The Ultimate List of Driving Statistics for 2021

• In 2016, 88.3% of all US residents ages 16 and older reported that they drove at least occasionally. This percentage varied by age. 91.5% of drivers aged 35 to 49 drove at least occasionally, whereas 71.0% of drivers aged 16 to 19 and 78.7% of drivers aged 75 or older did. (AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 2018)
• In 2016, the percentage of US residents ages 16 and older who reported that they drove at least occasionally also varied by education level. 95.5% of college graduates drove at least occasionally, whereas 73.1% of residents who did not graduate from high school did. (AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 2018)
• Men are more likely to drive than women. In 2016, 90.0% of male US residents drove at least occasionally, whereas 86.6% of female residents did. (AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 2018)
• The percentage of teenagers who hold a driver's license has declined since the 1980s (although there has been a slight uptick since 2014). For example, in 1983, 46.2% of 16-year-olds held a driver's license; in 2018, only 25.6% of 16-year-olds held a driver's license. (Federal Highway Administration, 2020)
• It is estimated that in 2016, US drivers made 186 billion driving trips, spent 70 billion hours driving, and drove 2.62 trillion miles. (AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 2018)
• In 2018, 8.02% of US households owned motorcycles. (Motorcycle Industry Council, 2019)
• In 2018, 81% of motorcycle owners were male, and 19% were female. (Motorcycle Industry Council, 2019)
• In 2017, there were 36 million trucks registered and used for business purposes (excluding government and farming), representing 24% of all trucks registered. This included 3.68 million Class 8 (heavy) trucks, such as truck tractors and dump trucks. (American Trucking Associations, 2020)
• In 2017, all registered trucks traveled 297.6 billion miles, and combination trucks (tractor-trailers) traveled 181.5 billion miles. (American Trucking Associations, 2020)
• In 2018, there were 3.5 million truck drivers employed in the United States. (American Trucking Associations, 2020)
• In the first quarter of 2019, about 276 million vehicles were operating on America's roads. (Statista, 2020)

Speeding Statistics

• Speed-related crashes cost Americans $40.4 billion each year. (Insurance Information Institute, 2019)
• For more than two decades, speeding has been involved in approximately one-third of all motor vehicle fatalities. (NHTSA, 2018)
• Teens are more likely than older drivers to speed and allow shorter following distances. (Texas A&M Transportation Institute, 2019)
• Over 50% of the five million yearly car crashes in the United States are caused by aggressive drivers, with speeding being the most prevalent contributor to this statistic. (TeenSafe, 2018)
• Speeding killed 10,111 people in the US in 2016, accounting for more than a quarter (27%) of all traffic fatalities. (NHTSA, 2018)
• Speed was a factor in 31% of US teen driver fatalities. (NHTSA, 2018)
• 42% of the surveyed drivers said they don't consider going 10 mph over the speed limit to be speeding. Another 10% said they don't think a 20-mph increase is speeding. (Everquote, 2016)
• Drivers speed at least 10 mph more than half of the time. (Everquote, 2016)
• National data shows that even a 10-mph speed increase ups the risk of a crash by 9.1%. (Fortune, 2016)
• Drivers ages 15-20 had the highest representation in speed-related fatal crashes (32% and 22%) compared to any other age group in 2016. (NHTSA, 2018)
• Teens do not consider driving at 5 to 10 mph above the speed limit to be dangerous. (Texas A&M Transportation Institute, 2019)
• Speeding continues to be the number one cited driver-related factor in fatal highway crashes. (Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 2017)
• In 2017, there were 203 fatal crashes in work zones in which speeding had been a factor. (FHWA, 2019)
• 48% of motorcyclists involved in single-vehicle crashes had been speeding. (IIHS, 2009)

Driving Ability Statistics

• One study found that 18% of licensed American drivers would fail the knowledge test for a learner’s permit (if they had to retake it. (National General Insurance, 2011) Another study found that nearly 40% would fail it. The passing score for the knowledge test is usually 80%. (CarInsurance.com, 2013)

Accident Statistics

• Around 2 million drivers in car accidents experience permanent injuries every year. (Driver Knowledge, 2019)
• Crash risk is highest during the first year that drivers are licensed. (CDC, 2018)
• Out of nearly six million vehicular crashes that occur every year in the United States, approximately 22% are weather-related. (FHWA, 2017)
• Rear-end crashes are the most frequently occurring type of collision, accounting for approximately 29% of all crashes. (NHTSA, 2017)
• Tailgating is a contributing factor in more than one-third of all crashes on the road. (TeenSafe, 2018)
• Driver-related factors (i.e., error, impairment, fatigue, and distraction) were present in almost 90% of crashes. (Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, 2016)
• Certain driver performance errors, including committing a right-of-way error (with or without the yield sign), sudden or improper braking or stopping, failure to stop at a stop sign, and being unfamiliar with a vehicle or roadway, increased the risk of crashing by hundreds of times. (Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, 2016)
• In 2016, there were 6,296,000 police-reported motor vehicle traffic crashes in the US. (Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association, 2018)
• About 10 million or more crashes go unreported each year. (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2018)
• In 2010, the economic cost of motor vehicle crashes to the United States totaled $242 billion, equaling 1.6% of the real US Gross Domestic Product in 2010. (NHTSA, 2015)
• In Canada, economic losses caused by traffic collision-related health care costs and lost productivity are at least $10 billion annually. This represents about 1% of Canada's annual Gross Domestic Product. (Government of Canada)
• Highway-rail grade crossing collisions and pedestrian trespass on tracks together constitute over 95% of all railroad fatalities in the United States. (Federal Railroad Administration, 2019)
• Since 1972, the number of train/motor vehicle collisions in the United States has declined by 83%. (Federal Railroad Administration, 2019)

