National Passenger Safety Week, January 21 - 28, 2024

U.S. roadway deaths are rising again at an alarming rate. People are still driving recklessly. Drunk, drugged and distracted driving are on the rise. Just telling people to drive safely isn’t enough. We need to do more. We can do more! Passengers need to play a more active role in their own safety and that of others.

That is why We Save Lives and the National Road Safety Foundation launched The National Passenger Safety Campaign, to bring together other organizations that believe that it’s time to focus on the passenger, and not just the driver. The goal is to promote safe driving practices and prevent unsafe ones by empowering passengers to “SPEAK UP” when their lives are in danger due to a reckless driver. So far more than 60 other organizations have joined the coalition, with more to come.

In 2023, the National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) added the campaign to their national calendar. National Passenger Safety Week is now an ongoing event, the last week in January of every year.

Passengers can make a difference, because “one courageous voice can change one deadly choice.”

Statistics show that in 2020

~16%

of all traffic fatalities were passengers in vehicles.

24%

of deaths in passenger vehicles (cars, SUVs, pickups, vans, and minivans) were passengers.

6,275

vehicle passengers were killed in crashes.

56%

of the deaths of teenage passengers in passenger vehicles occurred in vehicles driven by another teenager. Among deaths of passengers of all ages, 15% occurred when a teenager was driving.