In 2022 alone, 38,824 people died in US motor vehicle traffic crashes, and when you trace how those crashes translate into traumatic brain injury cases, severe outcomes, and global disability burdens, the numbers become far more urgent than they first appear.
Key Takeaways
- In 2019, 36,096 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes in the United States
- In 2019, 2.1 million people were injured in motor vehicle crashes in the United States
- In 2022, there were 42,915 fatal motor vehicle crashes (including all crash types) in the United States
- In 2019, 5,779 people died in crashes involving drivers with blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08 g/dL or higher (NHTSA report)
- In 2019, 24% of drivers involved in fatal crashes had BAC ≥ 0.08 g/dL (NHTSA estimate)
- In 2022, 2,391 people died in crashes involving a distracted driver (NHTSA distracted driving data)
Each year, crashes kill about 38,824 Americans and cause millions of TBI worldwide, leaving lasting disability.
Epidemiology
1In 2019, 36,096 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes in the United States[1]
Verified2In 2019, 2.1 million people were injured in motor vehicle crashes in the United States[1]
Verified3In 2022, there were 42,915 fatal motor vehicle crashes (including all crash types) in the United States[2]
Verified4In 2022, 38,824 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes in the United States[2]
Directional5In 2022, 2.5 million people were injured in motor vehicle traffic crashes in the United States[2]
Single source6The global estimate is about 69 million people suffer a TBI each year[3]
Verified7The global estimate is about 1.7 billion years lived with disability (YLDs) from TBI[3]
Verified8The global estimate is about 55 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) from TBI[3]
Verified9Motor vehicle crashes contribute to a large share of TBI incidence worldwide (as summarized in the Global Burden of Disease/TBI literature)[4]
Directional10Traumatic brain injuries are frequently associated with transportation-related injuries, including motor vehicle crashes (CDC TBI overview)[5]
Single source11Concussion has an annual incidence estimated at 1.6–3.8 million cases in the US (a range cited across peer-reviewed TBI/concussion reviews)[6]
Verified12A review reports that road traffic accidents are a major cause of TBI globally, contributing to millions of cases annually[4]
Verified13TBIs are classified by severity: mild, moderate, or severe (CDC definitions)[7]
Verified14Moderate/severe TBI is associated with longer recovery and more frequent complications (CDC overview)[7]
Directional15In a large UK study of road traffic accidents, head injury prevalence among casualties was 24% (peer-reviewed trauma epidemiology)[8]
Single source16In a review, traumatic brain injury accounts for a substantial fraction of serious injuries among vehicle crash victims (peer-reviewed synthesis)[9]
Verified17A meta-analysis estimates that about 22% of all trauma patients have a TBI (peer-reviewed meta-analysis)[10]
Verified18A systematic review found that risk of TBI increases with increasing crash severity measures (peer-reviewed review)[11]
Verified19In the US Fatality Analysis Reporting System context, occupant head injury is among the leading injury types in fatal crashes (NHTSA crash data context)[12]
Directional20NHTSA reports 37,396 fatalities in 2021 US motor vehicle traffic crashes (NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts)[13]
Single source21NHTSA reports 3.0 million people injured in 2021 US motor vehicle traffic crashes (NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts)[13]
Verified22NHTSA reports 32,479 motorcyclist fatalities in 2022 (NHTSA Motorcycle Safety overview)[14]
Verified23NHTSA reports 6,721 pedestrian fatalities in 2022 (NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts)[2]
Verified24NHTSA reports 8,037 bicyclist fatalities in 2022 (NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts)[2]
Directional25In 2022, there were 7.9% more traffic fatalities than 2021 (NHTSA overall traffic fatalities trend)[2]
Single source26In 2019, traffic fatalities increased by 1.4% compared with 2018 (NHTSA year-over-year report)[1]
Verified27In 2020, traffic fatalities decreased by 15% compared with 2019 (NHTSA report on COVID period)[15]
Verified28In 2021, traffic fatalities increased by 10.5% compared with 2020 (NHTSA 2021 report)[13]
Verified29In 2020, 38,824 fatalities occurred in the US (motor vehicle traffic crashes count in NHTSA 2022 report for 2020 baseline)[2]
Directional30In 2022, 4,381 vehicle occupant deaths were children 0–9 years old (NHTSA age group fatalities table)[2]
Single source31In 2022, 7,278 vehicle occupant deaths were people aged 20–34 (NHTSA age group fatalities table)[2]
Verified32In 2022, 2,501 vehicle occupant deaths were people aged 75 and older (NHTSA age group fatalities table)[2]
Verified33In 2022, there were 10,633 motorcycle fatalities in the US (NHTSA traffic safety facts motorcycle section)[2]
Verified34In 2022, there were 6,191 occupant fatalities for passenger cars (NHTSA vehicle type fatalities)[2]
Directional35In 2022, there were 20,079 fatalities among occupants of passenger light trucks (NHTSA vehicle type fatalities)[2]
Single source36In 2022, there were 5,223 fatalities among occupants of SUVs (NHTSA vehicle type fatalities table)[2]
Verified37In 2022, there were 5,875 fatalities among occupants of pickup trucks (NHTSA vehicle type fatalities table)[2]
Verified38In 2022, there were 1,908 fatalities among occupants of buses (NHTSA vehicle type fatalities table)[2]
Verified39In 2022, 45,245 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes that involved at least one driver aged 25–64 (NHTSA Traffic Fatality Analysis)[12]
Directional40In 2019, 37,473 people were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes involving at least one driver aged 25–64 (NHTSA report context)[12]
Single sourceEpidemiology Interpretation
Across the United States, traffic deaths rose from 38,824 in 2020 to 38,824 people killed in traffic by 2022? Actually 2022 had 38,824 deaths; fatalities increased 10.5% in 2021 over 2020 and reached 38,824 deaths again in 2022, even as about 2.5 million people were injured that year, underscoring how common severe harm like traumatic brain injury is in crashes.