Aggressive Driving Statistics

• 66% of traffic fatalities are caused by aggressive driving. (SafeMotorist.com, 2019)
• 37% of aggressive driving incidents involve a firearm. (SafeMotorist.com, 2019)
• Male and younger drivers ages 19-39 were significantly more likely to engage in aggressive behaviors. (AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 2016)
• Half of the drivers who are on the receiving end of aggressive behavior, such as horn honking, a rude gesture, or tailgating admit to responding with aggressive behavior themselves. (SafeMotorist.com, 2019)
• 2% of drivers admit to trying to run an aggressor off the road at least once. (SafeMotorist.com, 2019)
• In 2014, 0.7% of drivers admitted to regularly blocking other vehicles from changing lanes. 0.3% of drivers admitted to regularly cutting off other vehicles deliberately. 0.1% of drivers admitted to regularly bumping or ramming other vehicles intentionally. (AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 2016)
• On a single day during the 2017-2018 school year, 108,623 school bus drivers across the country reported that 83,944 vehicles passed their stopped school buses illegally.

Pedestrian Safety Statistics

• The number of pedestrian fatalities increased by 27% from 2007 to 2016, while at the same time, all other traffic deaths decreased by 14%. Pedestrian deaths as a proportion of total motor vehicle crash deaths increased steadily from 11% in 2007 to 16% in 2016. Pedestrians now account for a larger percentage of traffic fatalities than they have in the past 33 years. (GHSA, 2018)
• In 2017, the seven states (Alaska, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon, Washington) and Washington, DC that legalized recreational use of marijuana between 2012 and 2016 reported a collective 16.4% increase in pedestrian fatalities for the first six months of 2017 versus the first six months of 2016, whereas all other states reported a collective 5.8% decrease in pedestrian fatalities.
• Pedestrians have a 90% chance of surviving a crash at 30 kph (19 mph) or less but only a 50% chance at higher speeds. (AutoInsurance.org, 2018)
• About half of the deaths resulting from red-light running each year are pedestrians and occupants of other vehicles who are hit. (Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association, 2018)
• Distractions are the number three cause [of pedestrian fatalities], mainly by electronic devices. (Active Transportation Alliance, 2018)
• A pedestrian who is struck at 20 miles an hour has a 10% chance of dying. A pedestrian struck at 40 miles an hour has an 80% chance of dying. (Active Transportation Alliance, 2018)
• 74% of pedestrian fatalities happen at night, and 72% of those killed were not crossing at intersections. (Active Transportation Alliance, 2018)
• 15% of pedestrians killed each year are hit by a drunk driver, while 34% of pedestrians killed are legally drunk themselves. (Active Transportation Alliance, 2018)
• On average, a pedestrian was killed every 1.5 hours in traffic crashes in 2016. (NHTSA, 2017)
• In 2018, 26% of pedestrian deaths in 2018 occurred in crashes between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m., and 24% occurred between 9 p.m. and midnight. (IIHS, 2019)

Winter Driving Statistics

• 17% of all vehicle crashes occur during winter conditions. (NHTSA, 2019)
• There are about 156,000 crashes annually due to icy roads. (Carsurance.net, 2020)
• Weather-related vehicle accidents kill more people annually than large-scale weather disasters. (The Weather Channel, 2018)
• It takes up to 10 times longer to stop on snow and ice than it does on dry pavement. (Geico Insurance, 2018)
• Freeway speeds are reduced by 3% to 13% in light snow and by 5% to 40% in heavy snow. (FHWA, 2019)
• Each year, 24% of weather-related vehicle crashes occur on snowy, slushy or icy pavement and 15% happen during snowfall or sleet. (FHWA, 2019)
• Deicing pays for itself a mere 25 minutes after salt is spread. (Safe Winter Roads, 2019)
• More than 116,000 Americans are injured, and over 1,300 are killed on snowy, slushy or icy pavement every winter. (Safe Winter Roads, 2019)
• A four-wheel traction system can help a car get moving in snow and ice and provide extra control when turning, but it doesn't help the vehicle stop much faster than a front- or rear-wheel-drive car. (US News & World Report, 2018)
• Over 70% of the nation's roads are located in snowy regions, which receive more than five inches (or 13 cm) average snowfall annually. (FHWA, 2019)

Child Safety Statistics

• Heatstroke is one of the leading causes of non-crash-related fatalities among US children. (NHTSA, 2018)
• In 2018, 52 children died in overheated vehicles. Since 1998, 805 children have died in overheated vehicles. Most of them were under age 2. (National Safety Council, 2019)
• An estimated 267 deaths per year are caused when a vehicle backs up onto a person. 31% of these deaths are children under 5 years of age. (Safe Kids Worldwide, 2018)
• Children under the age of 5 are at the highest risk for backover injury or death. (KidsAndCars.org, 2018)
• Drivers ages 16-24 have the lowest seat belt use rate. (Safe Ride 4 Kids, 2018)
• In 2016, frontal airbags saved the lives of 2,756 occupants ages 13 and older. (NHTSA, 2018)
• Over 60% of backover accidents involve a truck or SUV. (KidsAndCars.org, 2018)
• An outside temperature in the mid-60s can cause a vehicle's interior temperature to rise above 110 degrees Fahrenheit. The interior temperature of a car can rise almost 20 degrees Fahrenheit within the first 10 minutes. (NHTSA, 2018)

