The motor vehicle fatality reports for 2024 are in, and the North Dakota Department of Transportation is reporting the lowest numbers of fatalities in over two decades. In 2024, 89 people lost their lives on the state’s roadways, that’s down from 106 fatalities in 2023.
Safety Public Information Program Manager Lauren Wahlman says there could be a few reasons why the numbers are going down.
"We had a primary seatbelt law go into effect in August of 2023. We're also seeing a large decrease in our impaired driving/alcohol related crashes. We had 19 fatalities that were alcohol related in our preliminary data for 2024, which is a decrease from 33 in 2023. That could be more people using rideshare services like Uber and Lyft and just starting to take impaired driving more seriously."
21 fatalities in 2024 were speed-related, 57 fatal crashes involved lane departures, 17 fatalities were motorcyclists, and 5 pedestrian deaths were recorded.
Wahlman says the total numbers are down, but there is still a lot of work to do, especially in seatbelt use.
"We're seeing an improvement, but still about half of our fatal crashes are unbelted."
Wahlman says 2025 is on track be another lower fatality year, with crash numbers so far being similar to last year’s at this point.