The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that traffic fatalities dropped to their lowest level in a half century in 2008, not because of safe driving, but because of the deepest recession in generations.
The number of deaths: 37,261 (the smallest tally since 1961).
Good news? Hardly. But it’s the bittersweet reality on America’s highways, where economic downturns coincide with fewer crash-related deaths, particularly among the nation’s youngest drivers.
