The graph displays the number of car accident fatalities by gender in the United States from 2010 to 2022. The x-axis represents the years, labeled from '10 to '22, while the y-axis indicates the number of fatalities. Each year includes data points for both males and females. Male fatalities range from a low of 22,937 in 2011 to a high of 30,964 in 2021. Female fatalities vary between 9,463 in 2014 and 12,135 in 2021. The data consistently shows that male fatalities are higher than female fatalities each year. There is a noticeable upward trend in fatalities for both genders in the later years, particularly in 2020 and 2021.

About 228,200 Americans had a license to operate a motor vehicle in the United States in 2020. That year, an estimated 36,680 people died on U.S. roads. Traffic-related fatalities per 100,000 licensed drivers stood at 17.01 in 2020.

Road safety rankings
The United States has among the highest rates of road fatalities per population worldwide. Possible contributing factors to deaths on the road can include speeding, not wearing a seatbelt, driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and driving while fatigued. Traffic fatalities caused by speeding in the United States have declined since 2008, with less than 10,000 deaths recorded annually over recent years.

Automation for the nation
94 percent of severe automobile crashes are due to human error — but driving safety is taken much more seriously today than in the past, with roughly 90 percent of U.S. drivers wearing their seatbelts while driving in 2020. Over recent years, car manufacturers and developers have striven to reduce car crashes even further with partially and fully automated safety features such as forward collision warnings, lane departure warnings, rearview video systems, and automatic emergency braking. Self-driving vehicles are also set to take to the roads in the future, with car brands such as Toyota, Ford, and GM registering over 350 autonomous driving patents respectively in the United States.

Motor-vehicle deaths in the United States have decreased greatly since the 1970s and 1980s. In 2022, there were around 13.8 deaths from motor vehicles per 100,000 population, compared to a rate of 26.8 deaths per 100,000 in 1970. Laws requiring drivers and passengers to wear safety belts and advancements in safety technology in vehicles are major drivers for these reductions.

Motor-vehicle accidents in the U.S.

Americans spend a significant amount of time behind the wheel. Many cities lack convenient and reliable public transportation and especially in rural areas, cars are a necessary means of transportation. In 2020, August was the month with the highest number of fatal crashes, followed by September and June. The deadliest time of day for fatal vehicle crashes is between 6 and 9 p.m., most likely due to the after-work rush hour and more people who are under the influence of alcohol.

Drinking and driving among youth

Drinking and driving remains a relevant problem across the United States and can be especially problematic among younger inexperienced drivers. As of 2017, around 5.5 percent of high school students reported they had driven while under the influence of alcohol. Drinking and driving is more common among males than females and Hispanic males reported drinking and driving more than other races or ethnicities.

Some 47,000 road traffic fatalities are projected to have occurred in the United States in 2021, which was the largest amount of fatalities recorded in the country since 2012. This fatality volume is estimated to dip in 2022, down to nearly 46,300. Motor vehicle crashes and drug overdoses are the leading causes of death among those under the age of 55 in the United States.

The number of road-traffic related injuries in the United States has decreased by roughly 17 percent between 2019 and 2020, whereas fatalities increased by almost 8 percent. Between 2010 and 2020, road traffic injuries in the United States grew by nearly 34,000 incidents to some 2.28 million road traffic related injuries in 2020. Over the same period, fatalities also increased by about 5,800. This follows two decades of a general decrease in the amount of traffic-related injuries.

Why are traffic injuries increasing? In the United States, male drivers are behind the wheel in the majority of fatal crashes. Though speeding and driving under the influence of alcohol are often to blame, neither have led to a rise in traffic fatalities in the U.S.: instead, cellphones are primarily the cause. Smartphone ownership has become almost omnipresent in the U.S. since 2010, and drivers are likely to be distracted by texting and using social media. Young drivers are the ones accounting for the highest share of cellphone use fatalities.

