.
Among the