Fatal Traffic Crashes In Missouri Down In 2023

According to preliminary data, 989 people lost their lives on Missouri roadways in 2023. That is a six percent decline from the previous year, when 1,057 people were killed in traffic crashes. This is the first year since 2019 that Missouri has seen a decline in the number of fatalities. Assistant to the State Highway Safety Engineer, Jon Nelson, says unfortunately nearly two-thirds of people killed in traffic crashes in 2023 were not taking the easiest precaution to keep you safe in a crash………

623 of the 989 people killed in traffic crashes in Missouri in 2023 were not buckled up. Nelson says that leaves a huge opportunity to further reduce the number of families that are forever impacted by losing a loved one as the result of a traffic crash………….

168 people lost their lives in 2023 due to an impaired driver, and over 100 were killed as the result of distracted driving, with more than half of those victims being someone other than the distracted driver. Excessive speed also was a contributing factor in a number of fatal crashes in 2023. Nelson says they urge motorists to do four simple actions, buckle up, put your phone down, slow down, and drive sober.