NSC Motor Vehicle Fatality Estimates
Prepared by the Statistics Department
National Safety Council

Motor-vehicle deaths up 6% in 2016.
With continued lower gasoline prices and an improving economy resulting in an estimated 3%
increase in motor-vehicle mileage, the number of motor-vehicle deaths in 2016 totaled 40,200,
up 6% from 2015 and the first time the annual fatality total has exceeded 40,000 since 2007. The
2016 estimate is provisional and may be revised when more data are available. The total for 2016
was up 14% from the 2014 figure. The annual total for 2015 was 37,757, a 7% increase from
2014. The 2014 figure was less than 0.5% higher than 2013. The estimated annual population
death rate is 12.40 deaths per 100,000 population, an increase of 5% from the 2015 rate. The
estimated annual mileage death rate is 1.25 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, an
increase of 3% from the 2015 rate.
Medically consulted motor-vehicle injuries in 2016 are estimated to be about 4.6 million, an
increase of 7% from 2015.
The estimated cost of motor-vehicle deaths, injuries, and property damage in 2016 was $432.5
billion, an increase of 12% from 2015. The costs include wage and productivity losses, medical
expenses, administrative expenses, employer costs, and property damage.

 Table 1
December 2016
Motor-Vehicle Deaths and Changes
United States, Twelve Months, 2013 to 2016*
Number of Deaths

Month
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
TOTAL

2013
2,642
2,296
2,791
2,719
2,988
3,181
3,119
3,378
3,184
3,173
3,076
2,822
35,369

2014
2,572
2,248
2,589
2,720
3,038
3,084
3,227
3,277
3,069
3,304
3,175
3,095
35,398

2015
2,754
2,350
2,764
2,830
3,339
3,222
3,530
3,642
3,372
3,550
3,159
3,245
37,757

2016
2,740
2,880
3,070
3,170
3,520
3,550
3,560
3,740
3,560
3,790
3,480
3,140
40,200

Percent Changes
Four Month Moving
Corresponding Month
Average +
2014 to
2014 to
2015 to
2014 to
2015 to
2016
2015
2016
2015
2016
7%
-1%
3%
28%
23%
6%
19%
11%
9%
17%
12%
11%
16%
5%
12%
15%
10%
10%
10%
1%
7%
14%
3%
5%
16%
6%
5%
15%
7%
4%
10%
10%
6%
1%
-3%
5%
14%
6%

NOTE: National Safety Council figures are not comparable to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration figures.
NSC counts both traffic and nontraffic deaths that occur within a year of the accident, while NHTSA counts
only traffic deaths that occur within 30 days.
The 2013, 2014, and 2015 data are from the National Center for Health Statistics. All other figures are
National Safety Council estimates.
*

Latest updates: 2013--2/5/15; 2014--1/13/16; 2015--12/5/16.

+

Four-Month Moving Average is based on changes between the totals of four consecutive months. Adding
several months together tends to smooth out single-month changes that may be affected by differences in
the number of weekends in a month from one year to the next or by other random variations.
Denotes change of less than 0.5%.

Prepared by the Statistics Department
National Safety Council
1121 Spring Lake Drive, Itasca, Illinois 60143-3201

 Table 2
State Motor-Vehicle Deaths, Changes, and Rates
Deaths Identical Periods

State
TOTAL U.S.
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Dist. of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

Number of
Months
Reported
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12

2016
40,200
1,044
84
950
545
3,680
605
307
119
28
3,037
1,540
119
253
1,078
820
403
431
830
661
159
490
399
1,064
398
670
939
190
217
327
137
607
398
953
1,435
113
1,129
668
495
1,189
53
1,015
116
1,042
3,751
280
64
750
536
269
592
112

2015
37,757
846
65
881
533
3,249
545
283
130
26
2,955
1,394
94
217
1,017
817
320
357
748
646
156
508
354
982
409
645
862
224
244
326
114
553
296
1,396
131
1,105
631
446
1,205
45
954
133
961
3,490
275
57
755
567
270
561
145

2014
35,398
821
71
768
467
3,084
465
249
125
26
2,501
1,145
99
186
910
727
319
385
666
630
135
438
348
893
358
605
759
192
221
285
92
563
372
1,259
136
1,011
655
350
1,215
52
823
136
967
3,464
256
44
703
467
271
498
149

Percent Changes
2015 to
2016
6%
23%
29%
8%
2%
13%
11%
8%
-8%
8%
3%
10%
27%
17%
6%
0%
26%
21%
11%
2%
2%
-4%
13%
8%
-3%
4%
9%
-15%
-11%
0%
20%
10%
34%
3%
-14%
2%
6%
11%
-1%
18%
6%
-13%
8%
7%
2%
12%
-1%
-5%
0%
6%
-23%

2014 to
2016
14%
27%
18%
24%
17%
19%
30%
23%
-5%
8%
21%
34%
20%
36%
18%
13%
26%
12%
25%
5%
18%
12%
15%
19%
11%
11%
24%
-1%
-2%
15%
49%
8%
7%
14%
-17%
12%
2%
41%
-2%
2%
23%
-15%
8%
8%
9%
45%
7%
15%
-1%
19%
-25%

NOTE: Deaths are reported by state traffic authorities. ALL FIGURES
ARE PRELIMINARY. To ensure proper comparisons, 2014 and
2015 figures are preliminary figures covering the same reporting
period as those for 2016. The totals for 2014 and 2015 are from
the National Center for Health Statistics.
States in bold: States with a decrease in deaths from 2015 to 2016.
Denotes change of less than 0.5%.