Fatal crash profile · Country

Traffic deaths in the United States in 2020

Deaths, 2020: 39,007
Fatal crashes: 35,935
Population: 331.6M

In 2020, 39,007 people died in 35,935 fatal crashes in the United States, about 107 a day. The death rate was 11.8 per 100,000 residents. Pedestrians accounted for 17% of deaths, and 29% of fatal crashes were speeding-related.

Deaths

Traffic deaths

11.8

deaths per 100,000 residents in 2020

1.34

deaths per 100 million vehicle miles in 2020

Profile by year: 2024 · 2023 · 2022 · 2021 · 2020

Road users

Who died

17%

of deaths were pedestrians

Who died in 2020

Category	Deaths
Vehicle occupants and others	25,875
Pedestrians	6,565
Motorcyclists	5,619
Cyclists	948

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Deaths by type, 2020
Type	Deaths	Share in United States
Pedestrians	6,565	17%
Motorcyclists	5,619	14%
Cyclists	948	2%
Alcohol-impaired driving crashes	11,727	30%
Speeding-related crashes	11,428	29%

Alcohol-impaired and speeding-related count everyone killed in those crashes, so a death can appear in more than one row.

Crash factors

Speeding, alcohol, night and weekend crashes

29%

of fatal crashes were speeding-related

27%

of fatal crashes involved a drinking driver

Crash factors in 2020

Category	United States
Speeding-related	26.7%
Alcohol-involved	28.6%
At night	53.4%
At weekends	32.9%

Share of fatal crashes. Alcohol-involved means a police-reported drinking driver.

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Timing

When crashes happen

53%

of fatal crashes happened at night

33%

of fatal crashes happened at weekends

Fatal crashes by hour of day

Category	Fatal crashes
12am	1,483
1am	1,254
2am	1,161
3am	916
4am	939
5am	1,039
6am	1,276
7am	1,062
8am	874
9am	916
10am	1,040
11am	1,193
12pm	1,353
1pm	1,508
2pm	1,605
3pm	1,800
4pm	1,851
5pm	1,975
6pm	2,198
7pm	2,166
8pm	2,194
9pm	2,192
10pm	1,921
11pm	1,714

All crashes 2020.

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Fatal crashes by day of week

Category	Fatal crashes
Sun	5,621
Mon	4,497
Tue	4,535
Wed	4,708
Thu	4,855
Fri	5,522
Sat	6,197

All crashes 2020.

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Fatal crashes by month

Category	Fatal crashes
Jan	2,486
Feb	2,453
Mar	2,375
Apr	2,130
May	2,876
Jun	3,380
Jul	3,489
Aug	3,539
Sep	3,447
Oct	3,542
Nov	3,204
Dec	3,014

All crashes 2020.

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Conditions

Weather and light

Weather at the time of the crash

Category	Fatal crashes
Clear	25,189
Cloudy	4,648
Rain	2,642
Fog, Smog, Smoke	372
Snow	283
Severe Crosswinds	56

All crashes 2020. Crashes where conditions were not reported are left out.

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Light conditions at the time of the crash

Category	Fatal crashes
Daylight	16,368
Dark - Not Lighted	9,875
Dark - Lighted	7,502
Dusk	961
Dawn	653
Dark - Unknown Lighting	331

All crashes 2020. Crashes where conditions were not reported are left out.

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Roads and vehicles

Where and what, 2020

Roads with the most fatal crashes

I-10261
I-95249
I-40212
US-1206
I-75171
I-5158
I-80153
I-20143
US-17111
US-41101

Road names as recorded in police reports.

Vehicles involved, by type

Category	Vehicles
Cars	21,015
SUVs	9,975
Pickup trucks	8,830
Motorcycles	5,757
Medium and heavy trucks	4,898
Other vehicles	2,046
Vans	1,812
Buses	156
Other light trucks	63

All crashes 2020.

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Vehicles most often involved

Reflects how common a vehicle is as well as crash involvement; not a safety rating.

