Key Car Accident Statistics In 2021
Here are three answers to the biggest questions weve seen around car crash statistics:
How Many Car Accidents Are There Per Year?
Every year, there are approximately 6.75 million car accidents in the US alone.
How Many Car Accidents Per Day?
On average, there are approximately 18,510 car crashes per day in the US.
How Many Car Accident Deaths Are There Per Year?
Approximately 1.35 million people are killed in fatal crashes each year. On average, thats about 3,700 deaths a day . An additional 20-50 million are injured or disabled.
% Of Persons Killed Were Passenger Car Occupants While 202 % Were Pedestrians In 2019
Unsurprisingly, car drivers and passengers represented the largest category of road traffic deaths in the EU in 2019, with 44.2 % of all road traffic fatalities . Pedestrians was the second largest category, slightly ahead of motorcyclists and their passengers . Cyclists accounted for 9.0 % of EU road deaths in 2019. It should be noted that cycling deaths are under-reported: some accidents involving cyclists are not reported to the police. The remaining vehicle categories together accounted for 11.0 % of the road accident fatalities in the EU in 2019: light and heavy goods vehicles, buses and coaches, mopeds and other .
Over the last decade, the largest reduction in the number of road accident fatalities in the EU was observed among car drivers and their passengers , followed by motorcyclists and moped drivers , pedestrians and occupants of goods vehicles This shows that the many measures taken to improve road safety are paying off. The falls in the number of fatalities among cyclists and buses and coaches was smaller.
The pattern for buses and coaches in Figure 3 stands out from the rest as a single severe accident can significantly change the trend. This was the case in 2013 when 39 people lost their lives in a tragic accident in the Campania province in Italy. In 2015, 43 people were killed in an accident in south-western France.
Overview Of Sds Findings
The SDS summarizes Allstates paid-out claims in four provinces: Alberta, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Ontario. For Alberta, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, the SDS reports that the rate of collision claims fell between the comparison period and the current period . But the increase in Ontario more than offset the other provinces decreases, leading to an overall increase of 2.5%.
The SDS also reports statistics for 93 local communities. Of the 20 communities with the highest claims rates, 19 were in Ontario, including Toronto. In fact, of the four provinces analyzed, Ontario had the second-highest claims frequency.
Of course, some caveats should be kept in mind concerning the SDS data. First, it only concerns claims on Allstate policies on which the company paid out. If trends among Allstates drivers do not match overall provincial or national trends, then the information in the SDS is of little use in understanding how Ontarians generally fared in 2017.
Second, it covers the period from July 2015 to June 2017. From MTOs data for 2015, we already know that accidents increased in 2015 and that more of the 2015 accidents occurred in the second half of the year than in the first. As a result, its difficult to tell how much of the increase reported by the SDS results from the first six months of 2017 rather than the last six of 2015. Well have to wait for the MTOs report to know for sure.
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What Are The Easiest Cars To Steal
The easiest cars to steal year after year tend to be cars that are old . The reason behind this is that these cars lack the anti-theft technology to combat car thieves, are often susceptible to basic theft skills like using a shaved key or hotwiring a car.
Later models come with better anti-theft technology, which reduces the likelihood that they will be stolen.
List Of Countries By Traffic
This list of countries by traffic-related death rate shows the annual number of road fatalities per capita per year, per number of motor vehicles, and per vehicle-km in some countries in the year the data was collected.
According to the World Health Organization, road traffic injuries caused an estimated 1.35 million deaths worldwide in 2016.
That is, one person is killed every 25 seconds. Only 28 countries, representing 449 million people , have adequate laws that address all five risk factors . Over a third of road traffic deaths in low- and middle-income countries are among pedestrians and cyclists. However, less than 35 percent of low- and middle-income countries have policies in place to protect these road users.The average rate was 17.4 per 100,000 people. Low-income countries now have the highest annual road traffic fatality rates, at 24.1 per 100,000, while the rate in high-income countries is lowest, at 9.2 per 100,000.
