Signs are showing that highways are getting a little safer: Transportation-related fatalities have fallen for the third consecutive year, according to preliminary data from the National Transportation Safety Board.

Deaths resulting from accidents involving medium and heavy trucks dropped 15.9 percent, down from 805 in 2007 to 677 in 2008. Transportation-related fatalities overall declined by roughly 10 percent, a drop from 43,384 in 2007 to 39,397 in 2008.

NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman vows to continue doing all they can to reduce transportation-related accidents. “We at the NTSB will continue to press hard advocating improvements in all modes of transportation to keep this trend moving in the right direction, because every transportation fatality is an unnecessary tragedy,” Hersman said.

Meanwhile, you can find some great tips at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s “Share the Road Safely” website on how to keep from becoming a statistic (i.e. get plenty of rest, maintain your vehicle, watch your “no zones,” and more). So be safe out there!