Motor vehicle fatality rate in U.S. by year

Per capita road accident deaths in the US reversed their decline in the early 2010s.[1][2]
United States motor vehicle deaths per year
Accidental deaths in the United States
2020

2004
  Poisoning
  Motor-vehicle
  Falls
  Choking
  Drowning
  Fires, flames, smoke
  Suffocation

Fatalities that result from motor vehicle crashes are the second largest cause of accidental deaths in the United States.[3]

Motor vehicle fatalities in the United States are reported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The NHTSA only reports deaths that occur on public roads, and does not include parking lots, driveways, and private roads.[4] It also excludes indirect car-related fatalities. For more details, see Transportation safety in the United States.

From the beginning of recorded statistics until the 1970s, total traffic deaths in the United States generally trended upwards, except during the Great Depression and World War II. From 1979 to 2005, the number of deaths per year decreased 15% while the number of deaths per capita decreased by 35%. The 32,479 traffic fatalities in 2011 were the lowest in 62 years, since 1949.[5] For 2016, the NHTSA reported 37,461 people killed in 34,436 fatal motor vehicle crashes, an average of 102 per day.[6] In 2022, there were 42,795 total motor vehicle fatalities.[7]

By year

Year Deaths VMT– Vehicle miles traveled (billions) Fatalities per 100 million VMT Population Fatalities per 100,000 population Change in per capita fatalities from previous year
1899 26[8]
1900 36 76,094,000 0.05 NA
1901 54 77,584,000 0.07 Negative increase47.1%
1902 79 79,163,000 0.10 Negative increase43.4%
1903 117 80,632,000 0.15 Negative increase45.4%
1904 172 82,166,000 0.21 Negative increase44.3%
1905 252 83,822,000 0.30 Negative increase43.6%
1906 338 85,450,000 0.40 Negative increase31.6%
1907 581 87,008,000 0.67 Negative increase68.8%
1908 751 88,710,000 0.85 Negative increase26.8%
1909 1,174 90,490,000 1.30 Negative increase53.3%
1910 1,599 92,407,000 1.73 Negative increase33.4%
1911 2,043 93,863,000 2.18 Negative increase25.8%
1912 2,968 95,335,000 3.11 Negative increase43.0%
1913 4,079 97,225,000 4.20 Negative increase34.8%
1914 4,468 99,111,000 4.51 Negative increase7.5%
1915 6,779 100,546,000 6.74 Negative increase49.6%
1916 7,766 101,961,000 7.62 Negative increase13.0%
1917 9,630 103,268,000 9.33 Negative increase22.4%
1918 10,390 103,208,000 10.07 Negative increase8.0%
1919 10,896 104,514,000 10.42 Negative increase3.6%
1920 12,155 106,461,000 11.42 Negative increase9.5%
1921 13,253 55 24.09 108,538,000 12.21 Negative increase7.0%
1922 14,859 67 21.95 110,049,000 13.50 Negative increase10.6%
1923 17,870 85 21.03 111,947,000 15.96 Negative increase18.2%
1924 18,400 104 17.55 114,109,000 16.13 Negative increase1.0%
1925 20,771 122 16.98 115,829,000 17.93 Negative increase11.2%
1926 22,194 140 15.77 117,397,000 18.91 Negative increase5.4%
1927 24,470 158 15.44 119,035,000 20.56 Negative increase8.7%
1928 26,557 172 15.36 120,509,000 22.04 Negative increase7.2%
