Traffic fatalities in the United States rose 6.8% in a single year. Data from a more recent year shows over 42,000 deaths involved alcohol-impaired driving, while distraction was a factor in thousands more.
Key Takeaways
- 6.8% increase in traffic fatalities from 2020 to 2021 in the United States
- 42,915 people died in crashes involving alcohol-impaired driving in the United States in 2022
- 7,485 people died in crashes involving a driver or motorcycle rider with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08+ in the United States in 2022
In 2022, U.S. road crashes claimed 42,915 lives tied to alcohol impairment and 9,717 from speeding.
Related reading
01 · Category
Impact & Fatalities30 stats
01
6.8% increase in traffic fatalities from 2020 to 2021 in the United States
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42,915 people died in crashes involving alcohol-impaired driving in the United States in 2022
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7,485 people died in crashes involving a driver or motorcycle rider with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08+ in the United States in 2022
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9,717 people died in crashes involving speeding in the United States in 2022
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54% of passenger vehicle occupants who died in 2022 were unrestrained
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5,514 people died in crashes involving motorcyclists in the United States in 2022
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2,835 pedestrians were killed in traffic crashes in the United States in 2022
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6,716 cyclists were killed in traffic crashes in the United States in 2022
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7,522 children (0–14) were killed in traffic crashes in the United States in 2022
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2,893 teen drivers (15–19) died in traffic crashes in the United States in 2022
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34% of fatalities in 2022 involved a vehicle crash where the driver had a BAC of 0.08+ (alcohol-impaired driving context)
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58% of people killed in traffic crashes in the United States in 2022 were in passenger vehicles
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75% of traffic fatalities in 2022 occurred in crashes on non-interstate roads in the United States
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43% of passenger vehicle occupants who died in 2022 were not wearing seat belts
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1,244 people died in crashes involving large trucks in the United States in 2022
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5,936 people died in crashes involving light trucks in the United States in 2022
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1,682 people died in crashes involving buses in the United States in 2022
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3.8% of traffic fatalities in 2022 involved young drivers (15–20 years old)
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13,717 people died in crashes involving distracted driving in the United States in 2022
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45% of people killed in distraction-related crashes in 2022 were not the person who was distracted (driver distraction context)
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6% of all traffic crashes in 2022 involved distraction, based on reported distraction-related crash criteria
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2.7% of drivers involved in fatal crashes in 2022 had a BAC of 0.08+
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1,327 people died in speeding-related crashes in the United States in 2022 (speeding context)
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10% of drivers in fatal crashes in 2022 were unrestrained
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1.19 million people were killed or injured in motor vehicle traffic crashes in the United States in 2022 (KABCO aggregate injuries and fatalities)
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14.6% of all injury crashes in 2022 involved alcohol-impaired driving in the United States
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270,000 pedestrians were injured in traffic crashes in the United States in 2022 (injury count context)
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51% of people killed in crashes were occupants in vehicles with seat belts available but not used (unrestrained context)
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43% of people killed in 2022 traffic crashes were in single-vehicle crashes
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29% of traffic fatalities in 2022 occurred in crashes involving intersections in the United States
Interpretation
Impact & Fatalities Interpretation
In the United States, 75% of traffic fatalities happen on non-interstate roads and distracted driving accounts for 6% of crashes yet involved 13,717 deaths in 2022, underscoring how preventable risk on local roads drives a large share of loss of life.
More related reading
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Stefan Wendt. (2026, February 13). Car Crashes Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/car-crashes-statistics
MLA
Stefan Wendt. "Car Crashes Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/car-crashes-statistics.
Chicago
Stefan Wendt. 2026. "Car Crashes Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/car-crashes-statistics.
Sources & references
2 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level