Most traffic fatalities occur within 25 miles of home and below 40 mph.

• A. True
• B. False
• C. Cannot determine
• D. Sometimes

Answer: (A)

Most fatal crashes happen where people drive the most: close to home and on roads with slower speeds. Because you spend the majority of your driving time in local, everyday trips, the exposure is highest there. Local and suburban streets, with speed limits under 40 mph, have a lot of interaction points—intersections, turns, pedestrians, cyclists—which increases the chance of crashes occurring. While crashes at very high speeds on rural highways tend to be more deadly per incident, they happen less often simply because people spend less time on those roads. The larger volume of local, slower-speed driving leads to more fatalities in that near-home, under-40 mph category, so the statement is true.