Fatal crash profile · Country

Traffic deaths in the United States in 2021

Deaths, 2021: 43,230
Fatal crashes: 39,785
Population: 332.1M

In 2021, 43,230 people died in 39,785 fatal crashes in the United States, about 118 a day. That was 10.8% more than in 2020 (39,007) and the most since 2005. The death rate was 13.0 per 100,000 residents. Pedestrians accounted for 17% of deaths, and 28% of fatal crashes were speeding-related.

Deaths

Traffic deaths

13.0

deaths per 100,000 residents in 2021

1.38

deaths per 100 million vehicle miles in 2021

+11%

change in deaths from 2020 to 2021

39,007 deaths in 2020, 43,230 in 2021

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

Road users

Who died

17%

of deaths were pedestrians

Who died in 2021

Category	Deaths
Vehicle occupants and others	28,647
Pedestrians	7,470
Motorcyclists	6,137
Cyclists	976

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Deaths by type, 2021
Type	Deaths	Share in United States
Pedestrians	7,470	17%
Motorcyclists	6,137	14%
Cyclists	976	2%
Alcohol-impaired driving crashes	13,599	31%
Speeding-related crashes	12,498	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

28%

of fatal crashes were speeding-related

26%

of fatal crashes involved a drinking driver

Crash factors in 2021

Category	United States
Speeding-related	26.3%
Alcohol-involved	28.2%
At night	53.9%
At weekends	32.8%

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

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Timing

When crashes happen

54%

of fatal crashes happened at night

33%

of fatal crashes happened at weekends

Fatal crashes by hour of day

Category	Fatal crashes
12am	1,643
1am	1,448
2am	1,561
3am	1,217
4am	995
5am	1,191
6am	1,345
7am	1,270
8am	1,028
9am	987
10am	1,207
11am	1,316
12pm	1,498
1pm	1,568
2pm	1,756
3pm	1,976
4pm	1,907
5pm	2,182
6pm	2,397
7pm	2,293
8pm	2,361
9pm	2,365
10pm	2,081
11pm	1,893

All crashes 2021.

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Fatal crashes by day of week

Category	Fatal crashes
Sun	6,288
Mon	5,204
Tue	4,854
Wed	4,920
Thu	5,335
Fri	6,405
Sat	6,779

All crashes 2021.

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Fatal crashes by month

Category	Fatal crashes
Jan	2,837
Feb	2,351
Mar	2,916
Apr	3,285
May	3,440
Jun	3,483
Jul	3,586
Aug	3,745
Sep	3,641
Oct	3,822
Nov	3,370
Dec	3,309

All crashes 2021.

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Conditions

Weather and light

Weather at the time of the crash

Category	Fatal crashes
Clear	28,977
Cloudy	5,413
Rain	2,616
Fog, Smog, Smoke	476
Snow	305
Severe Crosswinds	68

All crashes 2021. 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	17,986
Dark - Not Lighted	10,838
Dark - Lighted	8,592
Dusk	940
Dawn	696
Dark - Unknown Lighting	422

All crashes 2021. Crashes where conditions were not reported are left out.

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Roads and vehicles

Where and what, 2021

Roads with the most fatal crashes

I-10318
I-95281
US-1230
I-40213
I-20195
I-75193
I-5183
I-80149
I-70141
US-90139

Road names as recorded in police reports.

Vehicles involved, by type

Category	Vehicles
Cars	23,484
SUVs	11,678
Pickup trucks	9,904
Motorcycles	6,294
Medium and heavy trucks	5,837
Vans	2,191
Other vehicles	2,167
Buses	184
Other light trucks	63

All crashes 2021.

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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, 2021	Jefferson County, Wisconsin	I-94	1
Dec 31, 2021	Wetzel County, West Virginia	SR-180	1
Dec 31, 2021	St. Albans, Kanawha County, West Virginia	US-60	1
Dec 31, 2021	Weston, Lewis County, West Virginia	NORTH RIVER AVE	1
Dec 31, 2021	Kitsap County, Washington	SR-305	1
Dec 31, 2021	Spokane County, Washington	I-90	1
Dec 31, 2021	Blacksburg, Montgomery County, Virginia	US-460	1
Dec 31, 2021	New Kent County, Virginia	SR-0301/ELTHAM RD	1
Dec 31, 2021	Sabine County, Texas	FM 3121/PAULO GAUCHO XING	1
Dec 31, 2021	Quanah, Hardeman County, Texas	US-287/11TH ST	1
Dec 31, 2021	Bexar County, Texas	FM 1518	1
Dec 31, 2021	Montgomery County, Texas	CR-MARTIN DR	1
Dec 31, 2021	Kaufman County, Texas	I-20	1
Dec 31, 2021	Houston, Harris County, Texas	I-69/US-59/EASTEX FWY	1
Dec 31, 2021	Richardson, Dallas County, Texas	US-75/CENTRAL EXPY	1
Dec 31, 2021	Hudspeth County, Texas	I-10	1
Dec 31, 2021	Cuero, DeWitt County, Texas	US-183	1
Dec 31, 2021	Nacogdoches, Nacogdoches County, Texas	SR-21P BU/MAIN ST	1
Dec 31, 2021	Sabine County, Texas	CR-PLEASURE BEND ROAD	1
Dec 31, 2021	Deer Park, Harris County, Texas	EAST BLVD	1
Dec 31, 2021	Lubbock, Lubbock County, Texas	US-84/ SLATON RD	1
Dec 31, 2021	San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas	I-410 SV RD	1
Dec 31, 2021	McMinn County, Tennessee	I-75	1
Dec 31, 2021	Dandridge, Jefferson County, Tennessee	NICHOLS RD	1
Dec 31, 2021	Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee	SAM COOPER BLVD	1

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Nearby and related

States in 2021

Area	Deaths, 2021	Per 100,000
Alabama	983	19.5
Alaska	70	9.5
Arizona	1,192	16.4
Arkansas	692	22.9
California	4,513	11.5
Colorado	691	11.9
Connecticut	303	8.4
Delaware	136	13.5
District of Columbia	41	6.1
Florida	3,741	17.1
Georgia	1,809	16.8
Hawaii	94	6.5
Idaho	273	14.3
Illinois	1,334	10.5
Indiana	932	13.7
Iowa	356	11.1
Kansas	423	14.4
Kentucky	806	17.9
Louisiana	971	21.0
Maine	153	11.1
Maryland	563	9.1
Massachusetts	413	5.9
Michigan	1,137	11.3
Minnesota	488	8.5
Mississippi	766	26.0
Missouri	1,016	16.5
Montana	239	21.6
Nebraska	221	11.2
Nevada	385	12.2
New Hampshire	118	8.5
New Jersey	692	7.5
New Mexico	483	22.8
New York	1,156	5.8
North Carolina	1,693	16.0
North Dakota	101	13.0
Ohio	1,354	11.5
Oklahoma	762	19.1
Oregon	599	14.1
Pennsylvania	1,230	9.4
Rhode Island	63	5.7
South Carolina	1,198	23.1
South Dakota	148	16.5
Tennessee	1,327	19.0
Texas	4,500	15.2
Utah	332	9.9
Vermont	74	11.4
Virginia	973	11.2
Washington	674	8.7
West Virginia	282	15.8
Wisconsin	620	10.5
Wyoming	110	19.0

Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2021. A fatal crash is one in which at least one person died within 30 days. Population: US Census Bureau estimates.