Crashes

Fatal crashes

Filter crashes

Who died Time of day Day Weather Lighting Vehicle type involved Make involved

Alcohol-involved Speeding-related Distracted driver

Date	Location	Road	Deaths
Dec 31, 2020	Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin	N 60TH ST	1
Dec 31, 2020	Waupaca County, Wisconsin	US-45	1
Dec 31, 2020	Henry County, Virginia	US-220	1
Dec 31, 2020	Culpeper County, Virginia	CR-652	1
Dec 31, 2020	Kearns, Salt Lake County, Utah	SR-173	1
Dec 31, 2020	Sherman, Grayson County, Texas	US-75	1
Dec 31, 2020	Gun Barrel City, Henderson County, Texas	SR-198/GUN BARREL LN	1
Dec 31, 2020	Jasper County, Texas	US-190	1
Dec 31, 2020	El Paso County, Texas	I-10	2
Dec 31, 2020	Bulverde, Comal County, Texas	SR-46	1
Dec 31, 2020	Freestone County, Texas	I-45 SVC RD	1
Dec 31, 2020	Johnson County, Texas	FM 2280	1
Dec 31, 2020	Hillsboro, Hill County, Texas	SR-22	1
Dec 31, 2020	San Marcos, Hays County, Texas	I-35	1
Dec 31, 2020	Midlothian, Ellis County, Texas	US-287	2
Dec 31, 2020	Dallas, Dallas County, Texas	SR-352/SCYENE RD	1
Dec 31, 2020	El Paso, El Paso County, Texas	SR-375 SVC RD	1
Dec 31, 2020	Knoxville, Knox County, Tennessee	US-11/70 SR-1 MAGNOLIA AVE	1
Dec 31, 2020	Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee	PARK AVE	1
Dec 31, 2020	Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee	CHELSEA AVE	1
Dec 31, 2020	Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee	YALE RD	1
Dec 31, 2020	Dickson County, Tennessee	I-840	1
Dec 31, 2020	Lancaster County, Pennsylvania	ESBENSHADE RD	1
Dec 31, 2020	Snyder County, Pennsylvania	SR-235	1
Dec 31, 2020	Franklin County, Pennsylvania	GOSHORN RD	1

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Nearby and related

States in 2020

Area	Deaths, 2020	Per 100,000
Alabama	934	18.6
Alaska	64	8.7
Arizona	1,053	14.7
Arkansas	651	21.6
California	3,980	10.1
Colorado	622	10.7
Connecticut	299	8.4
Delaware	116	11.7
District of Columbia	36	5.4
Florida	3,329	15.4
Georgia	1,658	15.4
Hawaii	85	5.9
Idaho	214	11.6
Illinois	1,193	9.3
Indiana	897	13.2
Iowa	343	10.7
Kansas	426	14.5
Kentucky	780	17.3
Louisiana	828	17.8
Maine	164	12.0
Maryland	573	9.3
Massachusetts	343	4.9
Michigan	1,086	10.8
Minnesota	394	6.9
Mississippi	748	25.3
Missouri	987	16.0
Montana	213	19.6
Nebraska	233	11.9
Nevada	333	10.7
New Hampshire	104	7.5
New Jersey	586	6.3
New Mexico	398	18.8
New York	1,045	5.2
North Carolina	1,538	14.7
North Dakota	100	12.8
Ohio	1,230	10.4
Oklahoma	653	16.5
Oregon	507	11.9
Pennsylvania	1,129	8.7
Rhode Island	67	6.1
South Carolina	1,066	20.8
South Dakota	141	15.9
Tennessee	1,217	17.6
Texas	3,876	13.3
Utah	276	8.4
Vermont	62	9.6
Virginia	850	9.8
Washington	574	7.4
West Virginia	267	14.9
Wisconsin	612	10.4
Wyoming	127	22.0

Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2020. A fatal crash is one in which at least one person died within 30 days. Population: US Census Bureau estimates.