OLYMPIA, WA – Coming off a 33-year high, deaths on Washington’s roads dropped nearly 10% last year, according to state data released Wednesday.
The state saw 731 people die in vehicle crashes in 2024, according to the Washington Traffic Safety Commission’s preliminary data. That’s down from 743 in 2022 and 809 in 2023, the most since 1990. But it’s still well above levels in the 500 range recorded annually from 2015 through 2020.
“This is obviously a welcome change to see our annual fatality numbers decline after experiencing large increases over the previous four years,” Shelly Baldwin, the commission’s director, said in a press release. Baldwin added, “We still have a lot of work to do to further reduce these historically high fatality numbers.”
Drivers impaired by drugs or alcohol were involved in about half of the fatalities, a figure that could rise as crash evidence continues to be gathered. Speeding was a factor in about one-third. Among fatalities involving fast drivers, impairment was also a factor in 62%.
A distracted driver was involved in about one-fifth. Similarly, one in five crashes involved someone not wearing a seat belt.
All of those are largely in line with trends from the past few years.
“The bottom line is that four driver behaviors contribute to at least 75% of traffic fatalities annually: impaired driving, speeding, distracted driving, and failure to wear seat belts,” said Mark McKechnie, the commission’s external relations director. “To make our roads safer, we should drive sober, at safe speeds, without distractions, and buckle up. And we should encourage those we care about to do the same.”
Most of those who died were car drivers or motorcyclists, but pedestrians and bicyclists made up 168 of the 731 deaths. That’s down slightly from a record 177 the year prior.
Motorcyclist deaths dropped about 20%, from 142 in 2023 to 113 last year.
In response to a post-pandemic jump in crash deaths, Washington state lawmakers have looked for solutions.
Starting in January, the state upped the penalties for drivers who hurt or kill pedestrians, cyclists and other more vulnerable travelers. Washington also now has speed cameras in roadwork zones in an attempt to slow drivers down.
Lawmakers have discussed reducing the legal limit for driving drunk from 0.08% to 0.05%, a move only Utah has accomplished. But that ambitious policy has failed to gain traction.
This year, however, legislators approved measures to require innovative speed-limiting devices for habitual speeders, starting in 2029, and mandate driver’s education to get a license for those up to age 21, increased from the current 18. Drivers between the ages of 15 and 24 were involved in about a quarter of last year’s traffic deaths.
The traffic safety commission recently awarded grants to the cities of Aberdeen and Kent to pay for a new officer in each department focused solely on impaired drivers.
The commission attributed some of the drop in traffic deaths to increased police enforcement efforts that dropped off during the pandemic. More and more cities are implementing speed cameras, especially in school zones and other places where more pedestrians travel.
The state Department of Transportation has also pushed heavily in recent years to build roundabouts at problematic intersections in the hopes of slowing traffic.
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