This report, distributed by The Gogel Law Firm, examines recently released state data showing that Missouri traffic fatalities declined for a third consecutive year in 2025.
Preliminary figures released by the Missouri Department of Transportation and the Missouri State Highway Patrol showed 911 traffic fatalities statewide in 2025, down from 955 in 2024, a 5 percent decrease. The total also reflects a 14 percent reduction compared with three years earlier, marking the state's first three-year decline in roadway deaths since 2019.
Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe joined MoDOT and highway safety partners in announcing the figures earlier this year. "While this is encouraging progress, losing more than 900 people on our roadways in one year is still far too many," Kehoe said in a statement accompanying the announcement.
Jon Nelson, MoDOT's state highway safety and traffic engineer, said the reduction did not happen by chance and credited drivers who made safer choices on the road. Nelson has said the department's ultimate goal remains reaching zero traffic fatalities statewide.
The decline has continued into 2026. MoDOT's own crash data dashboard shows 402 traffic fatalities recorded during the first two quarters of 2026, a decrease of 24 compared with the same period in 2025. The dashboard also reported 21 days without a fatal crash during the first half of 2026, including three instances of two consecutive fatality-free days.
Not every category of roadway user has improved. Bicyclist fatalities in Missouri climbed from eight in 2023 to 18 in 2024 and 25 in 2025, more than tripling over that span, while motorcyclist deaths totaled 131 in 2025. "I don't know if we've ever had that many in a single year," Nelson said of the rise in bicyclist deaths, adding that the smaller overall number of cyclist fatalities makes year-to-year swings harder to interpret than trends among pedestrians or motorcyclists.
MoDOT has also updated its Show-Me Zero plan, a statewide framework addressing traffic safety through education, enforcement, engineering, and emergency response. Nelson has said that seatbelt use remains one of the most direct ways to reduce fatalities, noting that universal seatbelt use among Missouri motorists could prevent an estimated 250 deaths per year.
Missouri law requires all drivers to carry uninsured motorist coverage, with minimum limits of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident, under the state's Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Law. That coverage allows an injured driver to pursue their own insurer when an at-fault driver carries no insurance or lacks adequate coverage.
Common contributing factors in Missouri's most serious crashes have included impaired driving and excessive speed, patterns MoDOT has tracked across recent reporting periods as part of its broader Show-Me Zero safety initiative. A number of Missouri counties recorded zero traffic fatalities during the first six months of 2026, a benchmark the department has highlighted as evidence that sustained, localized safety efforts can produce measurable results even as statewide totals remain in the hundreds.
The traffic safety data referenced in this release was compiled by the Missouri Department of Transportation and the Missouri State Highway Patrol. The figures are presented for general public awareness and remain subject to revision as final crash reports are processed.
The Gogel Law Firm represents car accident victims in St. Louis and throughout Missouri, along with clients pursuing medical malpractice, nursing home abuse, workers' compensation, and wrongful death claims. The firm was founded by attorney Jeremy A. Gogel, a former insurance defense lawyer, and is based in St. Louis.
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