Featured Tesla Q2 2024 Safety report:

If you look at the chart labeled Deaths and MV rates 1913-2022,

Historical Car Crash Deaths and Rates - Injury Facts

The lowest one was in 2014 at 1.17. When went back to the numbers before the 2010.

 

The whole 2009-2014 span established a new bar for what safety we can achieve.

... then something(s) started breaking. It didn't seem to be the cars themselves, their crash safety tests and scores continued to improve.

... then the Pandemic hit, and things got even worse.

 

Perhaps widespread use of smart phones...while driving

Mike

 

Level 2 ADAS adoption started taking off in that time frame.
A History of ADAS: Emergence to Essential | IDTechEx Research Article
Same with smart phones.
Demographics of Mobile Device Ownership and Adoption in the United States | Pew Research Center

So we have more phones to entice drivers away from driving, and the spread of car features that could enable to do so at the same time.