Reports

Motorcyclist Traffic Fatalities by State: 2013 Preliminary Data
May 2014
This report from the Governors Highway Safety Association finds that for only the second year since 1997, U.S. motorcyclist fatalities are projected to decrease in 2013. The report also notes that despite the probable 7 percent decrease in rider deaths, motorcyclist safety has not improved in 15 years. All 50 states and the District of Columbia provided preliminary motorcyclist fatality counts for the first nine months of 2013 and insights into why their numbers increased or decreased. Compared with the first nine months of 2012, motorcyclist fatalities decreased in 35 states and the District of Columbia, increased in 13 states, and remained the same in two.

Traffic Safety Facts

CMV Traffic Safety Facts
May 2014
This fact sheet provides a snapshot of the CMV industry as it relates to fatalities resulting from large truck and bus crashes. Data is based on crash data from both the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts: State Alcohol-Impaired Driving Estimates (DOT HS 812 017) [716 KB | 12 pgs.]
May 2014
This fact sheet contains estimates of driver alcohol involvement in fatal crashes for the United States and individually for the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico in 2012. For comparison, data from 10 years ago (2003) is also presented. These estimates are based on data from NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). Unfortunately, blood alcohol concentration (BAC) test results are not known for all drivers involved in fatal crashes. Missing data can result for a number of reasons, the most frequent of which is that people are not always tested for alcohol.

NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts: Bicyclists & Other Cyclists (DOT HS 812 018) [279 KB | 5 pgs.]
April 2014
In 2012, 726 pedalcyclists were killed and an additional 49,000 were injured in motor vehicle traffic crashes. Pedalcyclist deaths accounted for 2 percent of all motor vehicle traffic fatalities, and made up 2 percent of the people injured in traffic crashes during the year. For the purpose of this Traffic Safety Fact Sheet, bicyclists and other cyclists include riders of two-wheel, nonmotorized vehicles, tricycles, and unicycles powered solely by pedals. The term pedalcyclist will be used to identify these cyclists. The number of pedalcyclists killed in 2012 is 6 percent higher than the 682 pedalcyclists killed in 2011.

NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts: Young Drivers (DOT HS 812 019) [552 KB | 7 pgs.]
April 2014
In 2012, there were 1,875 young drivers (15 to 20 years old) who died in motor vehicle crashes, a decrease of 6 percent from 1,993 in 2011. Additionally 184,000 young drivers were injured in motor vehicle crashes in 2012, an increase of 2 percent from 180,000 in 2011. The two-year comparison of total driver involvement in fatal crashes showed a 3-percent increase from 43,840 in 2011 to 45,337 in 2012. During this same period, young driver involvement decreased 2 percent from 4,362 in 2011 to 4,283 in 2012.

NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts: Pedestrians (DOT HS 811 888) [92 KB | 10 pgs.]
April 2014
In 2012, 4,743 pedestrians were killed and an estimated 76,000 were injured in traffic crashes in the United States. On average, a pedestrian was killed every 2 hours and injured every 7 minutes in traffic crashes.

NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts: Overview (DOT HS 812 016) [409 KB | 12 pgs.]
April 2014
In 2012, 33,561 people were killed in the estimated 5,615,000 police-reported motor vehicle traffic crashes; 2,362,000 people were injured; and 3,950,000 crashes resulted in property damage only. Compared to 2011, this is a 3.3-percent increase in the number of fatalities, and a 5.2-percent increase in the number of police-reported motor vehicle traffic crashes, a 6.5-percent increase in the number of people injured, and a 4.6-percent increase in crashes resulting in property damage. An average of 92 people died each day in motor vehicle crashes in 2012—one every 16 minutes.

Teens and Distracted Driving 2012 Data Sheet (DOT HS 812 015) [153 KB | 1 pg.]
April 2014
The Teens and Distracted Driving 2012 data sheet contains information on 15-19 year olds killed and involved in distracted affected driving. In 2012, there were a total of 2,607 15-19 year olds killed in all crashes. A total of 273 15-19 year olds were killed in distraction-affected crashes in 2012.

NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts: Early Estimate of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities for the First Nine Months of 2013 (DOT HS 812 804) [507 KB | 2 pgs.]
March 2014
A statistical projection of traffic fatalities for the first nine months of 2013 shows that an estimated 24,270 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes. This represents a decrease of about 3.7 percent as compared to the 25,214 fatalities that were reported to have occurred in the first nine months of 2012. The data used in this analysis comes from several sources: NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), Fast FARS (FF), and Monthly Fatality Counts (MFC); and from FHWA’s VMT estimates.

NHSTA Traffic Safety Facts: School-Transportation-Related Crashes (DOT HS 811 890) [525 KB | 4 pgs.]
March 2014
Since 2003 there were 348,253 fatal motor vehicle traffic crashes. Of those, 1,222 (0.35%) were classified as school-transportation-related. Since 2003, there have been 1,353 people killed in school-transportation-related crashes—an average of 135 fatalities per year. Occupants of school transportation vehicles accounted for 8 percent of the fatalities, and nonoccupants (pedestrians, bicyclists, etc.) accounted for 21 percent of the fatalities.

NHSTA Traffic Safety Facts: Occupant Protection (DOT HS 811 892) [57 KB | 8 pgs.]
March 2014
In 2012, there were 21,667 occupants of passenger vehicles (passenger cars, pickup trucks, vans, and SUVs) who died in motor vehicle traffic crashes. Of the 21,667 total occupants killed, 9,679 were restrained. Restraint use was not known for 1,653 occupants. Looking only at occupants where the restraint status was known, 52 percent were unrestrained at the time of the crashes.