Fatality Facts 2023Yearly snapshot

Overview

A total of 40,901 people died in motor vehicle crashes in 2023. The U.S. Department of Transportation’s most recent estimate of the annual economic cost of crashes is $340 billion (Blincoe et al., 2023). Contributing to the death toll are alcohol, speeding, lack of seat belt use and other problematic behaviors. Death rates vary by vehicle type, driver age and sex, and other factors.

In 1975, the U.S. Department of Transportation started an annual census of motor vehicle deaths, recording information on crash type, vehicle type, road type, driver characteristics and a variety of other factors. Institute researchers analyze these data each year to quantify the public health problem of motor vehicle deaths.

The following facts are based on analysis of data from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System.

Posted July 2025.

Trends

Although the U.S. population has grown continuously since the 1970s, the rate of crash deaths per 100,000 people in 2023 was 41% lower than it was in 1975, and the rate per 100 million miles traveled has declined 62%.

Motor vehicle crash deaths and deaths per 100,000 people, 1975-2023

Motor vehicle crash deaths per 100,000 people by type, 1975-2023
Year	Deaths	Population	Rate per 100k persons	Miles traveled (millions)	Rate per 100 million miles
1975	44,525	215,973,199	20.6	1,330,074	3.35
1976	45,523	218,035,164	20.9	1,409,163	3.23
1977	47,878	220,239,425	21.7	1,476,567	3.24
1978	50,331	222,584,545	22.6	1,548,213	3.25
1979	51,093	225,055,487	22.7	1,529,133	3.34
1980	51,091	227,224,719	22.5	1,520,857	3.36
1981	49,301	229,465,608	21.5	1,550,271	3.18
1982	43,945	231,664,496	19.0	1,592,481	2.76
1983	42,589	233,791,903	18.2	1,649,106	2.58
1984	44,257	235,824,783	18.8	1,716,768	2.58
1985	43,825	237,923,732	18.4	1,774,762	2.47
1986	46,087	240,132,841	19.2	1,838,240	2.51
1987	46,390	242,289,023	19.1	1,924,327	2.41
1988	47,087	244,498,836	19.3	2,025,586	2.32
1989	45,582	246,819,119	18.5	2,107,040	2.16
1990	44,599	249,464,396	17.9	2,147,501	2.08
1991	41,508	252,153,092	16.5	2,172,214	1.91
1992	39,250	255,029,699	15.4	2,239,828	1.75
1993	40,150	257,782,608	15.6	2,296,585	1.75
1994	40,716	260,327,021	15.6	2,357,588	1.73
1995	41,817	262,803,276	15.9	2,422,775	1.73
1996	42,065	265,228,572	15.9	2,482,202	1.69
1997	42,013	267,783,607	15.7	2,560,373	1.64
1998	41,501	270,248,003	15.4	2,625,367	1.58
1999	41,717	272,690,813	15.3	2,691,335	1.55
2000	41,945	282,192,162	14.9	2,749,803	1.53
2001	42,196	285,102,075	14.8	2,781,462	1.52
2002	43,005	287,941,220	14.9	2,855,756	1.51
2003	42,884	290,788,976	14.7	2,890,893	1.48
2004	42,836	293,655,404	14.6	2,962,513	1.45
2005	43,510	296,410,404	14.7	2,989,807	1.46
2006	42,708	299,398,484	14.3	3,014,116	1.42
2007	41,259	301,621,157	13.7	3,032,399	1.36
2008	37,423	304,059,724	12.3	2,973,509	1.26
2009	33,883	307,006,550	11.0	2,977,591	1.14
2010	32,999	309,327,143	10.7	2,966,506	1.11
2011	32,479	311,583,481	10.4	2,946,131	1.10
2012	33,782	313,877,662	10.8	2,969,433	1.14
2013	32,894	316,059,947	10.4	2,988,280	1.10
2014	32,744	318,386,329	10.3	3,025,656	1.08
2015	35,485	320,738,994	11.1	3,095,373	1.15
2016	37,806	323,071,755	11.7	3,174,408	1.19
2017	37,473	325,122,128	11.5	3,212,347	1.17
2018	36,835	326,838,199	11.3	3,240,327	1.14
2019	36,355	328,329,953	11.1	3,261,772	1.11
2020	39,007	329,484,123	11.8	2,903,622	1.34
2021	43,230	331,893,745	13.0	3,140,088	1.38
2022	42,721	333,287,557	12.8	3,196,191	1.34
2023	40,901	334,914,895	12.2	3,246,817	1.26

Fifty-nine percent of crash fatalities in 2023 were passenger vehicle occupants, 18% were pedestrians, 15% were motorcyclists, 3% were bicyclists, and 2% were occupants of large trucks.

