(This post was inspired by an article in The Infrastructurist.)

Here’s good news! Our roadways are safer than they've been in a long time. During the five years between 2005 and 2009, traffic-related deaths dropped 22%. That’s the steepest decline over a similar period since 1913, the first year road safety statistics were recorded.

This information comes from the December 2010 issue of Traffic Injury Prevention by Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle. The two are researchers at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute.

Why have the numbers improved so dramatically? The report cites better traffic laws and the increasingly effective safety technology that’s built into today’s vehicles as two of the main reasons.

A quick look at some of the numbers:

• Fatal accidents – Down 13%
• Fatalities among drivers – Down 15%
• Fatalities among occupants – Down 17%
• Fatalities among non-motorists – Down 10%