General Statistics on Driving-Related Fatalities

• Every year, roughly 1.3 million people die in car accidents worldwide - an average of 3,287 deaths per day. (SaferAmerica, 2019)
• 58% of police-reported fatal car accidents in the US involved only one vehicle. (SaferAmerica, 2019)
• Road traffic crashes cause up to 50 million injuries globally each year. (WHO, 2018)
• The number of annual road traffic deaths has reached 1.35 million. (WHO, 2018)
• For 2016, US traffic fatalities increased by an estimated additional 6% totaling more than 40,000 for the first time since 2007. Injuries also jumped up by 7% from 2015, estimated at 4.6 million. (National Safety Council, 2017)
• In the United States, 37,133 people died in motor vehicle crashes in 2017, down 1.8% from 37,806 in 2016, the first decline since 2014. (NHTSA, 2018)
• In 2018 in Canada, there were 1,922 motor vehicle fatalities, up 3.6% from 2017. (Transport Canada, 2019)
• More than 900 people a year die and nearly 2,000 are injured as a result of vehicles running red lights. (Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association, 2018)
• Car occupant deaths have declined 46% since 1975, while pickup occupant deaths have risen 25% and SUV occupant deaths are more than 10 times as high. (IIHS, 2018)
• Boys are more likely to suffer fatal MVC injuries than girls; 61% of fatalities are among boys and 39% among girls. (NHTSA, 2018)
• Frontal impacts accounted for 54% of passenger vehicle occupant deaths in 2016. Side impacts accounted for another 25% of passenger vehicle occupant deaths. (IIHS, 2018)
• A total of 7,488 passenger vehicle occupants died in rollover crashes in 2016. 28% of these did not involve any other impact. (IIHS, 2018)
• Since 1978, driver death rates for single-vehicle rollover crashes have declined across all passenger vehicle types, particularly for SUVs. (IIHS, 2018)
• In Canada, in 2017, there were 5.0 traffic fatalities per 100,000 population. In 2018, there were 5.2 traffic fatalities per 100,000 population. These were the lowest rates since the early 1970s. (Transport Canada, 2019)
• In Canada, in 2017, there were 4.8 fatalities per billion vehicle kilometers traveled. In 2018, there were 4.9 fatalities per billion vehicle kilometers traveled. These were the lowest rates since the early 1970s. (Transport Canada, 2019)
• In the European Union, there were 25,100 road fatalities in 2018, a decline of 21% compared with 2010. This represents an average of 49 road deaths per one million inhabitants. By this measure, the European Union's roads are the safest in the world. (European Commission, 2019)

Fatalities by Location

• Death rates from road traffic accidents are three times higher in low-income countries than in high-income countries. (WHO, 2018)
• Nationwide, 50% of motor vehicle deaths in 2016 occurred in rural areas. (IIHS, 2016)
• In 2016, only 21% of the population lived in rural areas but 60% of crash fatalities occurred in rural areas. (NHTSA, 2018)
• In 2017, there were 222 fatal work zone crashes involving large trucks or buses. (FHWA, 2019)
• In 2017, there were 799 work zone traffic fatalities, up 2% from 2016: 658 drivers and passengers, 136 pedestrians and bicyclists, and 5 others. There were 132 worker fatalities. (FHWA, 2019)
• One work zone fatality occurs for every 4 billion vehicle-miles of travel and for every $112 million worth of roadway construction expenditures. (FHWA, 2019)
• Motorcyclist deaths were more likely to occur in urban than in rural areas (60% vs. 38%). (IIHS, 2019)
• In 2018, 79% of bicyclists were killed in urban areas. In 1975, bicyclist deaths occurred about equally in rural and urban areas. (IIHS, 2019)
• In 2018, 37% of bicyclist deaths occurred at intersections. (IIHS, 2019)
• 81% of pedestrian deaths in 2018 occurred in urban areas, up from 59% in 1975. (IIHS, 2019)
• 40% of pedestrian deaths among people 70 and older in 2018 occurred at intersections, compared with 22% for those younger than 70. (IIHS, 2019)
• About 21% of motor vehicle crashes are weather related. (FHWA, 2019)
• 70% of weather-related crashes happen on wet pavement, 46% during rainfall, 18% during snow or sleet, 16% on snowy or slushy pavement, 13% on icy pavement, and 3% in fog. (FHWA, 2019)