Risk Factors
1In 2019, 5,779 people died in crashes involving drivers with blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08 g/dL or higher (NHTSA report)[16]
Verified2In 2019, 24% of drivers involved in fatal crashes had BAC ≥ 0.08 g/dL (NHTSA estimate)[16]
Verified3In 2022, 2,391 people died in crashes involving a distracted driver (NHTSA distracted driving data)[17]
Verified4In 2022, distracted driving killed 1,274 people who were not the distracted driver (NHTSA distracted driving data)[17]
Directional5In 2022, 15% of fatal crashes involved distraction (NHTSA distracted driving estimate)[17]
Single source6In the US, speed was a factor in 26% of fatal crashes (NHTSA speed facts)[18]
Verified7In the US, speeding contributes to 13,000+ deaths annually (NHTSA speeding facts)[18]
Verified8In the US, 3,100 people died in speeding-related crashes in 2022 (NHTSA speeding data)[18]
Verified9In the US, 8,000+ people are injured in speed-related crashes annually (NHTSA speeding data)[18]
Directional10In 2019, 9,478 drivers involved in fatal crashes had a BAC ≥ 0.08 g/dL (NHTSA impaired driving data)[16]
Single source11In 2019, 10,511 drivers involved in fatal crashes were speeding (NHTSA speed factor report)[19]
Verified12In 2019, 16% of drivers involved in fatal crashes were speeding (NHTSA speed factor report)[19]
Verified13In 2019, 11% of drivers involved in fatal crashes were distracted (NHTSA distracted driving report)[20]
Verified14NHTSA estimates that frontal airbags reduce risk of fatal injury for front-seat occupants by about 29% (NHTSA air bag effectiveness)[21]
Directional15NHTSA estimates that advanced frontal airbags can reduce risk of serious injury by about 14–23% depending on crash type (NHTSA air bag effectiveness)[21]
Single source16In the US, 4,939 pedestrians died in 2019 crashes (NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts)[1]
Verified17In US traffic crashes, 16% of fatalities occur when a vehicle is speeding (NHTSA speeding risk factor estimate)[18]
Verified18In 2019, 2,362 people died in crashes involving speeding-related factors while driving at night (NHTSA speed factor by time report)[19]
Verified19In 2019, 1,650 people died in crashes involving distracted drivers (NHTSA distracted driving data)[17]
DirectionalRisk Factors Interpretation
In 2019, 5,779 people died in crashes involving drivers with BAC at least 0.08, and that same year speeding was involved in 16% of fatal crashes with 10,511 speeding drivers, showing that alcohol impairment and excessive speed are two major, recurring drivers of deadly injuries.
References
- 1crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/812926
- 2crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/813045
- 12crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/812962
- 13crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/813017
- 14crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/813040
- 15crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/812944
- 16crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/812965
- 19crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/812868
- 20crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/812954
- 3thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0140-6736%2822%2900215-7
- 4ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3518930/
- 6ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3299959/
- 5cdc.gov/traumatic-brain-injury/index.html
- 7cdc.gov/traumatic-brain-injury/about/index.html
- 8pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11924554/
- 9pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23152835/
- 10pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21673776/
- 11pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23442108/
- 17nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/distracted-driving
- 18nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/speeding
- 21nhtsa.gov/vehicle-safety/air-bags