The number of roadway fatalities in the state this year could surpass the 2024 levels, after two consecutive years of decline, Missouri Department of Transportation officials have reported.
As a result, MoDOT has issued an urgent call for Missourians to use safe driving practices heading into the holiday and winter season in the hopes that educating the public about safer driving will keep fatality numbers on a downward trend.
According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, traffic-related deaths in the state have gone up and down in the last two decades. Traffic deaths remained under 1,000 from 2007 to 2020, but in 2021, the number increased to 1,013, and in 2022 it increased again to 1,057.
The number dropped back under 1,000 again in 2023 to 989. In 2024, the total decreased further, to 955 traffic-related deaths.
However, MoDOT is concerned that the trend of lower traffic fatalities may not continue in 2025.
As of Oct. 26, 745 people had died on Missouri roadways this year, according to Missouri Highway Patrol data. That number is just 1 percent lower than the number of traffic deaths at the same point last year, and typically, road fatalities spike from October through December, during holiday travel and winter weather.
In 2024, 344 fatalities occurred between Sept. 1 and Dec. 31, and MoDOT officials contend that if current patterns continue through the 2025 holiday travel season, Missouri could surpass last year’s fatality numbers, ending the streak of progress in roadway safety.
“We’ve made great progress in reducing fatalities each of the last two years, but in the last few months, that progress has slowed significantly,” said MoDOT state highway safety and traffic engineer Jon Nelson.
According to highway patrol data, Jefferson County traffic fatalities have generally followed the state fatality trends until this year. In 2020, there were 39 fatalities in the county, followed by two years of increases, with 45 in 2021 and 43 in 2022.
Jefferson County then saw the same two-year reduction in fatalities in 2023 and 2024, with 24 and 26, respectively. However, this year, the county already has surpassed the number of fatalities in 2024, with 28 fatalities so far in 2025.
That number includes four deaths that occurred on Sept. 28 in the construction zone on I-55.
Of the vehicle occupants killed this year in traffic accidents around the state, 58 percent were unbuckled. Distracted driving is also a leading cause of crashes in Missouri, MoDOT reported.
Buckle Up Phone Down
MoDOT is promoting safe driving practices known to reduce crashes and fatalities through its “Buckle Up Phone Down” campaign, which celebrated its ninth year on Oct. 29. The campaign highlights personal responsibility for drivers to buckle up and pay attention to the road.
“Since launching BUPD, we’ve seen tremendous strides in the form of increased seat belt usage and a decreased percentage of unbuckled fatalities,” said Nelson. “But distracted and aggressive driving remain dire concerns. These next few months of increased holiday travel and potential winter conditions are a reminder of how crucial it is to stay alert behind the wheel.”
MoDOT held a series of events on Oct. 28-29 in different locations around the state, including in Chesterfield, Columbia, Lee’s Summit, and Springfield, to share information about efforts to combat roadway fatalities.
In addition to buckling up and paying attention, MoDOT also urges people to drive sober, slow down and pay extra attention in construction zones.
According to MoDOT’s website, not only do buckling up and putting the phone down save lives, but so do safer roads, better lighting and smart speed management, which prevent crashes before they happen.
Some of MoDOT’s key priorities for its saving BUPD campaign include speed management strategies, like using raised medians, high-friction surface treatments and speed feedback signs; improving pedestrian lighting standards; and implementing automated speed enforcement with speed cameras in work zones and other high-risk areas.
Show-Me Zero
MoDOT and the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety (MCRS) are promoting a strategic highway safety plan called Show-Me Zero that outlines the state’s plan for implementing strategies most effective at mitigating the behaviors and issues most commonly associated with fatal and serious injury crashes in Missouri.
Show-Me Zero strives to eliminate all traffic fatalities, and officials hope to attain that goal by using the three E’s of roadway safety – engineering, education and enforcement. Engineering involves designing safer road infrastructure and adding pavement markings, signs and guardrails; education promotes safe behaviors by drivers, cyclists and pedestrians; and enforcement involves upholding traffic laws to discourage unsafe actions, such as increasing ticketing for speeding, using handheld cell phones, running red lights or not wearing seat belts.
Missouri began enforcing a law at the beginning of the year that made it illegal to use a cell phone or hand-held device while driving.
Motorcycle safety
Officials note an alarming trend when it comes to motorcycle fatalities, which have been rising drastically since the August 2020 change in state law that allows motorcyclists older than 26 with health insurance to ride without a helmet.
According to the MCRS, motorcycle deaths accounted for 118 of the traffic-related fatalities in the state in 2020.
It then rose to 159 in 2021, 153 in 2022 and 172 in 2023. In 2024, that number fell to 138, the lowest number of fatalities since the state repealed its helmet law, but still accounting for 15 percent of all traffic fatalities in the state.
MCRS notes a 38 percent increase in the likelihood of death if a motorcycle rider is not wearing a helmet.
The coalition advises motorists to help protect motorcyclists by always paying attention and looking twice for motorcyclists, as they are more susceptible to being hidden in a vehicle’s blind spots or being overlooked.
The coalition also advises motorists against trying to share a lane with a motorcyclist but instead allowing the motorcyclist a full lane width.
The coalition also urges motorcyclists to stay safe by always wearing a helmet, committing to ride at appropriate speeds and never operating a motorcycle while under the influence of alcohol or other drugs.
For more information, visit the MCRS website at SaveMOLives.com, call MoDOT at 888-ASK-MODOT (275-6636) or visit modot.org.
In addition, holiday drivers may plan their trips ahead of time with MoDOT’s Traveler Information Map at traveler.modot.org, where they can find current work zones, closures and incidents.