74 percent of road traffic deaths occur in middle-income countries, which account for only 53 percent of the world’s registered vehicles. In low-income countries it is even worse. Only one percent of the world’s registered cars produce 16 percent of world’s road traffic deaths. This indicates that these countries bear a disproportionately high burden of road traffic deaths relative to their level of motorization.
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Americas Dangerous Road Design Explained
American roads have been designed for the convenience of drivers, which means theyve been engineered for speed.
And speed is the decisive factor in a car crashs severity. Everything else drunk driving, distracted driving, bad weather makes crashes more likely to happen, but speed is the difference between life and death, especially for pedestrians and bikers, who dont have the armor of a car. A pedestrian has a 10 percent chance of dying when hit by a car at 23 miles per hour, a 25 percent chance at 32 mph, and a 75 percent chance at 50 mph.
One type of roadway thats especially dangerous is what Charles Marohn, a municipal engineer and urban planner, calls a stroad: places that try to be both a street, with access to shopping and leisure, and a road, where drivers move from place to place at high speeds, but do neither well.
Stroads are pervasive throughout America. Think of the wide arterial roads, lined with strip malls and big-box stores, that dominate the country. These environments combine 30- or 40-plus mph speeds with frequent turns, stopping points, and shared traffic with pedestrians and bikes, which creates many opportunities for crashes. When we mix high-speed cars with stopping and turning traffic, it is only a matter of time until people get killed, Marohn writes in his recent book Confessions of a Recovering Engineer, which explores the failures of Americas car-dependent transportation system.
Car Accidents And Distracted Driving
35 In 2017, 3,166 people were killed due to distracted driving, according to the most recent distracted driving statistics.
36 Approximately 481,000 drivers are using their phones while driving daily.
37 Every day, about 9 people are killed and more than 1,000 injured in crashes involving a distracted driver.
38 In 2015, 391,000 people were injured due to distracted driving.
39 Drivers under 20 years old have the highest proportion of fatal accidents related to distracted driving.
40 As of June 2017, handheld phone use is banned for drivers in 14 states and the District of Columbia, while texting while driving is banned in 46 states and the District of Columbia.
41 Phone use is a major distraction from driving. On average, it takes most people 5 seconds to take their eyes off the road to read or send a text. At 55 mph, that equates to driving the full length of a football field with your eyes closed.
42 Handheld phone use among drivers decreased from 3.8 percent in 2015 to 3.3 percent in 2016.
43 It takes only 3 seconds after a driver has been distracted for a crash to occur.
44 A teens risk of fatal crash doubles if they have one passenger. If two or more are present, their risk increases to five times.
45 One percent of distracted driving accidents are due to lighting or putting out a cigarette while driving.
46 62 percent of distracted driving collisions are caused by drivers letting their mind wander off the road.
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What Causes Traffic Collisions
Most car crashes can be categorized into three categories roadway environment, the vehicle, and humans. For example, driving at an unsafe speed is a human factor, and so are distractions, attitude, and anger. Vehicle factors are mechanical failures such as faulty airbags in Toyotas that may have caused a mans death in a car crash. And finally, environmental factors include external conditions such as weather and environmental hazards, road conditions, road design, the weather, and environmental hazards.
Lets take a look at these causes in more detail.
What Color Car Is The Safest
Studies have found that white cars are the safest, having a considerably much lower chance of being involved in an accident. Aside from the psychological possibilities of owners of white cars being less prone to risk, the white color also offers a sharp contrast compared to the surrounding environment, which is good during periods of precipitation or bad weather.
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How Many People Die In Car Accidents In The Us
8) How many traffic deaths occurred despite pandemic lockdowns?
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimated that there were 28,190 traffic deaths from January to September of 2020, an increase from 26,941 during the same period of 2019. The authorities hold the increase in risky driving behavior responsible for these latest numbers.
This rise in risky driving behavior is due to the openness of roads during COVID-19 lockdowns. Even though cases of Covid-19 and car accidents have increased side-by-side during this period it does not mean there are any direct relations between the two.