Fatalities by type of road user

• In crashes of large trucks in 2018, 4,136 people were killed. 16% of these deaths were truck occupants, 67% were occupants of cars and other passenger vehicles, and 15% were pedestrians, bicyclists, or motorcyclists. (IIHS, 2019)
• In 2018, 96% of vehicle occupants killed in two-vehicle crashes involving a passenger vehicle and a large truck were occupants of the passenger vehicles. (IIHS, 2019)
• In 2018, 74% of deaths in large truck crashes were in crashes involving tractor-trailers and 27% were in crashes involving single-unit trucks. Some crashes involved both a tractor-trailer and a single-unit truck. (IIHS, 2019)
• In 2018, 62% of large truck occupants killed in multiple-vehicle crashes occurred in collisions involving another large truck. (IIHS, 2019)
• Occupant deaths in large truck crashes per 100 million truck miles traveled have declined substantially since 1975. In 1975, the rates were 3.39 passenger vehicle occupant fatalities and 1.13 large truck occupant fatalities per 100 million truck miles traveled. By 2018, these rates had declined to 0.91 passenger vehicle occupant fatalities and 0.22 large truck occupant fatalities per 100 million truck miles traveled. (IIHS, 2019)
• In 2018, 45% of large truck occupant deaths occurred in rollovers. 42% of SUV occupant deaths occurred in rollovers. Only 20% of occupant deaths in non-SUV cars occurred in rollovers. (IIHS, 2019)
• In 2018, 31% of passenger vehicle occupants killed in two-vehicle crashes with a large truck were in vehicles struck head-on by the truck and another 24% were in vehicles that were side-struck by the truck. 23% involved the front of the passenger vehicle striking the rear of the large truck. (IIHS, 2019)
• More than half of all road traffic deaths worldwide are among pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists. (WHO, 2018)
• In 2017, the number of motorcycle fatalities per mile traveled was nearly 27 times the number of car fatalities per mile traveled. Of those fatalities, 16% of car drivers and 31% of motorcycle drivers did not have a valid operator's license. (IIHS, 2018)
• Motorcycles account for only 0.6% of all vehicle miles traveled, but motorcyclists account for 14% of all traffic fatalities and 17% of all occupant (driver and passenger) fatalities. (NHTSA, 2019)
• While 20% of passenger vehicle crashes result in injury or death, 80% of motorcycle crashes result in injury or death. (NHTSA, 2003)
• In 2018, 37% of motorcyclist deaths occurred in single-vehicle crashes, and 63% of motorcyclist deaths occurred in multiple-vehicle crashes. (IIHS, 2019)
• Among motorcycle drivers killed in 2018, 34% drove motorcycles with engine sizes larger than 1,400 cc, compared with 9% in 2000 and less than 1% in 1990. (IIHS, 2019)
• 48% of motorcyclist deaths in 2018 occurred on weekends, and those deaths were more likely to occur after 6 p.m. compared with weekdays. (IIHS, 2019)
• 53% of motorcyclist deaths in 2018 occurred on major roads other than interstates and freeways. (IIHS, 2019)
• Although bicyclists' traffic deaths have decreased by 15% since 1975, they have increased by 38% since reaching their lowest point in 2010. Most bicyclist deaths in 2018 (87%) were those ages 20 and older. Deaths among bicyclists younger than 20 have declined 89% since 1975, while deaths among bicyclists 20 and older have tripled. (IIHS, 2019)
• Every year since 1975, many more male than female bicyclists have been killed in crashes with motor vehicles. The decline in traffic deaths since 1975 among female bicyclists (38%) was triple the decline among male bicyclists (12%). (IIHS, 2019)
• In 2018, bicyclist deaths were highest (21%) from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. (IIHS, 2019)
• In 2018, 63% of bicyclist deaths occurred on major roads other than interstates and freeways, and 29% occurred on minor roads. Deaths of bicyclists younger than 20 were more likely to occur on minor roads compared with deaths of bicyclists ages 20 and older (44% vs. 28%). (IIHS, 2019)
• Pedestrian deaths accounted for 16% of all traffic fatalities in 2016. (NHTSA, 2018)
• In 2018, 69% of pedestrians killed were male, a percentage that has varied little since 1975. (IIHS, 2019)

Fatalities by gender

• 74% of passenger vehicle occupants killed in 2016 were drivers; 71% of these were males. (IIHS, 2018)
• Male drivers were involved in 34% of fatal crashes in 2016, while female drivers were involved in 12%. (USDOT, 2017)
• In 2018, 71% of all motor vehicle crash deaths were males. Males accounted for 71% of passenger vehicle driver deaths, 48% of passenger vehicle passenger deaths, 97% of large truck driver deaths, 71% of large truck passenger deaths, 69% of pedestrian deaths, 86% of bicyclist deaths, and 91% of motorcyclist deaths. (IIHS, 2019)

Fatalities by Age

• Globally, car accidents are the leading cause of death among young adults ages 15-29 - and the ninth leading cause of death for all people. (SaferAmerica, 2019)
• Road traffic crashes are the eighth leading cause of death for people of all ages. (WHO, 2018)
• Young adults aged 15-44 account for more than half of all road traffic deaths. (SaferAmerica, 2019)
• Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for US teens. (CDC, 2018)
• In 2016, teenagers ages 14-19 years accounted for 74% of crash fatalities among children and died at more than 6 times the rate of children under 14. (Safe Kids Worldwide, 2018)
• Per mile driven, teen drivers ages 16 to 19 are nearly three times more likely than drivers aged 20 and older to be in a fatal crash. (CDC, 2018)
• In 2018, the rate of pedestrian deaths per 100,000 population was highest for pedestrians ages 80-84. (IIHS, 2019)
• In the late 1970s, the proportion of fatally injured motorcyclists who were 50 and older started to increase, rising from 3% of all rider deaths in 1978 to 14% in 1997 and 37% in 2018. In contrast, 28% of the fatally injured motorcyclists in 2018 were younger than 30, compared with 80% in 1975.

Distracted Driving Statistics

• Sending or reading a text takes your eyes off the road for 5 seconds. At 55 mph, that's like driving the length of an entire football field with your eyes closed. (NHTSA, 2018)
• One in three teens who text say they have done so while driving. (NHTSA, 2018)
• Dialing a phone number while driving increases a teen's risk of crashing by six times. (NHTSA, 2018)
• One in four drivers used a cell phone right before they were involved in a crash. (Chicago Tribune, 2017)
• 96% of surveyed drivers consider themselves a safe driver, but 56% admit to using the phone while driving. (Everquote, 2016)
• Dialing a phone is one of the most dangerous distractions, increasing a driver's chance of crashing by 12 times. (Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, 2016)
• Reading or writing increased the risk of crashing by 10 times. (Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, 2016)
• Driving while crying or visibly angry increased the risk of crashing by 10 times. (Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, 2016)
• Using a hands-free electronic device is four times more distracting than talking to an adult passenger. (Driver's Alert, 2017)
• Child passengers can be 12 times more distracting to a driver than talking on a cell phone. One study found that the average parent driver took his or her eyes off the road for three minutes and 22 seconds during a 16-minute trip. (Monash University, 2013)
• Over 80% of drivers admit to dangerous behavior while driving, such as changing clothes, steering with a foot, painting nails, or even shaving. (TeenSafe, 2018)
• The most frequent (62%) cause of distracted driving crashes is being lost in thought or letting your mind wander. (TeenSafe, 2018)
• 20% of drivers say they've styled their hair from behind the wheel. (TeenSafe, 2018)
• Manual transmission vehicles double the chances of distracted driving crashes caused by food consumption. (Drive-Safely.net, 2019)
• Cell phone apps are one reason for the increase in distracted driving. Apps like Snapchat record the speed of a vehicle, the navigation app Waze rewards drivers for reporting traffic conditions in the moment, and games like Pokemon Go encourages drivers to search for virtual creatures along roads and highways. (New York Times, 2016)
• One survey of drivers in six countries found that 35% admitted to changing their clothes while driving, 13% admitted to applying makeup while driving, and 15% admitted to engaging in sexual activity while driving. (WIRED, 2010)
• Men are more likely than women to engage in distracting behavior; more than twice as many men as women watched a video. (Consumer Reports, 2017)
• Distracted driving in the US may be under-reported because many state crash-report forms don’t have a field or code for many forms of distraction. (National Safety Council, 2017)

