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Car Accident Statistics in the U.S.

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Responsible for thousands of deaths every day and billions of dollars in expenses every year, car accidents are a global epidemic.

These car accident statistics are just the beginning. We reveal a lot about U.S. and global automobile accident stats.

In this report, we cover:  

  • Key car accident statistics
  • How many people die in car accidents
  • Distracted driving and texting stats
  • Demographics of drivers involved in crashes
  • Costs of auto accidents
  • Percentage chance of getting into an accident
  • The places were more accidents occur
Car Accident Statistics
Table of Contents
Key Car Accident Statistics in 2020
Annual Global Road Accident Statistics
Annual United States Car Crash Statistics
General Auto Accident Stats

Key Car Accident Statistics in 2020

Here are three answers to the biggest questions we've seen around car crash statistics:

How Many Car Accidents Are There Per Year?

Every year, there are approximately 6 million car accidents in the US alone.

How Many Car Accidents Per Day?

On average, there are 16,438 car crashes per day in the US.

How Many Car Accident Deaths Are There Per Year?

Nearly 1.25 million people die in road crashes each year. On average, that's 3,287 deaths a day. An additional 20-50 million are injured or disabled.

Annual Global Road Accident Statistics

Auto accidents are a global epidemic, not refined to the U.S.. Here are the most important road crash statistics across the globe:

  • Nearly 1.25 million people die in car accidents each year. That means, on average,  auto accidents cause 3,287 deaths per day.
  • An additional 20-50 million people are injured or disabled.
  • More than half of all car deaths occur among young adults ages 15-44.
  • Automotive crashes rank as the 9th leading cause of death and account for 2.2% of all deaths globally.
  • Car crashes are the leading cause of death among young people ages 15-29 and the second leading cause of death worldwide among young people ages 5-14.
  • Each year nearly 400,000 people under 25 die on the world’s roads, on average over 1,000 a day.
  • Over 90% of all road fatalities occur in low- and middle-income countries, which have less than half of the world’s vehicles.
  • Road crashes cost USD $518 billion globally, costing individual countries 1-2% of their annual GDP.
  • Vehicle crashes cost low- and middle-income countries USD $65 billion annually, exceeding the total amount received in developmental assistance.
  • Road traffic injuries are predicted to become the fifth leading cause of death by 2030.

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Annual United States Car Crash Statistics

This section of the report covers all the studies and statistics related to car accidents and car deaths per year within the United States.

  • On average, there are 6 million car accidents in the U.S. every year. That's roughly 16,438 per day. 
  • Over 37,000 Americans die in automobile crashes per year. ​More than 90 people die in accidents every day.​​
  • An additional 3 million are injured or disabled annually.
  • Road crashes are the single greatest annual cause of death of healthy U.S. citizens traveling abroad.
  • Over 1,600 children under 15 years of age die in car crashes each year.
  • Nearly 8,000 people are killed in crashes involving drivers ages 16-20.
  • Automotive accidents cost the U.S. $230.6 billion per year, or an average of $820 per person.

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General Auto Accident Stats

This section will discuss general statisctis, facts and trends in the auto industry:

  • The most common causes of accidents resulting in death are drunk driving (40%), speeding (30%), and irresponsible driving (33%).
  • 1 in 7 people don't wear their seat belt while driving.
  • Seat belts cut the risk of serious injury by 50% and the risk of death by 45%.
  • People not wearing a seat belt are 30 times more likely to be ejected from the vehicle in the event of a crash.
  • About 58% of fatal car accidents involve only one vehicle, and 38% are caused by a traffic collision.
  • In terms of accidents by state, the most crashes occurred in Texas and California during 2018.
  • Most car accidents happen on the weekends.
  • The most common places where car accidents occur are parking lots, rural highways, stop signs, and two-lane roads. Additionally, many accidents happen during rush hour and in intersections.
  • The odds that you’ll get injured while driving are just 0.7% in a single year.

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(Last Updated On: January 17, 2020)

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