Motor vehicle crash deaths by type, 1975-2023
Year	Passenger vehicle occupants		Pedestrians		Motorcyclists		Bicyclists		Large truck occupants		Other		All motor vehicle deaths
Year	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number
1975	30,601	69	7,516	17	3,180	7	1,003	2	916	2	1,309	3	44,525
1976	31,724	70	7,427	16	3,306	7	914	2	1,100	2	1,052	2	45,523
1977	32,823	69	7,732	16	4,099	9	922	2	1,229	3	1,073	2	47,878
1978	34,923	69	7,795	15	4,574	9	892	2	1,315	3	832	2	50,331
1979	35,026	69	8,096	16	4,892	10	932	2	1,372	3	775	2	51,093
1980	34,996	68	8,070	16	5,138	10	965	2	1,183	2	739	1	51,091
1981	33,711	68	7,837	16	4,896	10	936	2	1,082	2	839	2	49,301
1982	29,656	67	7,331	17	4,449	10	864	2	917	2	728	2	43,945
1983	29,154	68	6,826	16	4,260	10	830	2	960	2	559	1	42,589
1984	30,094	68	7,025	16	4,602	10	838	2	1,040	2	658	1	44,257
1985	29,848	68	6,808	16	4,562	10	869	2	941	2	797	2	43,825
1986	32,224	70	6,779	15	4,566	10	929	2	892	2	697	2	46,087
1987	33,145	71	6,745	15	4,034	9	940	2	821	2	705	2	46,390
1988	34,105	72	6,870	15	3,661	8	901	2	886	2	664	1	47,087
1989	33,599	74	6,556	14	3,135	7	822	2	822	2	648	1	45,582
1990	32,711	73	6,482	15	3,243	7	853	2	684	2	626	1	44,599
1991	30,810	74	5,801	14	2,805	7	836	2	650	2	606	1	41,508
1992	29,457	75	5,549	14	2,395	6	717	2	580	1	552	1	39,250
1993	29,994	75	5,649	14	2,445	6	806	2	590	1	666	2	40,150
1994	30,820	76	5,489	13	2,317	6	796	2	658	2	636	2	40,716
1995	31,914	76	5,584	13	2,226	5	828	2	634	2	631	2	41,817
1996	32,354	77	5,449	13	2,161	5	761	2	602	1	738	2	42,065
1997	32,343	77	5,321	13	2,116	5	811	2	717	2	705	2	42,013
1998	31,781	77	5,228	13	2,294	6	757	2	739	2	702	2	41,501
1999	32,008	77	4,939	12	2,483	6	750	2	747	2	790	2	41,717
2000	32,109	77	4,763	11	2,895	7	689	2	737	2	752	2	41,945
2001	31,938	76	4,901	12	3,195	8	729	2	691	2	742	2	42,196
2002	32,724	76	4,851	11	3,267	8	663	2	675	2	825	2	43,005
2003	32,166	75	4,774	11	3,710	9	626	1	703	2	905	2	42,884
2004	31,750	74	4,675	11	4,026	9	722	2	743	2	920	2	42,836
2005	31,455	72	4,892	11	4,575	11	784	2	758	2	1,046	2	43,510
2006	30,628	72	4,795	11	4,810	11	769	2	774	2	932	2	42,708
2007	29,155	71	4,699	11	5,174	13	699	2	745	2	787	2	41,259
2008	25,547	68	4,414	12	5,307	14	716	2	615	2	824	2	37,423
2009	23,507	69	4,109	12	4,467	13	628	2	449	1	723	2	33,883
2010	22,351	68	4,302	13	4,517	14	621	2	475	1	733	2	32,999
2011	21,413	66	4,457	14	4,630	14	680	2	555	2	744	2	32,479
2012	21,906	65	4,818	14	4,986	15	730	2	590	2	752	2	33,782
2013	21,361	65	4,779	15	4,691	14	747	2	589	2	727	2	32,894
2014	21,131	65	4,910	15	4,594	14	723	2	585	2	801	2	32,744
2015	22,741	64	5,495	15	5,026	14	828	2	598	2	797	2	35,485
2016	23,957	63	6,080	16	5,337	14	848	2	662	2	922	2	37,806
2017	23,866	64	6,075	16	5,229	14	800	2	680	2	823	2	37,473
2018	23,046	63	6,374	17	5,038	14	868	2	677	2	832	2	36,835
2019	22,557	62	6,272	17	5,044	14	856	2	680	2	946	3	36,355
2020	24,135	62	6,565	17	5,619	14	942	2	609	2	1,137	3	39,007
2021	26,728	62	7,470	17	6,137	14	971	2	759	2	1,165	3	43,230
2022	25,803	60	7,593	18	6,255	15	1,096	3	820	2	1,154	3	42,721
2023	24,238	59	7,314	18	6,335	15	1,155	3	709	2	1,150	3	40,901

