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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Federal officials project Massachusetts had the country's lowest traffic death rate in 2023.
An estimated 348 people died on Massachusetts roads last year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a report. That marked an almost 20 percent decrease from 2022's total.
Traffic fatalities nationwide decreased to 42,514 in 2022.
“It’s encouraging to see traffic deaths coming down, but they remain at a level no American should accept," said AAA spokesperson Mark Schieldrop in a press release. "We can’t let this level of carnage become the new normal."
No year in the decade before 2021 recorded more than 40,000 traffic deaths, according to AAA Northeast.
Read More: Boston Area Highway Traffic Volumes Are Back To Pre-Pandemic Levels
The NHTSA report said some types of fatalities became more common in 2022 despite downward trends overall.
Motorcyclist deaths increased 1.2 percent nationwide.
Pedestrian fatalities in hit-and-run crashes increased 4.3 percent.
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