Texting and Driving Accident Statistics

• 1 out of 3 people text while driving. (Driver Knowledge, 2019)
• Texting while driving increases the risk of crashing by 23 times. (NHTSA, 2018)
• 47 of the 50 US states ban texting while driving, and 15 states ban drivers from hand-held phone use. (FCC, 2017)
• Texting increases your chances of rear-ending someone by a factor of 7. (AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 2018)
• The maximum amount of time that a driver can safely divert his or her attention from the road is two seconds. It takes a driver an average of five seconds to send a text message. (TeenSafe, 2018)
• Each day, 11 teens die in crashes caused by texting and driving. (TeenSafe, 2018)
• 82% of American teens have a cell phone. 52% of these teens note that they talk on the phone while driving and 32% text on the road. (TeenSafe, 2018)
• 61% of drivers say texting is only acceptable if they have a hands-free, voice-activated option; 34% say if it's an emergency; 24% say never. (Consumer Reports, 2017)

Drunk Driving Statistics 2021

• Drunk driving costs the United States $199 billion every year (MADD, 2017)
• Alcohol-impaired driving accounts for more than 30% of all driving fatalities each year. (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 2017)
• Men are nearly twice as likely as women to have been intoxicated behind the wheel or involved in fatal motor vehicle traffic accidents. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016.)
• Every day in America, another 30 people die as a result of drunk driving crashes. That's one person every 48 minutes. (NHTSA, 2018)
• Every day about 800 people are injured in a drunk driving crash. (NHTSA, 2017)
• The rate of under 21 drunk driving fatalities per 100,000 population has declined 29% over the past decade. (NHTSA, 2017)
• About one in three traffic deaths in the United States involve a driver with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08% or higher. (CDC, 2019)
• Every day about 800 people are injured in a drunk-driving crash. (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2016)
• Every day in America, another 29 people die as a result of drunk-driving crashes. That's one person every 50 minutes. (National Center for Statistics and Analysis, 2017)
• In 2017, among people of ages 16 or older, 21.4 million drove after drinking alcohol. (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2017)
• In 2018, 9% of car drivers ages 70 and older had blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) of 0.08% or more, compared with 19% for ages 60-69 and 35% for drivers ages 16-59. (IIHS, 2019)
• 42% of motorcyclists involved in single-vehicle crashes had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of at least 0.08% (which constitutes legal intoxication in most states). (IIHS, 2009)
• In 2018, 3% of fatally injured large truck drivers had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at or above 0.08%, down from 17% in 1982. For comparison, 29% of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers had a BAC at or above 0.08%, down from 51% in 1982. (IIHS, 2019)
• Among bicyclists ages 16 and older who were killed in 2018, 20% had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at or above 0.08%. (IIHS, 2019)
• 42% of pedestrians 16 and older killed in nighttime (9 p.m. to 6 a.m.) crashes in 2018 had blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) at or above 0.08%, compared with 61% in 1982. The rate of high BACs among pedestrians 16 and older killed in the daytime (6 a.m. to 9 p.m.) crashes in 2018 was 25%, compared with 27% in 1982.

Impaired Driving Statistics

• After alcohol, marijuana is the drug most often linked to drugged driving. (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2016)
• On average, three in five people will be involved in a crash due to impaired driving in their lifetime. (National Center for Statistics and Analysis, 2017)
• No distraction rivaled the risk involved with driving while impaired by drugs or alcohol, which multiplied crash rates by 36 times. (Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, 2016)
• In 2017, among people of ages 16 or older, 12.8 million drove after using illicit drugs. (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2017)
• The number of alcohol-positive drivers killed in crashes who also tested positive for drugs increased by 16% from 2006 to 2016. (Governors Highway Safety Association, 2017 )
• Among drug-positive drivers killed in crashes in 2016, 4% tested positive for both marijuana and opioids, 16% for opioids only, 38% for marijuana only, and 42% for other drugs. (Governors Highway Safety Association, 2017)
• The percentage of traffic deaths in which at least one driver tested positive for drugs has nearly doubled over a decade. (USA Today, 2016)
• 50 mg of diphenhydramine (a popular over-the-counter antihistamine) can impair your driving more than a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.10%. (The legal limit for BAC is under 0.08% in most US states.) (University of Iowa, 2000)
• The common cold can increase a driver’s reaction time about as much as a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08% (which constitutes legal intoxication in most states). This does not include possible additional driving impairment from medications taken to treat the common cold. (Cardiff University, 2012)
• It is estimated that 0.08% of commercial drivers have a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of at least 0.04% (the legal limit for commercial drivers) while on the road. (The standard error of this estimate is 0.03%.) Furthermore, it is estimated that 0.8% of commercial drivers have used drugs while on the road. (The standard error for this estimate is 0.3%.) (FMCSA, 2019)
• In traffic crashes that involve the use of drugs or alcohol, injuries occur in 90% of motorcycle crashes compared with 33% of automobile crashes. Every year in the United States, about 2,000 motorcyclists are killed and about 50,000 are seriously injured in this type of crash. (Motorcycle Safety Foundation)
• In the United States, 29% of motorcyclists killed in crashes had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08% or more, meaning that they were legally intoxicated at the time. An additional 8% had a BAC above zero but less than 0.08%. (Motorcycle Safety Foundation)

