Traffic deaths hit new low, but the question remains why: Motoramic Dash

Deaths on American roads last year hit their lowest level since 1949, with 32,310 drivers, passengers, riders and pedestrians killed, a drop of 1.6 percent from 2010 according to new federal data. Even accounting for a drop in miles driven, government researchers say the roads grew safer last year. What researchers can't quite answer yet is why, but there are a few strong leads.

This picture from Flickr user gtall1 of a 2010 crash in Beverly Hills, Calif., offers one explanation. No one was injured in this crash, in part because new vehicles such as this Subaru Outback have more robust safety features than ever before, from multiple airbags to roofs that don't crush when rolled over. An even bigger lifesaver may be the onset of electronic stability controls, now standard in all new vehicles, that have been shown to drastically help drivers avoid crashes in the first place. (A majority of car crashes involve just one vehicle).

The total given by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration didn't include a breakdown among types of crashes; in years past, fatalities from passenger cars and trucks have dropped while deaths from motorcycles and pedestrians have risen. Given the onset of states repealing helmet laws, it's a safe bet those trends continued. The lower number also raises a few questions about the furor over distracted driving: If distraction remains at "epidemic levels" as officials such as U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has said, it's not showing up in the data.