The Peltzman Effect is the theory that people adjust their behaviour in response to new regulation and these adjustments will counteract some or all of the effects of the regulation. Greater regulation reduces the cost to the driver of riskier driving. So on the introduction of a new safety measure the likely result is more accidents (but not necessarily more fatalities). Often the off-setting creates higher risks for other road users - principally pedestrians, cyclists and motorbikes.
If you look at the data road traffic deaths are declining and have been for a long time. As far back as 1920s road traffic fatalities have been falling by around 3% each year.
It is interesting to note, for example, that the year on year decline preceded the introduction of seatbelts in vehicles. You would expect the introduction of a feature such as seatbelts to cause a one-off reduction in road deaths and thereafter for road deaths to stabilise at the new lower level. But that is not the case, road deaths continue to fall year on year long after the date on which the use of seatbelts was made compulsory. So the decline before and long after the introduction of seatbelts suggests seatbelts alone are not the cause of the sustained decline in road traffic deaths.
It seems obvious that the sustained downward trend is caused by successive safety advances in cars (basic seat belts, inertia seat belts, collapsible steering columns, improved windscreen glass, vastly improved braking systems, airbags, crumple zones at the front, back and sides) and successive road safety features (driving tests and licensing, speed limits, stricter enforcement of drunk driving, traffic cameras, traffic calming measures, improved road surfaces, improved roadside medical assistance).
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