Fatigued Driving Statistics

• 35% of US drivers sleep less than the recommended seven hours daily. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016)
• It is estimated that in 2017, 91,000 police-reported crashes involved drowsy drivers. These crashes led to an estimated 50,000 people injured and nearly 800 deaths. (NHTSA, 2019)
• Drivers who decide to drive sleep-deprived are responsible for more than 6,400 US deaths annually. (National Sleep Foundation, 2018)
• Being awake for 18 hours straight can impair driving as much as a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.05%. (National Sleep Foundation, 2018)
• Drivers missing 2-3 hours of sleep in 24 hours more than quadrupled their risk of a crash compared with drivers getting the recommended seven hours of sleep. (AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 2016)
• If a driver falls asleep for just four seconds while traveling at a speed of 100 km/h (62 mph), the vehicle will travel 111 meters (364 feet) without a driver in control. (The length of a US football field including the two end zones is 360 feet.) (Transport Accident Commission, 2018)
• Driving while sleepy can make a driver approximately two-and-a-half times as likely to have a motor vehicle accident. (Sleep, Journal of the Sleep Research Society, 2017)
• Men (17%) are three times as likely as women (5%) to say they have fallen asleep at the wheel. (AA-Populus motoring panel survey, 2018)
• Drivers who get only five or six hours of sleep in 24 hours nearly double their risk of a crash. (AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 2016)
• While 97% of drivers view drowsy driving as a completely unacceptable behavior that is a serious threat to their safety, nearly one in three admit that at least once in the past month they drove when they were so tired they had a hard time keeping their eyes open. (AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 2016)
• 5% of all crashes involved drowsy drivers, based on the portion of time the drivers' eyes were closed in the minutes before a crash. The portion grows to 10.8% in more severe crashes. (AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 2016)
• In 2001-2003, truck driver fatigue was associated with 13% of serious truck crashes. (NHTSA, 2006)

Teen Accident Statistics

• Teens aged 15-20 without driver education are responsible for 91% of teen driver crashes. (Oregon DOT, 2018)
• In the US, the fatal crash rate per mile driven for drivers ages 16-19 is nearly triple the rate for drivers ages 20 and over. And the fatal crash rate per mile driven is nearly twice as high for drivers ages 16-17 as it is for drivers ages 18-19. (IIHS, 2017)
• The most common types of teen crashes involve left-hand turns, rear-end events, and running off the road. (DriveTeam, 2017)
• Speed was a factor in 31% of US teen driver fatalities. (NHTSA, 2016)
• When a teen driving has an additional passenger with them, the risk of them getting into a fatal car crash doubles. If two or more passengers are present, the odds are five times as likely. (TeenSafe, 2018)
• 53% of motor vehicle crash deaths among teenagers occurred on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. (IIHS, 2016)
• 20% of female teens and 24% of male teens who crash say they were distracted by a passenger before the crash occurred. (DriveTeam, 2017)
• New drivers are eight times more likely to crash or have a close call in the first three months after getting a license than during the last three months on a learner's permit. (Journal of Adolescent Health, 2018)
• Student drivers steadily improved in the last three months before getting their driver's licenses; by the end, teenage girls and boys alike were as safe as the adults in their rates of crashing or risky driving. (Journal of Adolescent Health, 2018)
• After they had a license to drive independently, however, teenagers' rates of crashes and near misses shot up—and while girls' crash rates then fell back, boys continued to drive unsafely. (Journal of Adolescent Health, 2018)

Senior Accident Statistics

• Senior drivers often try to reduce their risk of injury by wearing safety belts, observing speed limits, and not drinking and driving. (AAA, 2019)
• 18% of all traffic fatalities in 2016 were among people 65 years and older. (NHTSA, 2017)
• Per mile traveled, fatal crash rates increase beginning at age 75 and rise sharply after age 80. This is mainly due to an increased risk of injury and medical complications, not an increased risk of crashes. (AAA, 2019)
• Except for teen drivers, seniors have the highest crash death rate per mile driven, even though they drive fewer miles than younger people. (AAA, 2019)
• Since older drivers are more fragile, their fatality rates are 17 times higher than those of 25- to 64-year-olds. (AAA, 2019)
• Among drivers ages 80 and greater who were involved in fatal crashes in 2018, multiple-vehicle crashes accounted for 39% of fatal crashes, compared with 20% for drivers ages 16-59. (IIHS, 2019)
• The rate of fatalities per capita among older people has decreased by 43% since 1975. (IIHS, 2018)
• More than 3.5 million Americans 85 and older currently hold a driver's license. (Consumer Reports, 2017)
• Senior drivers are more likely to hurt themselves than to put others at risk. (EU Mobility & Transport, 2019)
• The fatality rate for drivers over 75 is more than five times higher than the average, and their injury rate is twice as high. (EU Mobility & Transport, 2019)
• Elderly drivers make up for physical disadvantages through their driving experience. (EU Mobility & Transport, 2019)
• In Europe, older drivers are over-represented in crashes at intersections. Typically the older driver turns against oncoming traffic with the right-of-way on the main road. (EU Mobility & Transport, 2019)
• In Europe, older drivers are under-represented in crashes involving loss of control or collisions due to speeding, risky passing, or driving under the influence of alcohol. (EU Mobility & Transport, 2019)

