Effects of changes in travel patterns on highway fatalities

This paper estimates the number of deaths that may have been avoided in 1995 because of changes in selected travel patterns during the period from 1969 to 1995 in the US. Four travel patterns are considered, including distributions of travel between urban and rural areas, between interstates and other roadways, between night and day time hours, and between female and male drivers. At the 1995 mobility level, changes in the selected travel patterns during the period from 1969 to 1995 may have avoided up to 9970 deaths in 1995 alone. These deaths avoided represent over 12% of the total number of deaths avoided in 1995 as a result of overall improvements in highway safety during the same period in this country.