1929 29,592 197 14.97 121,767,000 24.30 Negative increase10.3%
1930 31,204 206 15.12 123,076,741 25.35 Negative increase4.3%
1931 31,963 216 14.79 124,039,648 25.77 Negative increase1.6%
1932 27,979 200 13.95 124,840,471 22.41 Positive decrease-13.0%
1933 29,746 200 14.83 125,578,763 23.69 Negative increase5.7%
1934 34,240 215 15.88 126,373,773 27.09 Negative increase14.4%
1935 34,494 228 15.09 127,250,232 27.11 Negative increase0.1%
1936 36,126 252 14.33 128,053,180 28.21 Negative increase4.1%
1937 37,819 270 14.00 128,824,829 29.36 Negative increase4.1%
1938 31,083 271 11.46 129,824,939 23.94 Positive decrease-18.4%
1939 30,895 285 10.83 130,879,718 23.61 Positive decrease-1.4%
1940 32,914 302 10.89 132,122,446 24.91 Negative increase5.5%
1941 38,142 333 11.43 133,402,471 28.59 Negative increase14.8%
1942 27,007 268 10.07 134,859,553 20.03 Positive decrease-30.0%
1943 22,727 208 10.92 136,739,353 16.62 Positive decrease-17.0%
1944 23,165 212 10.89 138,397,345 16.74 Negative increase0.7%
1945 26,785 250 10.71 139,928,165 19.14 Negative increase14.4%
1946 31,874 340 9.35 141,388,566 22.54 Negative increase17.8%
1947 31,193 370 8.41 144,126,071 21.64 Positive decrease-4.0%
1948 30,775 397 7.73 146,631,302 21.00 Positive decrease-3.0%
1949 30,246 424 7.13 149,188,130 20.27 Positive decrease-3.4%
1950 33,186 458 7.24 152,271,417 21.79 Negative increase7.5%
1951 35,309 491 7.19 154,877,889 22.80 Negative increase4.6%
1952 36,088 513 7.03 157,552,740 22.91 Negative increase0.5%
1953 36,190 544 6.65 160,184,192 22.59 Positive decrease-1.4%
1954 33,890 561 6.03 163,025,854 20.79 Positive decrease-8.0%
1955 36,688 605 6.06 165,931,202 22.11 Negative increase6.4%
1956 37,965 627 6.05 168,903,031 22.48 Negative increase1.7%
1957 36,932 647 5.71 171,984,130 21.47 Positive decrease-4.5%
1958 35,331 664 5.32 174,881,904 20.20 Positive decrease-5.9%
1959 36,223 700 5.17 177,829,628 20.37 Negative increase0.8%
1960 36,399 718 5.06 180,671,158 20.15 Positive decrease-1.1%
1961 36,285 737 4.92 183,691,481 19.75 Positive decrease-2.0%
1962 38,980 766 5.08 186,537,737 20.90 Negative increase5.8%
1963 41,723 805 5.18 189,241,798 22.05 Negative increase5.5%
1964 45,645 846 5.39 191,888,791 23.79 Negative increase7.9%
1965 47,089 887 5.30 194,302,963 24.24 Negative increase1.9%
1966 50,894 925 5.50 196,560,338 25.89 Negative increase6.8%
1967 50,724 964 5.26 198,712,056 25.53 Positive decrease-1.4%
1968 52,725 1,015 5.19 200,706,052 26.27 Negative increase2.9%
1969 53,543 1,061 5.04 202,676,946 26.42 Negative increase0.6%
1970 52,627 1,109 4.74 205,052,174 25.67 Positive decrease-2.9%
1971 52,542 1,178 4.46 207,660,677 25.30 Positive decrease-1.4%
1972 54,589 1,259 4.33 209,896,021 26.01 Negative increase2.8%
1973 54,052 1,313 4.12 211,908,788 25.51 Positive decrease-1.9%
1974 45,196 1,280 3.53 213,853,928 21.13 Positive decrease-17.1%
1975 44,525 1,327 3.35 215,973,199 20.62 Positive decrease-2.5%
1976 45,523 1,402 3.25 218,035,164 20.88 Negative increase1.3%
1977 47,878 1,467 3.26 220,239,425 21.74 Negative increase4.1%