Age and sex

At all ages, males had higher per capita crash death rates than females in 2023. Males ages 20 to 24 had the highest rates of crash deaths, while females ages 12 and younger had the lowest rate.

Motor vehicle crash deaths per 100,000 people by age and sex, 2023
Age	Male			Female			Total*
Age	Population	Deaths	Rate	Population	Deaths	Rate	Population	Deaths	Rate
<13	26,065,242	438	1.7	24,905,952	341	1.4	50,971,194	781	1.5
13-15	6,657,280	339	5.1	6,342,399	140	2.2	12,999,679	480	3.7
16-19	9,006,150	1,824	20.3	8,596,938	742	8.6	17,603,088	2,568	14.6
20-24	11,126,811	3,108	27.9	10,684,361	1,019	9.5	21,811,172	4,133	18.9
25-29	11,175,898	2,871	25.7	10,842,462	921	8.5	22,018,360	3,799	17.3
30-34	11,883,289	2,777	23.4	11,640,867	1,003	8.6	23,524,156	3,784	16.1
35-39	11,364,080	2,454	21.6	11,142,564	822	7.4	22,506,644	3,281	14.6
40-44	10,998,156	2,303	20.9	10,885,893	826	7.6	21,884,049	3,135	14.3
45-49	9,886,355	1,989	20.1	9,930,655	634	6.4	19,817,010	2,626	13.3
50-54	10,300,754	1,973	19.2	10,376,017	644	6.2	20,676,771	2,621	12.7
55-59	10,166,391	2,121	20.9	10,439,866	686	6.6	20,606,257	2,808	13.6
60-64	10,337,454	2,103	20.3	10,910,700	726	6.7	21,248,154	2,833	13.3
65-69	9,125,260	1,715	18.8	10,025,468	669	6.7	19,150,728	2,389	12.5
70-74	7,209,820	1,239	17.2	8,324,736	638	7.7	15,534,556	1,879	12.1
75-79	5,166,023	972	18.8	6,221,394	516	8.3	11,387,417	1,489	13.1
80-84	2,996,476	685	22.9	3,984,204	467	11.7	6,980,680	1,152	16.5
85+	2,283,961	576	25.2	3,911,019	405	10.4	6,194,980	982	15.9
Total*	165,749,400	29,584	17.8	169,165,495	11,229	6.6	334,914,895	40,901	12.2
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

From 1975 to 2023, the rate of deaths per 100,000 people declined by 81% for people 12 and younger (from 7.9 to 1.5), 66% for teenagers (from 29.4 to 10.0), 41% for people ages 20-34 (from 29.6 to 17.4), 23% for people ages 35-69 (from 17.5 to 13.5), and 47% for people 70 and older (from 25.9 to 13.7).