If anything, lockdowns should substantially decrease traffic deaths as they have in many countries around the world.
9) In 2019, there were a total of 36,096 fatalities on US roads.
While this number is already disturbing enough, an additional 2.35 million individuals were also reported injured from such occurrences. In this regard, victims could end up with various permanent disabilities.
: Association for Safe International Road Travel
10) Car accident USA stats show that these incidents cost $230.6 billion a year.
: Association for Safe International Road Travel
11) Car accident deaths per year among US residents have been declining for three years now.
: National Safety Council
12) Stats on car deaths per year in the USA show Saturday to be the most fatal day of the week.
: SaferAmerica
12) 46% of all car accident deaths per year in the US occur on rural roads.
How Many People Die From Distracted Driving
Sadly, about 2,841 people died from distracted driving-related car crashes in 2018. In 2019, distracted driving was responsible for about 8.5% of all fatal motor crashes in America. While all of the crashes arent caused by texting while driving, a large majority still involved cell phone use.
Key Statistics:
- 2,841 people were killed in car crashes linked to distracted driving in 2018 alone.
- Distracted driving was responsible for 8.5% of all fatal motor vehicle crashes in 2019
- About 1 out of 5 people that were killed by a distracted driver were pedestrians, walking, or riding a bike.
- Distracted driving is responsible for about an average of 3,500 yearly deaths.
- Distracted driving killed 1,730 drivers, 605 passengers, 400 pedestrians and 77 bicyclists in 2018 alone.
- This means in 2018 there were 506 non occupants that were killed by distracted driving.
- Every year distracted driving claims 3,500 lives which is about 9 to 10 lives per day.
- 3,577 people were killed by distracted driving in 2015.
- 31% of drivers are distracted by their dogs in the car.
- 69% of distracted drivers in fatal crashes were male in 2018.
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Fatality Data Show Increased Traffic Fatalities During Pandemic
Risky Driving Behaviors Including Failure to Wear a Seatbelt, Speeding, and Drinking While Driving Identified as Contributing Factors
The U.S. Department of Transportations National Highway Traffic Safety Administration today released preliminary estimates of crash fatalities in 2020 involving motor vehicle occupants, motorcyclists, and people walking and biking. Alongside the release of the 2020 fatality projections, Early Estimate of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities in 2020, the agency issued two special reports, Early Estimates of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities and Fatality Rate by Sub-Categories in 2020, and Update to Special Reports on Traffic Safety During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency: Fourth Quarter Data.
While Americans drove less in 2020 due to the pandemic, NHTSAs early estimates show that an estimated 38,680 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashesthe largest projected number of fatalities since 2007. This represents an increase of about 7.2 percent as compared to the 36,096 fatalities reported in 2019. Preliminary data from the Federal Highway Administration shows vehicle miles traveled in 2020 decreased by about 430.2 billion miles, or about a 13.2-percent decrease. The fatality rate for 2020 was 1.37 fatalities per 100 million VMT, up from 1.11 fatalities per 100 million VMT in 2019. NHTSAs analysis shows that the main behaviors that drove this increase include: impaired driving, speeding and failure to wear a seat belt.
Special Reports:
California Traffic Safety Statistics
The following car crash statistics are specific to the state of California only. Different years of data were sourced from the California Office of Traffic Safety. Most of the statistics show a rising number of car-related fatalities over the past few years.
1. In California, traffic fatalities increased from 3,387 in 2015 to 3,623 in 2016. This marks a 7% increase YoY.
2. The number of fatalities per 100 million miles traveled was 1.01 in 2015. In 2013, this number was 0.91
3. Fatalities involving impaired drivers increased from 911 in 2015 to 1,059 in 2016. This number was 882 in 2014.
4. In 2016, 15% of all drivers in fatal crash crashes, who were tested, tested positive for some kind of legal or illegal drug. In 2013, 32% of all such drivers tested positive.