Changes in mobility Another reason why fatal accidents are rising in number is that non-occupants’ exposure to risk is also increasing. As residents become more encouraged to walk or cycle in cities, the extra time amongst traffic has led to higher rates of fatalities and injuries amongst cyclists and pedestrians. Lastly, poor infrastructure and lack of awareness by motorists is prevalent in large parts of the United States.

The Motor Vehicle Collisions crash table contains details on the crash event. Each row represents a crash event. The Motor Vehicle Collisions data tables contain information from all police reported motor vehicle collisions in NYC. The police report (MV104-AN) is required to be filled out for collisions where someone is injured or killed, or where there is at least $1000 worth of damage (https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.dot.gov/files/documents/ny_overlay_mv-104an_rev05_2004.pdf). It should be noted that the data is preliminary and subject to change when the MV-104AN forms are amended based on revised crash details.For the most accurate, up to date statistics on traffic fatalities, please refer to the NYPD Motor Vehicle Collisions page (updated weekly) or Vision Zero View (updated monthly). Due to success of the CompStat program, NYPD began to ask how to apply the CompStat principles to other problems. Other than homicides, the fatal incidents with which police have the most contact with the public are fatal traffic collisions. Therefore in April 1998, the Department implemented TrafficStat, which uses the CompStat model to work towards improving traffic safety. Police officers complete form MV-104AN for all vehicle collisions. The MV-104AN is a New York State form that has all of the details of a traffic collision. Before implementing Trafficstat, there was no uniform traffic safety data collection procedure for all of the NYPD precincts. Therefore, the Police Department implemented the Traffic Accident Management System (TAMS) in July 1999 in order to collect traffic data in a uniform method across the City. TAMS required the precincts manually enter a few selected MV-104AN fields to collect very basic intersection traffic crash statistics which included the number of accidents, injuries and fatalities. As the years progressed, there grew a need for additional traffic data so that more detailed analyses could be conducted. The Citywide traffic safety initiative, Vision Zero started in the year 2014. Vision Zero further emphasized the need for the collection of more traffic data in order to work towards the Vision Zero goal, which is to eliminate traffic fatalities. Therefore, the Department in March 2016 replaced the TAMS with the new Finest Online Records Management System (FORMS). FORMS enables the police officers to electronically, using a Department cellphone or computer, enter all of the MV-104AN data fields and stores all of the MV-104AN data fields in the Department’s crime data warehouse. Since all of the MV-104AN data fields are now stored for each traffic collision, detailed traffic safety analyses can be conducted as applicable.

United States US: Road Fatalities: Per One Million Vehicle-km data was reported at 7.805 Ratio in 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 8.265 Ratio for 2022. United States US: Road Fatalities: Per One Million Vehicle-km data is updated yearly, averaging 8.404 Ratio from Dec 1994 (Median) to 2023, with 30 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 10.731 Ratio in 1994 and a record low of 6.725 Ratio in 2014. United States US: Road Fatalities: Per One Million Vehicle-km data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.OECD.ITF: Road Traffic and Road Accident Fatalities: OECD Member: Annual. [COVERAGE] ROAD FATALITIES A road fatality is any person killed immediately or dying within 30 days as a result of an injury accident, excluding suicides. A killed person is excluded if the competent authority declares the cause of death to be suicide, i.e. a deliberate act to injure oneself resulting in death. For countries that do not apply the threshold of 30 days, conversion coefficients are estimated so that comparison on the basis of the 30-day definition can be made. ROAD TRAFFIC Road traffic is any movement of a road vehicle on a given road network. When a road vehicle is being carried on another vehicle, only the movement of the carrying (active mode) is considered. [COVERAGE] ROAD TRAFFIC IRTAD - Data refer to road motor vehicle traffic of motorised two-wheelers, passenger cars, goods road motor vehicles and buses. [STAT_CONC_DEF] ROAD TRAFFIC IRTAD - Data are calculated using automatic and manual roadside traffic counts.