Motor vehicle crash deaths per 100,000 people by age group, 1975-2023
Year	<13 years			13-19 years			20-34 years			35-69 years			70+ years
Year	Population	Number	Rate	Population	Number	Rate	Population	Number	Rate	Population	Number	Rate	Population	Number	Rate
1975	45,851,304	3,643	7.9	29,795,023	8,748	29.4	50,998,098	15,074	29.6	74,764,829	13,080	17.5	14,563,945	3,775	25.9
1976	45,000,704	3,424	7.6	29,909,414	9,356	31.3	52,745,005	15,517	29.4	75,419,921	13,137	17.4	14,960,120	3,896	26.0
1977	44,337,332	3,347	7.5	29,800,313	9,633	32.3	54,497,448	17,287	31.7	76,203,083	13,460	17.7	15,401,249	3,859	25.1
1978	43,907,467	3,367	7.7	29,543,252	9,940	33.6	55,909,063	18,886	33.8	77,348,222	14,020	18.1	15,876,541	3,824	24.1
1979	43,778,959	3,171	7.2	29,077,607	9,920	34.1	57,499,197	19,675	34.2	78,311,107	14,232	18.2	16,388,617	3,772	23.0
1980	43,914,342	3,048	6.9	28,486,487	9,524	33.4	58,814,391	20,110	34.2	79,111,522	14,219	18.0	16,897,977	3,861	22.8
1981	44,049,940	2,733	6.2	27,743,947	8,315	30.0	60,563,416	19,887	32.8	79,785,591	13,950	17.5	17,322,714	3,871	22.3
1982	44,131,596	2,573	5.8	27,160,586	7,323	27.0	61,099,524	17,465	28.6	81,488,902	12,685	15.6	17,783,888	3,655	20.6
1983	44,119,297	2,518	5.7	26,737,497	6,805	25.5	61,840,154	16,853	27.3	82,861,204	12,488	15.1	18,233,751	3,734	20.5
1984	43,978,044	2,422	5.5	26,435,885	6,952	26.3	62,491,255	17,579	28.1	84,256,661	13,006	15.4	18,662,938	4,052	21.7
1985	44,260,136	2,469	5.6	26,001,247	6,737	25.9	62,961,154	17,031	27.1	85,628,410	13,126	15.3	19,072,785	4,206	22.1
1986	44,755,454	2,537	5.7	25,592,481	7,466	29.2	63,115,889	18,132	28.7	87,205,537	13,263	15.2	19,463,480	4,445	22.8
1987	45,348,247	2,654	5.9	25,209,615	7,293	28.9	63,032,298	17,676	28.0	88,808,046	14,074	15.8	19,890,817	4,555	22.9
1988	45,942,966	2,701	5.9	25,004,445	7,242	29.0	62,784,739	17,613	28.1	90,464,406	14,458	16.0	20,302,280	4,925	24.3
1989	46,690,604	2,658	5.7	24,664,300	6,688	27.1	62,494,056	16,512	26.4	92,250,762	14,651	15.9	20,719,397	4,943	23.9
1990	47,472,527	2,332	4.9	24,404,795	6,364	26.1	62,282,683	16,366	26.3	94,140,108	14,568	15.5	21,164,283	4,844	22.9
1991	48,240,747	2,257	4.7	24,066,587	5,760	23.9	62,025,750	14,949	24.1	96,068,111	13,587	14.1	21,751,897	4,843	22.3
1992	48,903,668	2,165	4.4	24,163,175	5,215	21.6	61,427,100	13,445	21.9	98,214,539	13,414	13.7	22,321,217	4,901	22.0
1993	49,335,864	2,164	4.4	24,664,091	5,421	22.0	60,582,332	13,456	22.2	100,399,648	13,748	13.7	22,800,673	5,221	22.9
1994	49,692,462	2,301	4.6	25,219,838	5,632	22.3	59,629,351	13,020	21.8	102,541,525	14,251	13.9	23,243,845	5,425	23.3
1995	49,920,484	2,201	4.4	25,764,300	5,675	22.0	58,712,407	13,330	22.7	104,712,328	15,018	14.3	23,693,757	5,509	23.3
1996	50,085,188	2,186	4.4	26,357,198	5,819	22.1	57,753,910	12,869	22.3	106,975,953	15,496	14.5	24,056,323	5,578	23.2
1997	50,364,983	2,108	4.2	26,730,812	5,730	21.4	57,046,569	12,334	21.6	109,232,426	15,860	14.5	24,408,817	5,872	24.1
