Traffic fatality figures have not been this low since 1954, falling for the 15th straight quarter

, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. In addition, the fatality rate, which takes into account the number of miles traveled, was at the lowest level ever recorded.

"This is exciting news, but there are still far too many people dying in traffic accidents," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "Drivers need to keep their hands on the steering wheel and their focus on the road in order to stay safe."

For 2009, the highway death count was at 33,963, down 8.9 percent from 2008, when 37,261 deaths were reported. The fatality rate for 2009 fell to 1.16 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, down from 1.25 fatalities per 100 million VMT in 2008.

"This continuing decline in highway deaths is encouraging, but our work is far from over," said David Strickland, National Highway Traffic Safety administrator. "We want to see those numbers drop further. We will not stop as long as there are still lives lost on our nation's highways. We must continue our efforts to ensure seat belts are always used and stay focused on reducing distracted and impaired driving."

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration attributes the decline in 2009 to a combination of factors including high visibility campaigns like "Click It or Ticket" to increase seat belt use, and "Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest," which helps with the enforcement of state laws to prevent drunk driving and distracted driving. In addition, the drop is also the result of safer roads, safer vehicles and motorists driving less.

NHTSA annually collects crash statistics from the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico to produce annual reports on traffic fatality trends.

To view the preliminary fatality statistics visit http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811291.PDF.