In 2020, nearly 4.7 million passenger cars were involved in U.S. traffic crashes, accounting for 52 percent of the overall total. Second highest in number are light trucks, being involved in 3.8 million car crashes and accounting for 42 percent of the total. Motor vehicle crashes are among the leading causes of death among those under the age of 55 in the United States.

The Motor Vehicle Collisions person table contains details for people involved in the crash. Each row represents a person (driver, occupant, pedestrian, bicyclist,..) involved in a crash. The data in this table goes back to April 2016 when crash reporting switched to an electronic system. The Motor Vehicle Collisions data tables contain information from all police reported motor vehicle collisions in NYC. The police report (MV104-AN) is required to be filled out for collisions where someone is injured or killed, or where there is at least $1000 worth of damage (https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.dot.gov/files/documents/ny_overlay_mv-104an_rev05_2004.pdf). It should be noted that the data is preliminary and subject to change when the MV-104AN forms are amended based on revised crash details. Due to success of the CompStat program, NYPD began to ask how to apply the CompStat principles to other problems. Other than homicides, the fatal incidents with which police have the most contact with the public are fatal traffic collisions. Therefore in April 1998, the Department implemented TrafficStat, which uses the CompStat model to work towards improving traffic safety. Police officers complete form MV-104AN for all vehicle collisions. The MV-104AN is a New York State form that has all of the details of a traffic collision. Before implementing Trafficstat, there was no uniform traffic safety data collection procedure for all of the NYPD precincts. Therefore, the Police Department implemented the Traffic Accident Management System (TAMS) in July 1999 in order to collect traffic data in a uniform method across the City. TAMS required the precincts manually enter a few selected MV-104AN fields to collect very basic intersection traffic crash statistics which included the number of accidents, injuries and fatalities. As the years progressed, there grew a need for additional traffic data so that more detailed analyses could be conducted. The Citywide traffic safety initiative, Vision Zero started in the year 2014. Vision Zero further emphasized the need for the collection of more traffic data in order to work towards the Vision Zero goal, which is to eliminate traffic fatalities. Therefore, the Department in March 2016 replaced the TAMS with the new Finest Online Records Management System (FORMS). FORMS enables the police officers to electronically, using a Department cellphone or computer, enter all of the MV-104AN data fields and stores all of the MV-104AN data fields in the Department’s crime data warehouse. Since all of the MV-104AN data fields are now stored for each traffic collision, detailed traffic safety analyses can be conducted as applicable.

VITAL SIGNS INDICATOR
Fatalities From Crashes (EN4)

FULL MEASURE NAME
Fatalities from Crashes (traffic collisions)

LAST UPDATED
October 2022

DESCRIPTION
Fatalities from crashes refers to deaths as a result of fatalities sustained in collisions. The California Highway Patrol includes deaths within 30 days of the collision that are a result of fatalities sustained as part of this metric. This total fatalities dataset includes fatality counts for the region and counties, as well as individual collision data and metropolitan area data.

DATA SOURCE
National Highway Safety Administration: Fatality Analysis Reporting System - https://www.nhtsa.gov/file-downloads?p=nhtsa/downloads/FARS/
1990-2020

Caltrans: Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS) - https://dot.ca.gov/programs/research-innovation-system-information/highway-performance-monitoring-system
Annual Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT)
2001-2020

California Department of Finance: E-4 Historical Population Estimates for Cities, Counties, and the State - https://dof.ca.gov/forecasting/demographics/estimates/
1990-2020

US Census Population and Housing Unit Estimates - https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest.html
1990-2020

CONTACT INFORMATION
vitalsigns.info@bayareametro.gov

METHODOLOGY NOTES (across all datasets for this indicator)
Fatalities from crashes data is reported to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration through the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) program. Data for individual collisions is reported by the California Highway Patrol (CHP) to the Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS). The data was tabulated using provided categories specifying injury level, individuals involved, causes of collision and location/jurisdiction of collision (for more information refer to the SWITRS codebook - http://tims.berkeley.edu/help/files/switrs_codebook.doc). For case data, latitude and longitude information for each accident is geocoded by SafeTREC’s Transportation Injury Mapping System (TIMS). Fatalities were normalized over historic population data from the US Census Bureau’s population estimates and vehicle miles traveled (VMT) data from the Federal Highway Administration.