1998	50,527,476	2,032	4.0	27,174,728	5,610	20.6	56,421,053	11,785	20.9	111,331,195	16,185	14.5	24,793,551	5,798	23.4
1999	50,667,139	1,997	3.9	27,518,156	5,752	20.9	55,961,401	11,840	21.2	113,451,312	16,384	14.4	25,092,805	5,657	22.5
2000	52,219,423	1,888	3.6	28,326,412	5,685	20.1	58,971,709	12,174	20.6	117,114,739	16,700	14.3	25,559,879	5,379	21.0
2001	52,341,395	1,751	3.3	28,437,711	5,594	19.7	59,465,066	12,375	20.8	119,060,436	16,934	14.2	25,797,467	5,425	21.0
2002	52,332,306	1,617	3.1	28,644,313	5,954	20.8	60,046,068	12,609	21.0	120,913,207	17,374	14.4	26,005,326	5,332	20.5
2003	52,187,602	1,643	3.1	29,028,500	5,718	19.7	60,599,350	12,365	20.4	122,772,578	17,705	14.4	26,200,946	5,363	20.5
2004	52,151,406	1,645	3.2	29,400,392	5,645	19.2	61,003,240	12,620	20.7	124,762,848	17,707	14.2	26,337,518	5,106	19.4
2005	52,149,395	1,529	2.9	29,589,854	5,300	17.9	61,180,772	13,023	21.3	126,831,714	18,491	14.6	26,658,669	5,047	18.9
2006	52,306,908	1,430	2.7	29,772,198	5,159	17.3	61,527,219	13,142	21.4	128,907,361	18,233	14.1	26,884,798	4,636	17.2
2007	52,585,809	1,269	2.4	29,775,943	4,981	16.7	61,623,322	12,531	20.3	130,500,566	17,725	13.6	27,135,517	4,631	17.1
2008	52,929,779	1,047	2.0	29,710,307	4,070	13.7	61,990,546	11,406	18.4	131,908,058	16,538	12.5	27,521,034	4,291	15.6
2009	53,753,412	1,066	2.0	29,667,279	3,480	11.7	63,105,881	9,940	15.8	132,693,708	15,340	11.6	27,786,270	3,995	14.4
2010	52,937,278	962	1.8	30,247,014	3,121	10.3	62,914,600	9,684	15.4	135,270,594	15,015	11.1	27,957,657	4,171	14.9
2011	52,921,253	908	1.7	29,917,216	3,033	10.1	63,965,818	9,633	15.1	136,306,915	14,782	10.8	28,472,279	4,071	14.3
2012	52,855,061	958	1.8	29,646,417	2,837	9.6	64,900,433	10,210	15.7	137,323,658	15,614	11.4	29,152,093	4,113	14.1
2013	52,719,631	940	1.8	29,551,607	2,543	8.6	65,681,251	9,908	15.1	138,067,096	15,298	11.1	30,040,362	4,150	13.8
2014	52,676,380	875	1.7	29,462,818	2,630	8.9	66,367,803	9,879	14.9	139,015,319	15,073	10.8	30,864,009	4,206	13.6
2015	52,764,080	946	1.8	29,356,330	2,747	9.4	66,762,737	10,608	15.9	140,231,069	16,677	11.9	31,624,778	4,427	14.0
2016	52,811,215	1,033	2.0	29,350,222	2,837	9.7	67,142,780	11,368	16.9	141,361,052	17,601	12.5	32,406,486	4,848	15.0
2017	52,726,410	949	1.8	29,387,954	2,762	9.4	67,381,469	10,932	16.2	141,662,252	17,670	12.5	33,964,043	5,037	14.8
2018	52,553,599	890	1.7	29,402,794	2,496	8.5	67,504,170	10,761	15.9	142,087,330	17,585	12.4	35,290,306	5,026	14.2
2019	52,266,740	855	1.6	29,412,828	2,394	8.1	67,647,658	10,259	15.2	142,410,359	17,558	12.3	36,592,368	5,232	14.3
2020	51,887,147	850	1.6	29,367,208	2,767	9.4	67,664,401	11,906	17.6	142,779,669	18,724	13.1	37,785,698	4,593	12.2
2021	51,691,096	933	1.8	30,440,240	3,090	10.2	67,019,102	12,828	19.1	145,289,674	20,917	14.4	37,453,633	5,245	14.0
2022	50,793,470	859	1.7	30,279,709	2,896	9.6	68,207,079	12,282	18.0	144,843,869	20,832	14.4	39,163,430	5,658	14.4
2023	50,971,194	781	1.5	30,602,767	3,048	10.0	67,353,688	11,716	17.4	145,889,613	19,693	13.5	40,097,633	5,502	13.7

