Four preventable driver decisions, not mechanical failure, poor weather, or random circumstance, sit behind the overwhelming majority of the 39,254 traffic deaths recorded on U.S. roads in 2024, according to a new analysis of federal crash data from Postman Law. A failure to wear a seatbelt or helmet was documented in 10,280 driver fatalities, meaning it was a factor in 41.7% of all driver deaths in 2024, the single largest share of any behavioral category examined. Fatality rates per mile traveled run roughly 1.5 times higher on rural roads than in urban areas nationally, a pattern the report says explains much of the geographic clustering. When fatality rates are measured against vehicle miles traveled rather than population alone, the picture shifts only slightly. “Every one of these four behaviors is something we can measure, predict, and ultimately do something about.”