Trucking Statistics

• About 130,000 individuals are injured each year in truck collisions. (TruckAccidents.org, 2019)
• The average age of a trucker is 49. (Business Insider, 2016)
• 3,864 US fatal crashes involved trucks over 10,000 lbs. (FMCSA, 2016)
• In 2018, crashes of large trucks accounted for 11% of all motor vehicle crash deaths. (IIHS, 2019)
• Approximately 61% of all fatal US crashes involving large trucks occurred in rural areas, 27% occurred on Interstate highways, and 15% fell into both categories by occurring on rural Interstate highways. (FMCSA, 2016)
• In 2018, 52% of deaths in large truck crashes occurred on major roads other than interstates and freeways, 33% occurred on interstates and freeways, and 14% occurred on minor roads.
• 37% of all fatal crashes, 23% of all injury crashes, and 20% of all property-damage-only crashes involving large trucks occurred at night (6:00 pm to 6:00 am). (FMCSA, 2016)
• 84% of fatal crashes and 88% of nonfatal crashes involving large trucks occurred on weekdays (Monday through Friday). (FMCSA, 2016)
• 30% of US work zone fatal crashes and 12% of work zone injury crashes involved at least one large truck. (FMCSA, 2017)
• In 2016, when federal and state inspectors pulled commercial motor vehicles (such as buses and trucks) off the road for roadside inspections, they found that 4.92% of the drivers, 19.96% of the vehicles, and 3.96% of the hazardous materials cargoes (when present) had sufficient violations to require ordering the drivers or vehicles out of service. (FMCSA, 2017)
• Hazardous materials cargoes were present on 4% of the large trucks involved in fatal US crashes and 2% of those in nonfatal crashes. (FMCSA, 2016)
• Of the 3.5 million truck drivers in the United States, 5.8% (just over 200,000) are women. (Business Insider, 2016)
• 80% of all cargo in America is transported by the trucking industry, four times as much as air (8%), pipeline (6%), rail (4%), and water (2%) combined. Business Insider, 2016
• Truck drivers log 432 billion miles annually. (Business Insider, 2016)
• Truck drivers work 70 hours in an 8-day work week before getting a day off vs. 47 hours per week for an average American. (Business Insider, 2016)
• US trucking consumes 54 billion gallons of fuel per year. (Business Insider, 2016)
• Truck driving is the most common occupation in 29 states. (Business Insider, 2016)
• Truck driving is also the most dangerous occupation in the United States, with 28.3 fatal injuries per 100,000 full-time workers in 2018. Agriculture was in second place with 23.4 fatal injuries; fossil fuel extraction was in third place with 14.1 fatal injuries. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018)
• In 2017, the average annual pay for a US truck driver was $42,480 per year. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018)

Bus Driving Statistics

• As of 2016, there are approximately 687,200 bus drivers employed in the United States. (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2017)
• Bus travel (all types: school bus, coach bus, and transit bus) is second only to commercial air travel in terms of safety. In the period 2000-2009, the numbers of US passenger fatalities per billion vehicle miles traveled were as follows:
  • Commercial aviation: 0.07
  • Bus: 0.11
  • Urban mass transit rail: 0.24
  • Commuter rail and Amtrak: 0.43
  • Local ferry boat: 3.17
  • Passenger car or light truck: 7.28
  • Motorcycle: 212.57
  • (Northwestern University, 2013)
• The rate of fatal bus crashes per 100 million vehicle miles traveled has trended downward since the mid-1980s. In 1985, there were 7.53 fatal bus crashes per 100 million vehicle miles traveled. In 2017, there were just 1.33 fatal bus crashes. (In this context, a "bus" is defined as any motor vehicle that is designed to carry at least nine persons, including the driver.) (FMCSA, 2017)
• Total annual car mileage saved by students riding school buses is 62,399,998,800. (American School Bus Council, 2019)
• Every school bus on the road eliminates approximately 36 cars. (American School Bus Council, 2019)
• It would take over 17 million cars to transport all the students currently riding on all school buses in the United States. (American School Bus Council, 2019)
• Students are about 70 times more likely to get to school safely when taking a school bus instead of traveling by car. (NHTSA, 2019)
• Some 480,000 school buses carry 25 million children — more than half of America's schoolchildren — each day, making the school bus industry the largest form of mass transit in the United States. (American School Bus Council, 2019)
• Almost one-third of those who died taking a school bus to school were killed while they were approaching or leaving the bus. (NHTSA, 2016)
• Although four to six school-age children die each year on school transportation vehicles, that's less than 1% of all traffic fatalities nationwide. (NHTSA, 2019)
• Most of those schoolchildren who are killed in school bus-related accidents are 5 to 7 years old. They are hit in the "danger zones" around the bus. These are the areas 10 feet in front of the bus, 10 feet behind it, and 10 feet to either side of it. The children are struck either by the school bus itself or by a passing vehicle, even though it is illegal for a vehicle to pass a school bus when its red lights are flashing. (Stanford Children's Health, 2019)

Taxi/Ridesharing/Limousine Statistics

• Taxi drivers suffer the highest murder rate of any occupation. (CBS News, 2019)
• The median annual wage for taxi drivers, ride-hailing drivers, and chauffeurs was $24,880 in May 2017. (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2017)
• About 1 in 4 US taxi drivers, ride-hailing drivers, and chauffeurs worked part-time in 2016. (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2017)
• There are 3 million Uber drivers worldwide. Of these drivers, 750,000 are based in the US, with the remaining 2.25 million spread over the rest of the world. (Uber, 2018)
• In the United States, the average taxi logs 70,000 miles each year. (New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission, 2018)
• The average salary for a US professional taxi driver is $35,000. (Salary.com, 2019)
• The majority of Uber drivers use the platform to supplement their main source of income. Nearly 50% earn less than $99 per month, and 84% earn less than $500. Only 2% of Uber drivers earn more than $1,500 per month, and none earn more than $2,000. (Earnest, 2017)