5. Car crash fatalities in which one or more occupants were not wearing seat belts increased from 568 in 2015 to 586 in 2016. That is a 3% increase.
6. Motorcycle fatalities increased 11 percent from 494 in 2015 to 548 in 2016. There were 463 and 519 motorcycle fatalities in 2013 and 2014 respectively.
7. The number of fatalities involving teen drivers, aged 16-19, increased by 12.3%. This figure went from 98 in 2015 to 110 in 2016. In 2013 and 2014, there were 72 and 91 deadly accidents involving teen drivers.
8. Pedestrian fatalities increased 5.9 percent from 819 in 2015 to 867 in 2016. There were 697 pedestrian deaths involving cars in 2014.
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The Same Research Indicated That Distracted Driving Increases The Risk Of Going Through A Car Crash By 500%
This is a massive increase when compared to non-distracted driving, and even higher when compared to accident likelihood rates for those who drive while impaired by cannabis and other psychoactive substances.
Based on this, drivers should be made aware of the huge risks they expose themselves to when driving distracted. After all, the same practice reduces general awareness by 50%, as reported by car accident statistics.
To put things into perspective, the main distractions associated with accidents include but are not limited to, texting, talking on the phone, reading , applying and removing makeup, alongside dialing on smartphones and other handheld devices.
Us Car Accident Stats
1. The yearly cost of traffic accidents in the United States is estimated to be $871 billion.
A study conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has shown that the cost of traffic accidents is almost $900 billion on an annual basis. The current figure is probably even higher, since the survey was carried out in 2010.
2. Reportedly, 1.6 million car crashes were caused by cell phone use while driving.
The National Safety Council reports that cell phone use while driving causes approximately 1.6 million car crashes in the U.S. every year. In other words, 1 out of every 4 car accidents is caused by driving and texting at the same time.
3. Every 50 minutes, a person dies because of driving under the influence of alcohol.
According to 2016 Road Safety Facts data provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 29 people die every day in automotive crashes caused by drunk drivers.
4. It is estimated that seat belts saved almost 15,000 lives in 2017.
It seems that the average American is well-aware about the risk of not wearing a seat belt. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that during 2016, 89.6% of drivers were properly buckled up.
5. Drivers aged 16 to 19 are three times more likely to be involved in car crashes than older drivers.
6. Men are more likely to die in a car accident than women.
7. The most common cause of traffic accidents in the United States is distracted driving.
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Fatal Car Crashes By Population
In 2018, there were 33,654 motor vehicle crashes in the U.S., causing 36,560 deaths. The fatal car crash death rate was 11.2 deaths per 100,000 people and 1.13 deaths per 100 million miles traveled.
While states with higher populations had more fatal crashes and deaths, they don’t necessarily have the highest death rates per 100,000 population or deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled. The rate of car accident deaths per 100,000 people ranges from 4.4 to 22.2. The five states with the highest rates are:
- Mississippi: 22.2 deaths per 100,000
- South Carolina: 20.4 deaths per 100,000
- Alabama: 19.5 deaths per 100,000
- Wyoming: 19.2 deaths per 100,000
- New Mexico: 18.7 deaths per 100,000
The states with the lowest deaths per 100,000 people are generally located in the Northeast. The five states with the lowest death rates are:
- District of Columbia: 4.4 deaths per 100,000
- New York: 4.8 deaths per 100,000
- Massachusetts: 5.2 deaths per 100,000
- Rhode Island: 5.6 deaths per 100,000
- New Jersey: 6.3 deaths per 100,000
When it comes to the number of deaths per 100 million vehicles miles traveled, the rates range from 0.54 to 1.83. The five states with the highest death rates per 100 million vehicle miles traveled are:
- South Carolina: 1.83 deaths per 100 million miles
- Mississippi: 1.63 deaths per 100 million miles
- Louisiana: 1.53 deaths per 100 million miles
- Arizona: 1.41 deaths per 100 million miles
- West Virginia: 1.51 deaths per 100 million miles
