Alcohol-Related Highway Deaths Decline

Highway fatality rates hit a 40-year low last year, including a 2.1-percent decline in alcohol-related highway deaths, the Associated Press reported April 21.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said that while more people died on the roads in 2004 -- 42,800, up from 42,643 in 2003 -- overall deaths per mile declined from 1.48 million per 100 million vehicle miles to 1.46 million per 100 million miles. Of those who died, 56 percent failed to wear a seatbelt.

"If this many people were to die from any one disease in a single year, Americans would demand a vaccine," said Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta. "The irony is we already have the best vaccine available to reduce the death toll on our highways -- safety belts."

In 2004, there were 7,405 fatal crashes involving drivers between the ages of 16 and 20, up from 7,353 in 2003.