Seat belt use

According to a national daytime observational survey of motorists, seat belt use among front seat occupants was 91.9% in 2023 (NHTSA, 2024). Unrestrained vehicle occupants are more likely than restrained occupants to be fatally injured in a crash, so belt use is much lower among fatally injured occupants. Among fatally injured passenger vehicle occupants age 13 and older in 2023, 46% of drivers and 42% of passengers were belted.

Seat belt use among fatally injured passenger vehicle occupants 13 and older by seating position, 1995-2023
Year	Driver						Passenger
	Belt used		Unbelted		Unknown		Belt used		Unbelted		Unknown
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
1995	6,974	33	12,692	59	1,772	8	2,642	29	5,577	62	791	9
1996	7,368	34	12,331	57	1,919	9	2,750	30	5,706	62	807	9
1997	7,561	35	12,288	57	1,847	9	2,867	31	5,497	60	810	9
1998	7,797	36	12,033	56	1,786	8	2,814	32	5,169	59	725	8
1999	7,834	36	12,252	56	1,793	8	2,748	32	5,249	60	700	8
2000	8,199	38	11,841	54	1,754	8	2,957	33	5,212	58	744	8
2001	8,509	39	11,638	53	1,700	8	2,844	32	5,178	59	737	8
2002	8,786	39	12,028	53	1,705	8	3,151	35	5,093	57	687	8
2003	9,239	42	11,274	51	1,666	8	3,127	36	4,851	55	773	9
2004	9,456	43	11,027	50	1,450	7	3,132	37	4,768	56	622	7
2005	9,315	42	11,133	51	1,489	7	3,122	38	4,551	55	634	8
2006	9,162	42	10,874	50	1,532	7	2,964	38	4,250	54	678	9
2007	8,915	43	10,070	49	1,537	7	2,902	38	4,007	53	681	9
2008	7,794	43	9,160	50	1,301	7	2,536	39	3,495	54	473	7
2009	7,421	44	8,199	49	1,207	7	2,366	40	3,031	52	449	8
2010	7,307	46	7,497	47	1,215	8	2,285	41	2,872	51	457	8
2011	7,047	45	7,356	47	1,147	7	2,055	40	2,650	52	432	8
2012	7,234	45	7,505	47	1,166	7	2,158	41	2,665	50	461	9
2013	7,324	47	6,988	45	1,261	8	2,166	43	2,439	48	471	9
2014	7,410	48	6,906	45	1,170	8	2,182	44	2,309	46	477	10
2015	8,026	48	7,289	44	1,305	8	2,344	44	2,473	46	557	10
2016	8,486	48	7,721	44	1,425	8	2,442	44	2,562	46	514	9
2017	8,670	49	7,603	43	1,466	8	2,463	46	2,339	44	563	10
2018	8,435	49	7,399	43	1,418	8	2,272	45	2,320	45	507	10
2019	8,357	50	7,108	42	1,404	8	2,227	45	2,261	45	513	10
2020	8,099	44	8,376	46	1,807	10	2,129	42	2,401	47	600	12
2021	9,115	45	9,209	45	1,994	10	2,408	43	2,522	45	642	12
2022	8,844	45	8,747	45	1,996	10	2,293	42	2,547	46	670	12
2023	8,341	46	8,070	44	1,886	10	2,230	42	2,345	44	741	14

In 2023, the highest number (14,168) of fatality injured occupants were involved in frontal impacts, and among these individuals, less than half (44%) were belted. More than half of fatally injured occupants in side and rear crashes were belted. In other crashes, mostly involving rollovers, 24% of fatality injured occupants were belted.

Seat belt use among fatally injured passenger vehicle occupants 13 and older by crash type, 2023
Initial Contact Point	Restraint used
	Belted		Unbelted		Total*
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Front	6,303	44	6,323	45	14,168	100
Side	2,803	54	1,845	36	5,184	100
Rear	617	52	383	33	1,177	100
Other (mostly rollover)	460	24	1,296	67	1,928	100
Total*	10,571	45	10,434	44	23,639	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Speeding

In 2023, speeding was a factor in 29% of motor vehicle crash deaths. Speeding has been a factor in more than a quarter of crash deaths over the past decade. Speeding crashes include those in which the driver was issued a traffic citation for speeding or in which driver-related factors included driving too fast for conditions, racing or exceeding the posted speed limit.

