Maryland Reports Decade-Low Traffic Fatalities After 18% Drop in 2025
Key Takeaways
- Maryland recorded 480 traffic fatalities in 2025 — an 18% decrease from 2024 and the state’s lowest total in more than a decade.
- Pedestrian and bicyclist deaths fell 33%, while motorcycle fatalities dropped 46%, marking the largest gains among vulnerable road users.
- State officials credit data-driven safety strategies, targeted corridor investments and expanded enforcement efforts for the decline.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore announced an 18% drop in traffic fatalities statewide in 2025 compared to the year prior, marking a decade low.
According to a press release from the governor’s office, motor vehicle crash deaths fell from 582 in 2024 to 480 in 2025 — the first time fatalities have dropped below 500 since 2014. The total also ranks among Maryland’s five lowest traffic fatality counts since 1960.
State officials attributed the decline to coordinated, data-driven safety strategies.
The largest reductions were recorded among vulnerable road users. Pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities fell 33% — from 173 in 2024 to 116 in 2025 — while motorcycle deaths dropped 46%, from 90 to 48, according to the release.
The governor’s office credited these improvements to targeted investments in high-risk corridors and efforts to curb dangerous driving behaviors that contribute to serious crashes.
Maryland has expanded investments in education, enforcement and engineering through federal and state highway funding, including stronger impaired and aggressive driving enforcement, expanded automated speed enforcement, increased seat belt campaigns and community-based safety programs.
According to CBS News, the state also pushed legislation aimed at reducing speeds near work zones following a fatal crash on Interstate 695 in Baltimore County that killed six construction workers.
The administration highlighted the Maryland Department of Transportation’s (MDOT) new Complete Streets policy, which prioritizes safety for all road users. MDOT is also accelerating quick-build safety projects and investing millions in pedestrian safety improvements, the governor’s release states.
The agency recently launched its Serious About Safety initiative — a public awareness campaign encouraging drivers to buckle up, slow down, drive sober, avoid distraction and remain alert for motorcyclists, pedestrians and bicyclists.
Sources: Maryland Governor’s Office, CBS News