42,900 people died in car
accidents in 2001.
There is a death caused by a motor vehicle crash
every 12 minutes; there is a disabling injury
every 14 seconds.
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of
death for people ages 1 to 33.
The age groups most affected by motor vehicle
crashes are 15-24 and 75+.
There were an estimated 5,800 pedestrian deaths
and 90,000 injuries.
Walking in the roadway accounted for only 9% of
all pedestrian deaths and injuries.
About 3 in every 10 Americans will be involved
in an alcohol-related traffic accident at some
time in their lives.
Bicycling resulted in about 800 deaths in
collisions with motor vehicles.
SUV accidents accounted for only 3% of all
accidents but 3 times that rate of fatalities
because of rollover accidents.
Car
Crash Death Trends
Motor vehicle-related deaths
increased 1% from 2000 to 2001 and also
increased 1% from 1999. The 2001 mileage death
rate of 1.54 was down 1% from 2000 and the
lowest rate on record. (Mileage death rate: the
number of fatalities per 100 million
vehicle-miles of travel).
Persons Killed and Injured and
Number of Crashes
2004
2005
% Change
Persons Killed
42,196
42,815
+1.5%
Persons Injured
3,033,000
2,926,000*
-3.5%*
Fatal Crashes
37,862
38,309
+1.2%
Nonfatal Crashes
6,285,000
6,277,000
-0.1%
Injury Crashes
2,003,000
1,929,000*
-3.7%*
Property-Damage-Only
4,282,000
4,348,000
+1.5%
Unless otherwise noted, changes in Persons
Injured and Nonfatal Crashes are not statistically significant.*
Statistically Significant ChangeSources: FARS, NASS GES
INFORMATION
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