Traffic fatalities in the U.S. have plummeted over the past few years. Traffic regulations, such as strict drunken driving laws and auto innovation, are receiving the credit. But that progress obscures the inequality of who dies in a car crash and who survives.

New research by Sam Harper, Thomas J. Charters and Erin C. Strumpf, published in the "American Journal of Epidemiology" reveals that the most disadvantaged are more likely to die in car crashes than people who are well-off.

The study, titled Trends in Socioeconomic Inequalities in Motor Vehicle Accident Deaths in the United States, 1995-2010, finds that improvements in road safety since the 1990's haven't been evenly shared. There has been a huge decline in fatalities among the most educated. But fatality rates have increased over time for people 25 and older with less than a high school diploma.

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Trudy Knockless

Trudy Knockless is a reporter on ALM Media's Business of Law desk.  She has a background serving legal and insurance publications. Contact her at [email protected] or on LinkedIn at Trudy Knockless.