The crash data only include crashes that involved a motor vehicle. Bicyclist and pedestrian fatalities that did not involve a motor vehicle, such as a bicyclist and pedestrian collision or a bicycle crash due to a pothole, are not included in the data.

For more regarding reporting procedures and injury classification, refer to the CHP Manual - https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.dot.gov/files/documents/ca_chp555_manual_2_2003_ch1-13.pdf.

In 2022, the state of California reported almost 4,100 motor-vehicle deaths, a slight decrease from the year before. Death from motor-vehicles remains a relevant problem across the United States.

Motor-vehicle deaths in the United States

In the United States, a person’s lifetime odds of dying in a motor vehicle accident is around 1 in 93. Death rates from motor vehicles have decreased in recent years and are significantly lower than the rates recorded in the 1970s and 1980s. This is due to a mass improvement in car safety standards and features. For example, all states, with the exception of New Hampshire, have laws against not wearing safety belts.

Drinking and driving

One of the biggest causes of motor-vehicle deaths is driving while under the influence of alcohol. The state with the highest number of fatalities due to alcohol-impaired driving in 2020 was Texas, followed by California and Florida. Passenger cars are the vehicle type most often involved in fatal crashes caused by alcohol-impaired drivers, with around 4,726 such accidents in the United States in 2020.

The Motor Vehicle Collisions vehicle table contains details on each vehicle involved in the crash. Each row represents a motor vehicle involved in a crash. The data in this table goes back to April 2016 when crash reporting switched to an electronic system.

The Motor Vehicle Collisions data tables contain information from all police reported motor vehicle collisions in NYC. The police report (MV104-AN) is required to be filled out for collisions where someone is injured or killed, or where there is at least $1000 worth of damage (https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.dot.gov/files/documents/ny_overlay_mv-104an_rev05_2004.pdf). It should be noted that the data is preliminary and subject to change when the MV-104AN forms are amended based on revised crash details.

Due to success of the CompStat program, NYPD began to ask how to apply the CompStat principles to other problems. Other than homicides, the fatal incidents with which police have the most contact with the public are fatal traffic collisions. Therefore in April 1998, the Department implemented TrafficStat, which uses the CompStat model to work towards improving traffic safety. Police officers complete form MV-104AN for all vehicle collisions. The MV-104AN is a New York State form that has all of the details of a traffic collision. Before implementing Trafficstat, there was no uniform traffic safety data collection procedure for all of the NYPD precincts. Therefore, the Police Department implemented the Traffic Accident Management System (TAMS) in July 1999 in order to collect traffic data in a uniform method across the City. TAMS required the precincts manually enter a few selected MV-104AN fields to collect very basic intersection traffic crash statistics which included the number of accidents, injuries and fatalities. As the years progressed, there grew a need for additional traffic data so that more detailed analyses could be conducted. The Citywide traffic safety initiative, Vision Zero started in the year 2014. Vision Zero further emphasized the need for the collection of more traffic data in order to work towards the Vision Zero goal, which is to eliminate traffic fatalities. Therefore, the Department in March 2016 replaced the TAMS with the new Finest Online Records Management System (FORMS). FORMS enables the police officers to electronically, using a Department cellphone or computer, enter all of the MV-104AN data fields and stores all of the MV-104AN data fields in the Department’s crime data warehouse. Since all of the MV-104AN data fields are now stored for each traffic collision, detailed traffic safety analyses can be conducted as applicable.

