At least 659 people died in traffic collisions in Washington State in 2025, a shockingly large number that is made even more shocking when considering that it was the lowest traffic death count the state has seen since 2020. Washington still has a bit to go to return to levels seen in the 2010s, which were typically in the 500s, and far further still to approach its goal of zero. But the preliminary data released Tuesday by the Washington Traffic Safety Commission (“WTSC”) is a promising sign that last year’s death count reversal was not a fluke but rather the start of a downward trend after years of horrifying increases that began in 2021.
“It is a relief to see fewer people killed in 2024 and 2025. But our goal is zero. One person killed is too many,” said WTSC Director Shelly Baldwin in a press release about the new data. “The ‘fatal four’ high-risk behaviors – impairment, speed, distraction, and lack of seat belt use – are involved in most of our traffic fatalities.”
This is genuinely good news. For folks who care deeply about safe streets, seeing the total climb each year was devastating. It felt as though larger trends outside our control, such as the prevalence of SUVs designed with impeded sight lines and pedestrian-killing front ends, were outpacing any safety efforts people could make in their own communities.
Every single datapoint on this dashboard was a person with a community of loved ones. These were mothers and teachers and artists, and each of their deaths shattered their communities.
From 2016 through 2019, 1,058 people were killed in collisions involving an impaired driver (~265/year). From 2020 through 2023, that number jumped to 1,459 (~365/year). In 2025, the number was down to 297, still higher than the 2010s average but a significant reduction nonetheless. Perhaps this is the year the .05 BAC law finally gets through the legislature (it passed the state Senate earlier this year but failed to get a vote in the House). There’s only so much a traffic safety program can do when there is such a stark and sudden increase in people driving cars through their communities while intoxicated, and it’s difficult when you’re in the moment to know whether awful trends like these are temporary or permanent.
Younger people (15–24) had a slightly safer year than usual in 2025, making up 17% of traffic deaths compared to the usual 18% (keep going!). People over 70, however, has their worst year on record, making up 16% of traffic deaths, up from a more typical 13%. It’s only one year of data so this could be due to randomness, but the fact that these percentages are so close together should be setting off alarm bells in every transportation agency. Young people have always been over-represented in traffic death data, and this is especially true for younger men. It is horrifying to think that the over-70 age group might be joining them. We have built so many communities that all but require everyone to drive a car if they want to leave their homes, and we have so few resources to help people as they age out of driving. Older people are far more vulnerable when walking and are over-represented in pedestrian death counts. Car-centric communities simply do not offer their older residents any good options, and as the Boomers get older this problem could get a lot worse over the next couple decades if we don’t take serious action on safe street redesigns and quality access to non-driving mobility like transit.
Deaths while bicycling (12) was down slightly from the 10-year average (14), and despite all the recent attention about the dangers of e-motos, deaths while motorcycling (103) were on par with the 10-year average (101). These numbers aren’t clear enough to say people shouldn’t worry about e-motos (especially when ridden by kids too young for a license), but there are other trends that are clearly visible in the data but are not getting the attention from policy makers that they need. The state’s pedestrian fatality rate is forest fire compared to the e-moto brush fire. You gotta send a crew to put out the brush fire, but a forest fire requires a state of emergency.
The goal from here forward is not to return to some pre-pandemic “normal” because not only was that still way too high, but our state’s travel patterns will be permanently different than they were before. The over-70 population is, well, booming, and work from home is here to stay at least in some capacity. Our state’s largest population centers keep building more high capacity transit service and better-connected bike routes, which provides more flexibility when making transportation decisions. It feels like we have been in emergency response mode for a half decade as traffic death metrics spiked in many different directions, and perhaps we can start to transition that mindset toward building toward an better future for transportation in Washington. It’s not about getting back to the way things were, it’s about getting somewhere better than it’s ever been even if Republicans at the federal level are pushing in the opposite direction both in terms of funding policy and car regulation policy. Though hey, maybe the oil crisis they caused will accidentally lead to a reduction in driving and in traffic deaths. Fingers crossed.
Below is a press release from the WTSC:
Washington experienced a 33-year high in traffic deaths in 2023, when 809 people were killed in motor-vehicle collisions. According to preliminary 2025 data, there were 659 traffic fatalities, which represented a 10.5 percent decrease from 2024, and an 18 percent decrease from 2023.
“These fatalities remain above pre-pandemic counts, but it is encouraging to see this decrease,” said Dr. Staci Hoff, Research and Data Director at the Washington Traffic Safety Commission (WTSC).
“There were reductions across almost all behaviors and populations, with the exception of older drivers (70+) involved in fatal crashes, which reached another all-time high of 112 in 2025,” Dr. Hoff added.
The WTSC cautions that the new data are preliminary and subject to change. Data on alcohol and drug impairment, in particular, are likely to change as additional toxicology results become available. According to available information, alcohol was the most common impairing drug, found in 57% of impaired drivers, followed by cannabis (delta-9 THC, 22%) and methamphetamine (8%).
One of the most disturbing trends has been the high number of pedestrian deaths. 2023 saw an all-time high number of pedestrians killed (160 deaths). These numbers remain high, with 2024 and 2025 representing the second and third highest annual fatality numbers, with 158 and 148 pedestrians killed, respectively.
Still, there are welcome signs of improvement in safety on Washington roads. Among other vulnerable road users, 2024 and 2025 each saw 12 bicyclist deaths, down from a peak of 17 in 2023. After increasing dramatically, motorcyclist deaths have fallen from 142 in 2023, to 113 in 2024 and 103 last year.
The number of fatalities involving a speeding driver fell from 270 in 2023 to 189 in 2025. Fatalities involving a distracted driver also declined from 136 to 103.
Young drivers, ages 15-24, are disproportionately involved in serious and fatal crashes, yet the number of fatalities involving a young driver also decreased from 235 to 170 deaths.
“It is a relief to see fewer people killed in 2024 and 2025. But our goal is zero. One person killed is too many,” said WTSC Director Shelly Baldwin. “The ‘fatal four’ high-risk behaviors – impairment, speed, distraction, and lack of seat belt use – are involved in most of our traffic fatalities. As we approach the summer months, when we traditionally see traffic fatalities increase, I want to implore everyone on our roadways to drive sober, follow the speed limit, stay focused, and buckle up,” Baldwin said.
For more information, you can find preliminary 2025 data, as well as traffic fatality data for Washington during the last decade (2016-2025) at: Data Dashboards – Washington Traffic Safety Commission.