Facts + Statistics: Highway safety

Traffic Deaths, 2013-2022

Year	Fatalities	Annual percent change	Fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled	Fatality rate per 100,000 registered vehicles
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	39,007	7.3	1.34	13.13
2021	42,939	10.1	1.37	14.18
2022 (1)	42,795	-0.3	NA	NA

(1) Estimate.

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, 2020-2021

	Number of deaths				Number of deaths
State	2020	2021	Percent change	State	2020	2021	Percent change
Alabama	934	983	5%	Montana	213	239	12%
Alaska	64	67	5	Nebraska	233	221	-5
Arizona	1,053	1,180	12	Nevada	333	385	16
Arkansas	651	693	6	New Hampshire	104	118	13
California	3,980	4,285	8	New Jersey	586	699	19
Colorado	622	691	11	New Mexico	398	481	21
Connecticut	299	298	0	New York	1,045	1,157	11
Delaware	116	136	17	North Carolina	1,538	1,663	8
D.C.	36	41	14	North Dakota	100	101	1
Florida	3,329	3,738	12	Ohio	1,230	1,354	10
Georgia	1,658	1,797	8	Oklahoma	653	762	17
Hawaii	85	94	11	Oregon	507	599	18
Idaho	214	271	27	Pennsylvania	1,129	1,230	9
Illinois	1,193	1,334	12	Rhode Island	67	63	-6
Indiana	897	932	4	South Carolina	1,066	1,198	12
Iowa	343	356	4	South Dakota	141	148	5
Kansas	426	424	0	Tennessee	1,217	1,327	9
Kentucky	780	806	3	Texas	3,876	4,498	16
Louisiana	828	972	17	Utah	276	328	19
Maine	164	153	-7	Vermont	62	74	19
Maryland	573	561	-2	Virginia	850	973	14
Massachusetts	343	417	22	Washington	574	670	17
Michigan	1,086	1,136	5	West Virginia	267	280	5
Minnesota	394	488	24	Wisconsin	612	620	1
Mississippi	748	772	3	Wyoming	127	110	-13
Missouri	987	1,016	3	United States	39,007	42,939	10.0%

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

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Drivers In Fatal Motor Vehicle Crashes By Age, 2021

	Licensed drivers		Drivers in fatal crashes
Age group	Number	Percent of total drivers	Number	Involvement rate (1)
16 to 20	11,742,064	5.0%	5,088	43.33
21 to 24	14,201,880	6.2	5,513	38.82
25 to 34	40,654,543	17.6	13,200	32.47
35 to 44	39,543,173	16.6	10,291	26.02
45 to 54	37,443,726	16.7	8,764	23.41
55 to 64	39,612,716	17.4	8	20.41
65 to 74	31,032,722	12.7	4,768	15.36
Over 74	18,550,973	7.6	1,838	17.59
Total	232,761,797	100.0%	60,904 (2)	26.16

(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, 2021

Behavior	Number	Percent
Driving too fast for conditions or in excess of posted limit or racing	11,254	18.5%
Under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or medication	6,835	11.2
Operating vehicle in a careless manner	4,601	7.6
Failure to yield right of way	4,239	7
Failure to keep in proper lane	4,042	6.6
Distracted (phone, talking, eating, object, etc.)	3,346	5.5
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless or negligent manner	2,615	4.3
Failure to obey traffic signs, signals, or officer	2,450	4
Overcorrecting/oversteering	1,845	3
Vision obscured (rain, snow, glare, lights, building, trees, etc.)	1,584	2.6
Drowsy, asleep, fatigued, ill, or blacked out	1,310	2.2
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, etc.	1,278	2.1
Driving wrong way on one-way traffic or wrong side of road	1,179	1.9
Making improper turn	445	0.7
Other factors	5,825	9.6
None reported	9,576	15.7
Unknown	19,636	32.2
Total drivers (1)	60,904	100%

(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, 2021

Type of collision	Number	Percent of total fatal crashes
Collision with moving motor vehicle
Angle	7,183	18.2
Rear end	2,949	7.5
Sideswipe	1,184	3.0
Head on	4,295	10.9
Other/unknown	188	0.5
Total	15,799	40.0%
Collision with fixed object
Pole/post	1,593	4.0
Culvert/curb/ditch	2,838	7.2
Shrubbery/tree	2,714	6.9
Guard rail	1,036	2.6
Embankment	921	2.3
Bridge	237	0.6
Other/unknown	2,079	5.3
Total	11,418	28.9%
Collision with object, not fixed
Parked motor vehicle	538	1.4
Animal	156	0.4
Pedestrian	6,790	17.2
Pedalcyclist	959	2.4
Train	92	0.2
Other/unknown	481	1.2
Total	9,016	22.8%
Noncollision
Rollover	2,825	7.2
Other/unknown	408	1.0
Total	3,233	8.2%
Total	39,508(1)	100.0%

(1) Includes 42 fatal crashes with unknown first harmful events.

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

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Holiday Driving, 2017-2021 (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)
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	498	39	438	39	413	29	136	37
2020	145	52	396	41	480	41	510	38	504	36	323	39
2021	395	40	453	40	517	39	506	41	514	36	376	36

(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/ for more information.
(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).

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

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Motor Vehicle Crash Deaths By Month, 2021

Month	Deaths	Percent of total	Rank
January	2,835	7%	11
February	2,340	6	12
March	2,901	7	10
April	3,271	8	8
May	3,435	9	6
June	3,466	9	5
July	3,562	9	4
August	3,715	9	2
September	3,623	9	3
October	3,799	10	1
November	3,320	8	7
December	3,241	8	9
Total	39,508	100%

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

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Fatal Crashes Involving Distracted Drivers, 2021

	Crashes	Drivers	Fatalities
Total fatal crashes	39,508	60,904	42,939
Distraction-affected fatal crashes
Number of distraction-affected fatal crashes	3,211	3,346	3,522
Percent of total fatal crashes	8%	5%	8%
Cellphone in use in distraction-affected fatal crashes
Number of cellphone distraction-affected fatal crashes	377	382	410
Percent of fatal distraction-affected crashes	12%	11%	12%