Highway deaths dropped in 1999, including fatalities in crashes involving large trucks, Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater announced Monday.

There were 41,375 people killed on American highways in 1999, down from 41,471 the year before. That marked an all-time low rate of 1.5 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles driven, down from 1.6 a year earlier and the third consecutive year of decline.
By comparison, the highway death rate was 5.5 per million vehicle miles in 1966.
Fatalities in crashes involving large trucks dropped from 5,374 in 1998 to 5,203 in 1999.
The American Trucking Assns. said the second consecutive annual drop in large truck crash fatalities is the result of an aggressive effort by professional truck drivers and motor carriers to make our highways safer.
"While not a surprise, this is great news for our professional truck drivers and our motor carriers," said Walter B. McCormick Jr., ATA President and CEO. "Safety is the highest priority for our members and we will continue working to reduce these numbers even further."