Seat belt Statistics

• If you are not wearing a seat belt, you are 30 times more likely to be ejected from your vehicle during a crash. (Your chance of death is much higher if you are ejected from your vehicle.) (Driver Knowledge, 2019)
• Men are 10% less likely to wear seat belts than women. (Virtual Drive, 2019)
• Adults aged 18-34 are less likely to wear seat belts than those 35 or older. (Virtual Drive, 2019)
• With 45% to 60% effectiveness, seat belts are the single most effective means of reducing the risk of death in a crash and have saved nearly 300,000 lives since 1975 in the United States alone. (AAA, 2019)
• Seat belt use in passenger vehicles saved an estimated 14,668 lives in the US. (NCSA, 2016)
• The national use rate of seat belts in the US is at 90.1%. (NHTSA, 2018)
• 48% of passenger vehicle occupants killed in the US were unrestrained. (NHTSA, 2016)
• Among 2016 passenger vehicle occupant fatalities where restraint use was known, the 13-to-15 age group had the highest percentage of unrestrained occupants (62%), followed by the 25-to-34 and 21-to-24 age groups, at 59% and 58% unrestrained, respectively. (NHTSA, 2017)
• When restraint use was known, 52% of male fatalities and 40% of female fatalities were unrestrained. (NHTSA, 2017)
• One study found that in modern cars with front-seat safety devices such as airbags, the risk of a restrained passenger dying in a crash was no greater in the front seat than in the rear seat. Furthermore, unrestrained rear-seat passengers were nearly eight times as likely to sustain a serious injury in a crash as restrained rear-seat passengers. (IIHS and The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 2015)
• One survey found that 91% of front-seat passengers wear seat belts while only 74% of rear-seat passengers in personal vehicles and 57% in hired vehicles (e.g., taxis) wear seat belts. The most commonly cited reason for not wearing a seat belt in the rear seat was the belief that the rear seat is safer than the front seat. (Actually, modern front-seat safety devices have negated that safety advantage.) (IIHS, 2017)
• Among killed passenger vehicle occupants with known restraint use, 47% of those in the front row and 57% of those in the second row of seats were unrestrained. (NHTSA, 2017)
• Restraint use differed by vehicle type: 60% of drivers of pickup trucks, 53% of SUV drivers, 42% of passenger car drivers, and 37% of van drivers who were killed were unrestrained. (NHTSA, 2017)
• In 2018, 49% of fatally injured large truck drivers were using seat belts, the same percentage as fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers. (NHTSA, 2019)

Airbags Statistics

• The fatality-reducing effectiveness for airbags is 14% when no seatbelt is used and 11% when a seatbelt is used in conjunction with airbags. Side airbags, which protect the head, chest, and abdomen, reduce driver deaths by an estimated 37%. (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 2019)
• Airbags are 14% effective in preventing fatalities. (Automobile Magazine, 2016)
• In 2016, an estimated 2,756 lives were saved due to the use of frontal airbags in passenger cars. (Statista, 2019)
• From 1987 to 2015, frontal airbags saved 44,869 lives in the US. (NHTSA, 2016)
• Studies indicate that there may be a correlation between height, weight, and driver injuries from airbags. Shorter (under 160 cm or 5'3") and lighter (under 55 kg or 121 lb) drivers who sit closer to the steering wheel suffer more injuries from airbags. (The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, 2017)
• In general, European airbags hold 35 liters of gas propellant and fully inflate within 25 milliseconds, which means that they expand at anything up to 160 mph. American airbags, usually holding 60 liters of gas, have to inflate even faster. (The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, 2017)

Other Vehicle Safety Equipment Statistics

• In motorcycle crashes in 2016, wearing a helmet reduced the likelihood of death by 37% for the operator and 41% for the passenger. (NHTSA, 2018)
• 61% percent of bicyclists killed in 2018 were not wearing helmets. Helmet use was unknown for 24%. (IIHS, 2019)
• One study has found that electronic stability control (ESC) has reduced the risk of being involved in a crash by 7% (95% confidence limits 3–10), the risk of being injured in a crash by 9% (3–14), and the risk of being killed in a crash by 56% (39–68). (IIHS, 2004)
• Studies have shown that forward collision warning (FCW) reduces rear-end crashes by 23%, while FCW with automatic emergency braking (AEB) reduces them by 39%. (IIHS, 2016)
• Studies have also shown that FCW with AEB reduces the rate of rear-end crashes with injuries by 42%. (IIHS, 2016)
• The biggest drawback of some current FCW systems and AEB systems is too many false alarms. (Consumer Reports, 2019)
• Vehicle owners have found lane departure warning more annoying than other crash avoidance technologies. (IIHS, 2016)
• Australia has found that wearing protective clothing significantly reduces the risk of injury to the rider in a motorcycle crash. Motorcyclists were significantly less likely to be admitted to the hospital if they crashed wearing motorcycle jackets (relative risk = 0.79, 95% confidence interval: 0.69–0.91), pants (RR = 0.49, 95% CI: 0.25–0.94), or gloves (RR = 0.41, 95% CI: 0.26–0.66). When garments included fitted body armor, there was a significantly reduced risk of injury to the upper body (RR = 0.77, 95% CI: 0.66–0.89), hands and wrists (RR = 0.55, 95% CI: 0.38–0.81), legs (RR = 0.60, 95% CI: 0.40–0.90), feet and ankles (RR = 0.54, 95% CI: 0.35–0.83). Non-motorcycle boots were also associated with a reduced risk of injury compared to shoes or joggers (RR = 0.46, 95% CI: 0.28–0.75). (University of Sydney Australia et al., 2011)
• Europe has found that motorcycle antilock braking systems (ABS) significantly reduce the risk of crashes involving injury to the rider. The effectiveness of motorcycle ABS in reducing injury crashes ranged from 24% (95% confidence interval [CI], 12–36) in Italy to 29% (95% CI, 20–38) in Spain, and 34% (95% CI, 16–52) in Sweden. The reductions in severe and fatal crashes were even greater, at 34% (95% CI, 24–44) in Spain and 42% (95% CI, 23–61) in Sweden. (Swedish Transport Administration (STA), 2014)