Motor vehicle crash deaths involving speeding as a contributing factor, 2014-2023
	Speeding-related		Not speeding-related		Total
	Number	%	Number	%	Number
2014	9,283	28	23,461	72	32,744
2015	9,723	27	25,762	73	35,485
2016	10,291	27	27,515	73	37,806
2017	9,947	27	27,526	73	37,473
2018	9,579	26	27,256	74	36,835
2019	9,592	26	26,763	74	36,355
2020	11,428	29	27,579	71	39,007
2021	12,498	29	30,732	71	43,230
2022	12,157	28	30,564	72	42,721
2023	11,775	29	29,126	71	40,901

In 2023, the percentage of crash deaths involving speeding was higher on minor roads (34%) than on interstates and freeways (28%) or on other major roads (26%).

Crash deaths involving speeding as a contributing factor by road type, 2023
	Speeding-related		Not speeding-related		Total
	Number	%	Number	%	Number
Interstates and freeways	1,900	28	4,818	72	6,718
Other major roads	5,712	26	16,042	74	21,754
Minor roads	4,047	34	7,944	66	11,991
All road types*	11,775	29	29,126	71	40,901
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Of the 11,775 speeding-related fatalities that occurred in 2023, about half (55%) occurred on roads with speed limits lower than 55 mph.

Motor vehicle crash deaths involving speeding as a contributing factor by speed limit, 2023
	Speeding-related		Not speeding-related		Total
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
≤35 mph	3,123	27	5,674	19	8,797	22
40-50 mph	3,380	29	8,166	28	11,546	28
55+ mph	4,899	42	13,975	48	18,874	46
Total*	11,775	100	29,126	100	40,901	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Distraction

A total of 3,143 drivers in fatal crashes that occurred in 2023 were categorized as distracted. The most common distraction cited in these crash reports was “generally distracted or lost in thought (daydreaming)” at 66% of distracted drivers. These figures are likely underestimates, given that it is often impossible to verify that a distraction was present at the time of a crash.

Distracted drivers in fatal crashes during 2023, by distraction type
Distraction type	Number	%
Generally distracted or "lost in thought" (daydreaming)	2,087	66
Cellphone use (talking, listening, dialing, texting)	371	12
Outside person, object or event, such as rubbernecking	207	7
Other distraction, not specified	80	3
Other occupants (talking with or looking at other people in car)	133	4
Using or reaching for device brought into vehicle, such as navigational device, headphones	95	3
Eating or drinking	37	1
Adjusting audio or climate controls	38	1
Using other device/controls integral to vehicle, such as adjusting rear view mirrors, seats, or using OEM navigation system	91	3
Moving object in vehicle, such as pet or insect	12	<1
Smoking related (includes smoking, lighting up, putting ashes in ashtray)	8	<1
All distracted drivers	3,143	100
Some drivers were coded as engaged in multiple distractions, so the sum of the rows exceeds the total number of distracted drivers.

When they died

In 2023, February had the fewest crash deaths and October had the most.

Motor vehicle crash deaths by month, 2023
Month	Deaths	%
January	3,024	7
February	2,860	7
March	3,014	7
April	3,344	8
May	3,540	9
June	3,486	9
July	3,694	9
August	3,738	9
September	3,694	9
October	3,787	9
November	3,316	8
December	3,404	8
Total	40,901	100

In 2023, about half (49%) of crash deaths occurred on Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

Motor vehicle crash deaths by day of week, 2023
Day of week	Deaths	%
Sunday	6,646	16
Monday	5,259	13
Tuesday	4,911	12
Wednesday	5,205	13
Thursday	5,357	13
Friday	6,306	15
Saturday	7,217	18
Total	40,901	100

In 2023, about one-third (33%) of crash deaths occurred between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m.

Motor vehicle crash deaths by time of day, 2023
Time of day	Deaths	%
Midnight - 3 a.m.	4,713	12
3 a.m. - 6 a.m.	3,744	9
6 a.m. - 9 a.m.	3,726	9
9 a.m. - noon	3,543	9
Noon - 3 p.m.	4,978	12
3 p.m. - 6 p.m.	6,248	15
6 p.m. - 9 p.m.	7,242	18
9 p.m. - midnight	6,415	16
Total*	40,901	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Independence Day (July 4) typically is one of the days of the year with the most motor vehicle crash deaths (Weast, 2018).

Days of year with most motor vehicle crash deaths, 2019-2023
Date	Total deaths over five years	Yearly average
July 4	724	145
October 29	719	144
September 3	701	140
January 1	692	138
October 30	691	138