Facts + Statistics: Highway safety

Traffic Deaths, 2012-2021

Year	Fatalities	Annual percent change	Fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled	Fatality rate per 100,000 registered vehicles
2012	33,782	4.0%	1.14	12.72
2013	32,893	-2.6	1.10	12.21
2014	32,744	-0.5	1.08	11.92
2015	35,484	8.4	1.15	12.61
2016	37,806	6.5	1.19	13.13
2017	37,473	-0.9	1.17	12.91
2018	36,835	-1.7	1.14	12.40
2019	36,355	-1.3	1.11	12.15
2020	38,824	6.8	1.34	13.04
2021	42,915	10.5	1.33	NA

NA=Data not available.

Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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Motor Vehicle Traffic Deaths By State, 2019-2020

	Number of deaths				Number of deaths
State	2019	2020	Percent change	State	2019	2020	Percent change
Alabama	930	934	0%	Montana	184	213	16%
Alaska	67	64	-4	Nebraska	248	233	-6
Arizona	979	1,054	8	Nevada	304	317	4
Arkansas	511	638	25	New Hampshire	101	104	3
California	3,719	3,847	3	New Jersey	558	584	5
Colorado	597	622	4	New Mexico	425	398	-6
Connecticut	249	295	18	New York	934	1,046	12
Delaware	132	116	-12	North Carolina	1,457	1,538	6
D.C.	23	36	57	North Dakota	100	100	0
Florida	3,185	3,331	5	Ohio	1,153	1,230	7
Georgia	1,492	1,664	12	Oklahoma	640	652	2
Hawaii	108	85	-21	Oregon	493	508	3
Idaho	224	214	-4	Pennsylvania	1,059	1,129	7
Illinois	1,009	1,194	18	Rhode Island	57	67	18
Indiana	810	897	11	South Carolina	1,006	1,064	6
Iowa	336	337	0	South Dakota	102	141	38
Kansas	410	426	4	Tennessee	1,136	1,217	7
Kentucky	732	780	7	Texas	3,619	3,874	7
Louisiana	727	828	14	Utah	248	276	11
Maine	157	164	4	Vermont	47	62	32
Maryland	535	567	6	Virginia	831	850	2
Massachusetts	336	343	2	Washington	538	560	4
Michigan	986	1,084	10	West Virginia	260	267	3
Minnesota	364	394	8	Wisconsin	567	614	8
Mississippi	642	752	17	Wyoming	147	127	-14
Missouri	881	987	12	United States	36,355	38,824	7.0

Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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Drivers In Fatal Motor Vehicle Crashes By Age, 2020

	Licensed drivers		Drivers in fatal crashes
Age group	Number	Percent of total drivers	Number	Involvement rate (1)
16 to 20	11,526,490	5.1%	4,440	38.52
21 to 24	14,041,261	6.2	4,884	34.78
25 to 34	39,900,499	17.6	11,933	29.91
35 to 44	38,208,444	16.6	8,896	23.28
45 to 54	37,372,539	16.7	7,731	20.69
55 to 64	39,417,228	17.4	7,294	18.5
65 to 74	29,871,852	12.7	4,116	13.78
Over 74	17,795,854	7.6	2,810	15.79
Total	228,195,802	100.0%	53,890 (2)	23.62

(1) Per 100,000 licensed drivers in each age group.
(2) Includes drivers under the age of 16 and of unknown age.

Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; Federal Highway Administration.

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Driving Behaviors Reported For Drivers And Motorcycle Operators Involved In Fatal Crashes, 2020

Behavior	Number (1)	Percent
Driving too fast for conditions or in excess of posted limit or racing	10,295	19.1%
Under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or medication	6,246	11.6
Operating vehicle in a careless manner	3,958	7.3
Failure to yield right of way	3,663	6.8
Failure to keep in proper lane	3,337	6.2
Distracted (phone, talking, eating, object, etc.)	2,968	5.5
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless or negligent manner	2,356	4.4
Failure to obey traffic signs, signals, or officer	2,250	4.2
Overcorrecting/oversteering	1,744	3.2
Vision obscured (rain, snow, glare, lights, building, trees, etc.)	1,533	2.8
Drowsy, asleep, fatigued, ill, or blacked out	1,165	2.2
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, etc.	1,138	2.1
Driving wrong way on one-way traffic or wrong side of road	1,060	2
Making improper turn	368	0.7
Other factors	5,921	11
None reported	8,659	16.1
Unknown	16,885	31.3
Total drivers (2)	53,890	100.0%

(1) Number of drivers and motorcycle operators.
(2) The sum of the numbers and percentages is greater than total drivers as more than one factor may be present for the same driver.

Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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Fatal Crashes By First Harmful Event, Type Of Collision, 2020

Type of collision	Number	Percent of total fatal crashes
Collision with moving motor vehicle
Angle	6,432	18%
Rear end	2,428	6.8
Sideswipe	950	2.7
Head on	3,631	10.2
Other/unknown	181	0.5
Total	13,622	38.1%
Collision with fixed object
Pole/post	1,595	4.5%
Culvert/curb/ditch	2,741	7.7
Shrubbery/tree	2,586	7.2
Guard rail	932	2.6
Embankment	906	2.5
Bridge	181	0.5
Other/unknown	2,008	5.6
Total	10,949	30.6%
Collision with object, not fixed
Parked motor vehicle	459	1.3
Animal	194	0.5
Pedestrian	5,982	16.7
Pedalcyclist	923	2.6
Train	79	0.2
Other/unknown	430	1.2
Total	8,067	22.6%
Noncollision
Rollover	2,694	7.5
Other/unknown	362	1
Total	3,056	8.5%
Total	35,766 (1)	100.0%

(1) Includes 72 fatal crashes with unknown first harmful events.

Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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Holiday Driving, 2016-2020 (1)

	Holiday period (1)
	New Year’s Day		Memorial Day		Independence Day		Labor Day		Thanksgiving Day		Christmas Day
Year	Deaths	Percent alcohol- impaired (2)	Deaths	Percent alcohol- impaired (2)	Deaths	Percent alcohol- impaired (2)	Deaths	Percent alcohol- impaired (2)	Deaths	Percent alcohol- impaired (2)	Deaths	Percent alcohol- impaired (2)
2016	279	37%	392	37%	397	42%	384	37%	439	36%	318	35%
2017	330	37	345	37	529	38	345	37	470	36	299	38
2018	325	39	430	38	175	41	433	36	433	31	425	35
2019	428	36	453	37	499	39	438	39	406	29	136	37
2020	138	49	397	41	479	41	506	38	496	36	312	39

(1) The length of the holiday period depends on the day of the week on which the holiday falls. Memorial Day and Labor Day are always 3.25 days; Thanksgiving is always 4.25 days; and New Year’s Day, Independence Day, and Christmas are 3.25 days if the holiday falls on Friday through Monday, 4.25 days if on Tuesday or Thursday, and 1.25 days if on Wednesday. See https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/motor-vehicle/holidays/holiday-introduction/.
(2) The highest blood alcohol concentration (BAC) among drivers or motorcycle riders involved in the crash was 0.08 grams per deciliter (g/dL) or higher (the legal definition of drunk driving in most states).

NA=Data not available.

Source: National Safety Council based on National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data.

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Motor Vehicle Crash Deaths By Month, 2020

Month	Deaths	Percent of total	Rank
January	2,485	7%	9
February	2,450	7	10
March	2,369	7	11
April	2,127	6	12
May	2,865	8	8
June	3,374	9	5
July	3,483	10	3
August	3,523	10	1
September	3,426	10	4
October	3,522	10	2
November	3,168	9	6
December	2,974	8	7
Total	35,766	100%

Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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Fatal Crashes Involving Distracted Drivers, 2020

	Crashes	Drivers	Fatalities
Total fatal crashes	35,766	53,890	38,824
Distraction-affected fatal crashes
Number of distraction-affected fatal crashes	2,880	2,968	3,142
Percent of total fatal crashes	8%	6%	8%
Cellphone in use in distraction-affected fatal crashes
Number of cellphone distraction-affected fatal crashes	354	356	396
Percent of fatal distraction-affected crashes	12%	12%	13%