1978 50,331 1,544 3.26 222,584,545 22.61 Negative increase4.0%
1979 51,093 1,529 3.34 225,055,487 22.70 Negative increase0.4%
1980 51,091 1,527 3.35 227,224,681 22.48 Positive decrease-1.0%
1981 49,301 1,552 3.18 229,465,714 21.49 Positive decrease-4.5%
1982 43,945 1,595 2.76 231,664,458 18.97 Positive decrease-11.7%
1983 42,589 1,652 2.58 233,791,994 18.22 Positive decrease-4.0%
1984 44,257 1,720 2.57 235,824,902 18.77 Negative increase3.0%
1985 43,825 1,774 2.47 237,923,795 18.42 Positive decrease-1.9%
1986 46,087 1,834 2.51 240,132,887 19.19 Negative increase4.2%
1987 46,390 1,921 2.42 242,288,918 19.15 Positive decrease-0.2%
1988 47,087 2,025 2.32 244,498,982 19.26 Negative increase0.6%
1989 45,582 2,096 2.17 246,819,230 18.47 Positive decrease-4.1%
1990 44,599 2,144 2.08 249,464,396 17.88 Positive decrease-3.2%
1991 41,508 2,172 1.91 252,153,092 16.46 Positive decrease-7.9%
1992 39,250 2,247 1.75 255,029,699 15.39 Positive decrease-6.5%
1993 40,150 2,296 1.75 257,782,608 15.58 Negative increase1.2%
1994 40,716 2,358 1.73 260,327,021 15.64 Negative increase0.4%
1995 41,817 2,423 1.73 262,803,276 15.91 Negative increase1.7%
1996 42,065 2,486 1.69 265,228,572 15.86 Positive decrease-0.3%
1997 42,013 2,562 1.64 267,783,607 15.69 Positive decrease-1.1%
1998 41,501 2,632 1.58 270,248,003 15.36 Positive decrease-2.1%
1999 41,717 2,691 1.55 272,690,813 15.30 Positive decrease-0.4%
2000 41,945 2,747 1.53 282,216,952 14.86 Positive decrease-2.9%
2001[9] 42,196 2,797 1.51 285,226,284 14.79 Positive decrease-0.5%
2002 43,005 2,856 1.51 288,125,973 14.93 Negative increase0.9%
2003 42,884 2,890 1.48 290,796,023 14.75 Positive decrease-1.8%
2004 42,836 2,965 1.44 293,638,158 14.59 Positive decrease-0.5%
2005 43,510 2,989 1.46 296,507,061 14.67 Negative increase0.4%
2006 42,708 3,014 1.42 299,398,484 14.27 Positive decrease-2.8%
2007 41,259 3,031 1.36 301,139,947 13.70 Positive decrease-3.9%
2008 37,423 2,977 1.26 303,824,640 12.32 Positive decrease-11.0%
2009 33,883 2,957 1.15 306,700,000 11.05 Positive decrease-9.7%
2010[9] 32,999 2,967 1.11 309,326,000 10.67 Positive decrease-3.5%
2011[10] 32,479 2,950 1.10 311,588,000 10.42 Positive decrease-2.3%
2012[11] 33,782 2,969 1.14 313,914,000 10.75 Negative increase2.6%
2013 32,893 2,988 1.10 316,129,000 10.40 Positive decrease-3.3%
2014 32,744 3,026 1.08 318,860,000 10.28 Positive decrease-1.2%
2015 35,485 3,095 1.15 321,370,000 11.06 Negative increase7.6%
2016[12] 37,806 3,174 1.19 323,121,000 11.59 Negative increase4.8%
2017[12][13] 37,473 3,213 1.16 326,213,213 11.40 Positive decrease-1.6%
2018[13][14] 36,835 3,223 1.13 327,096,265 11.18 Positive decrease-1.9%
2019[15] 36,355 3,248 1.10 328,231,337[16] 10.99 Positive decrease-1.2%
2020[17] 38,824 2,904 1.34 331,449,281[18] 11.67 Negative increase7.1%
2021[19] 43,230[20] 3,230[21] 1.38 332,915,073[22] 13.02 Negative increase11.6%
2022[23] 42,514[20] 3,196 1.35 338,289,857[24] 12.76 Positive decrease-2.00%
2023 40,990[25] 3,263[26] 1.27 339,996,563[27] 12.06 Positive decrease-3.7%

