Road Deaths in US Climb for Seventh Straight Quarter as Driving Increases

Traffic fatalities on US roads grew 7% in the opening three months of the year, just-released data shows, reaching the highest levels for the first quarter since 2002.

Some 9,560 people died in car crashes during the January-March period, up from 8,935 a year earlier, according to estimates released Wednesday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It marks the seventh consecutive quarterly increase in deaths on US roads dating back to the third quarter of 2020.