Car accidents are an unfortunate part of modern life. Despite advancing technology, new laws, and public safety campaigns, motor vehicle accidents of all kind still happen every day. Thankfully, however, because of such steps, a car accident in 2021 doesn’t guarantee a serious injury or fatality like it did decades ago.
But where does the U.S. rank among other developed nations in terms of annual car accidents? Do we have a lower fatality rate when compared to other countries? Let’s take a look at car accident statistics for the United States and compare those numbers with other places around the globe.
In 2019, the United States experienced 33,244 fatal motor vehicle crashes. Those 33,244 crashes resulted in 36,096 deaths. Statistically, that equates to 11.0 deaths per 100,000 Americans, and 1.11 deaths per 100 million miles traveled. Among the 50 states (as well as Washington D.C.), the fatality rate per 100,000 people ranged from 3.3 in the District of Columbia to 25.4 in Wyoming. The death rate per 100 million miles traveled ranged from 0.51 in Massachusetts to 1.73 in South Carolina. Let’s explore those numbers in greater detail.
In California, we love our cars. Given the sheer size of the Golden State, we also need automobiles and motorcycles (and trucks, scooters, etc.) to get from Point A to Point B. With a reported 39,512,223 residents in 2019, we managed to travel 340,836 million miles. That equals a lot of traffic along our roads and highways, many of which can be quite dangerous. California averages 1.06 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled in 2019 – much safer than the 1.73 average in South Carolina, but we could certainly improve given the 0.51 average of Massachusetts.
Of the 3,316 fatal car accidents that occurred in California in 2019, 3,606 tragic deaths resulted. That equates to 9.1 motor vehicle deaths per 100,000 Californians. Though we had the highest number of fatal car accidents that year, Texas actually took the dubious distinction of accumulating the most fatalities with 3,615 (just nine greater than California, however).
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), while road traffic crashes are one of several leading causes of death in the United States for people aged 1-54, motor vehicle collisions are actually the leading cause of non-natural death for U.S. citizens residing or traveling abroad.
In terms of overall figures for global car accidents, the CDC confirms the following:
The estimated cost of worldwide motor vehicle crashes is extreme. According to the CDC, fatal and nonfatal motor vehicle crash injuries will cost the world economy approximately $1.8 trillion dollars between 2015 and 2030. That figure is the equivalent of a yearly tax of 0.12% on global GDP (gross domestic product).
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