See also

Notes

References

  1. ^ "OECD Data / Road Accidents". data.OECD.org. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). 15 December 2023. Archived from the original on 6 July 2023.
  2. ^ Leonhardt, David (11 December 2023). "The Rise in U.S. Traffic Deaths / What's behind America's unique problem with vehicle crashes?". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 14 December 2023.
  3. ^ "Accidents or Unintentional Injuries". Centers for Disease Control. March 17, 2017.
  4. ^ "2016 traffic deaths jump to highest level in nearly a decade - SFGate". Archived from the original on 2017-02-15. Retrieved 2017-02-15.
  5. ^ "Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities and Fatality Rates, 1899-2020" (PDF). Retrieved 2022-12-05.
  6. ^ "Quick Facts 2016". Archived from the original on 2017-10-10. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  7. ^ "NHTSA Estimates for 2022 Show Roadway Fatalities Remain Flat After Two Years of Dramatic Increases | NHTSA".
  8. ^ "U.S. Highway Deaths Decline 2.9%, Falling for Fifth Year". Bloomberg. December 8, 2011. Archived from the original on 2016-09-18. Retrieved 2017-03-08.
  9. ^ a b 'Fatality Analysis Reporting System' 2010 Archived 2009-10-26 at the Wayback Machine, fars.NHTSA.dot.gov Retrieved July 3, 2014
  10. ^ 'Fatality Analysis Reporting System' 2011 Archived 2009-10-26 at the Wayback Machine, fars.NHTSA.dot.gov Retrieved July 3, 2014
  11. ^ "NHTSA Quick Facts 2014". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 2014. Archived from the original on 18 October 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  12. ^ a b National Highway Traffic Safety Administration National Center for Statistics and Analysis. "2017 Fatal Motor Vehicle Crashes: Overview". NHSTA Traffic Safety Facts. US Department of Transportation. DOT HS 812 603. Archived from the original on 2018-10-25. Retrieved 2018-10-26.
  13. ^ a b "2018 Fatal Motor Vehicle Crashes: Overview". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. October 2019. Archived from the original on 13 July 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  14. ^ "U.S. pedestrian, bicyclist deaths rise in 2018: report". Reuters. 2019-06-17. Archived from the original on 2019-06-17. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
  15. ^ "NHTSA Releases 2019 Crash Fatality Data | NHTSA". Retrieved 2021-12-06.
  16. ^ "Census Bureau Projects U.S. And World Populations on New Year's Day".
  17. ^ "2020 Fatality Data Show Increased Traffic Fatalities During Pandemic | NHTSA".
  18. ^ "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: United States". Archived from the original on 2019-12-30.
  19. ^ "NHTSA Data Estimates Indicate Traffic Fatalities Continued to Rise at Record Pace in First Nine Months of 2021 | NHTSA". www.nhtsa.gov. Retrieved 2022-03-20.
  20. ^ a b "FARS Encyclopedia". www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov. Retrieved 2024-08-12.
  21. ^ Shepardson, David; Disavino, Scott (2022-02-18). "U.S. driving soars in 2021 to 3.23 trillion miles, up 11.2%". Reuters. Retrieved 2022-03-20.
  22. ^ "U.S. Population 1950-2022". www.macrotrends.net. Retrieved 2022-03-20.
  23. ^ "NHTSA Estimates for 2022 Show Roadway Fatalities Remain Flat After Two Years of Dramatic Increases | NHTSA".
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  25. ^ "NHTSA Launches Put the Phone Away or Pay Campaign; Releases 2023 Fatality Early Estimates | NHTSA". www.nhtsa.gov. Retrieved 2024-12-01.
  26. ^ "U.S. drivers logged more miles than ever in 2023". spectrumlocalnews.com. Retrieved 2024-12-01.
  27. ^ "U.S. Population 1950-2024". www.macrotrends.net. Retrieved 2024-12-01.