Motor vehicle crashes are viewed mainly as a transportation and mobility issue, which is why deaths and serious injuries are compared using transportation-oriented measures such as the number of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) or the type of facility.
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in 2015, Virginia ranks 11th lowest in the nation (tied with Hawaii and Wisconsin) on deaths per 100 million VMT.2 Overall reductions in the rate of fatalities and serious injuries can be attributed, in part, to increased vehicle miles traveled, which has leveled out in the last few years