Statistics

WASHINGTON - The number of alcohol-related fatalities on U.S. highways dropped for a second straight year, as did traffic deaths overall, the government reported Monday.

The Department of Transportation said alcohol-related fatalities fell 2.4 percent, from 17,105 in 2003 to 16,694 in 2004. Overall, 42,636 people died on the nation's highways in 2004, down 248 — or 0.6 percent — from the previous year.

Number of Americans killed by terrorist attacks in the United States in 2004 = 0