New Data On Fatal Illinois Traffic Crashes Released By Feds

ILLINOIS — The number of traffic deaths in Illinois did not change between 2024 and 2025, according to preliminary data released by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Overall, traffic deaths fell to record lows last year, according to the DOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

With an estimated 36,640 traffic deaths in 2025, a 6.7 percent decline from 2024, the nation saw its lowest traffic fatality rate in recorded history, at 1.10 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled.

Illinois saw 1,177 traffic deaths in 2025. There were also 1,177 deaths the year prior, according to the DOT. The fatality rate last year was 1.12 per 100 million vehicle miles traveled.

NHTSA estimates that fatalities decreased in 39 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico in 2025. Preliminary Federal Highway Administration 2025 data shows that vehicle miles traveled had increased by about 29.8 billion miles, or about 0.9 percent.

NHTSA also recently released its annual traffic fatality data for 2024, which showed drunken driving fatalities. Of the 1,177 fatal crashes in 2024 in Illinois, 338, or 29 percent, were alcohol-related, according to the agency’s data.

The NHTSA also announced that April has been declared National Distracted Driving Awareness Month. From April 6-13, the “Put the Phone Away or Pay” stepped-up law enforcement campaign will remind the public of the financial, legal, and even deadly consequences of driving distracted.

Eighteen people are injured every half hour in distracted driving crashes, and one person is killed about every 2.5 hours, according to the NHTSA.