Brazil Highways Statistics: Traffic Accidents: Accidents: Rio Grande do Sul data was reported at 0.000 Unit in 2017. This stayed constant from the previous number of 0.000 Unit for 2016. Brazil Highways Statistics: Traffic Accidents: Accidents: Rio Grande do Sul data is updated yearly, averaging 3,862.000 Unit from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2017, with 17 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 4,782.000 Unit in 2012 and a record low of 0.000 Unit in 2017. Brazil Highways Statistics: Traffic Accidents: Accidents: Rio Grande do Sul data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Brazilian Association of Highway Concessionaires. The data is categorized under Brazil Premium Database’s Automobile Sector – Table BR.RAW008: Highways Statistics: Traffic Accidents. The Brazilian Association of Highway Concessionaires-ABCR represents the highway concession sector.

Data that that populates the Vision Zero View map, which can be found at www.nycvzv.info Vision Zero is the City's goal for ending traffic deaths and injuries. The Vision Zero action plan can be found at http://www.nyc.gov/html/visionzero/pdf/nyc-vision-zero-action-plan.pdf Crash data is obtained from the Traffic Accident Management System (TAMS), which is maintained by the New York City Police Department (NYPD). Only crashes with valid geographic information are mapped. All midblock crashes are mapped to the nearest intersection. Injuries and fatalities are grouped by intersection and summarized by month and year. This data is queried and aggregated on a monthly basis and is current as of the query date. Current year data is January to the end of the latest full month. All mappable crash data is represented on the simplified NYC street model. Crashes occurring at complex intersections with multiple roadways are mapped onto a single point. Injury and fatality crashes occurring on highways are excluded from this data. Please note that this data is preliminary and may contain errors, accordingly, the data on this site is for informational purposes only. Although all attempts to provide the most accurate information are made, errors may be present and any person who relies upon this data does so at their own risk.

This table contains data on the annual number of fatal and severe road traffic injuries per population and per miles traveled by transport mode, for California, its regions, counties, county divisions, cities/towns, and census tracts. Injury data is from the Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), California Highway Patrol (CHP), 2002-2010 data from the Transportation Injury Mapping System (TIMS) . The table is part of a series of indicators in the [Healthy Communities Data and Indicators Project of the Office of Health Equity]. Transportation accidents are the second leading cause of death in California for people under the age of 45 and account for an average of 4,018 deaths per year (2006-2010). Risks of injury in traffic collisions are greatest for motorcyclists, pedestrians, and bicyclists and lowest for bus and rail passengers. Minority communities bear a disproportionate share of pedestrian-car fatalities; Native American male pedestrians experience 4 times the death rate as Whites or Asians, and African-Americans and Latinos experience twice the rate as Whites or Asians. More information about the data table and a data dictionary can be found in the About/Attachments section.

This dataset looks at annual trends in Vehicle registration and Fatalities / Automotive and transportation related deaths through out the country between 2005 and 2015 as collected by the National Transport and Safety Authority.

The dataset contains information on the Motor vehicle fatalities on U.S. roads with time of the accidents, Day of the accidents and weather conditions. National Transportation Statistics presents statistics on the U.S. transportation system, including its physical components, safety record, economic performance, the human and natural environment, and national security.

Brazil Highways Statistics: Traffic Accidents: Killed in Motorcycle Accident data was reported at 604.000 Unit in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 663.000 Unit for 2016. Brazil Highways Statistics: Traffic Accidents: Killed in Motorcycle Accident data is updated yearly, averaging 548.500 Unit from Dec 2008 (Median) to 2017, with 10 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 663.000 Unit in 2016 and a record low of 341.000 Unit in 2008. Brazil Highways Statistics: Traffic Accidents: Killed in Motorcycle Accident data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Brazilian Association of Highway Concessionaires. The data is categorized under Brazil Premium Database’s Automobile Sector – Table BR.RAW008: Highways Statistics: Traffic Accidents. The Brazilian Association of Highway Concessionaires-ABCR represents the highway concession sector.