Motor vehicle deaths

Motor vehicle deaths increased 20% in two years, reaching 46,980 deaths in 2021. Motor vehicle death rates are highest among American Indian and Black Americans.

Motor vehicle deaths, U.S.

1959-2022

Sources: CDC/ Wonder and National Safety Council. Notes: Motor-vehicle deaths include all deaths arising from a motor vehicle accident, including pedestrians and bicyclists struck by a motor vehicle, as well as non-traffic motor vehicle deaths occurring in parking lots, private roads, and driveways. Data for 2022 is provisional. AN=Alaska Native.

Motor vehicle death rates declined by more than half between 1969 and 2014, and remained relatively low from 2015 to 2019 just before the pandemic struck. Then, although travel declined, motor vehicle death rates in the U.S. increased in 2020 and 2021, reaching roughly 47,000 deaths in 2021. Motor vehicle deaths in 2022 at roughly 43,000 remained 10% higher than pre-pandemic. Comparatively, peer nations have maintained lower motor vehicle fatality rates, with fewer increases since Covid struck.^1,2,3

Non-white Americans saw the largest increases in motor vehicle death rates post-Covid. By 2022, Asian Americans experienced a motor vehicle death rate of 5 per 100,000 population, Hispanic Americans experienced 12 per 100,000, white Americans experienced 13 per 100,000, and Black Americans experienced 17 per 100,000. American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN) populations historically have the highest rate of motor vehicle deaths, and experienced a rate of 32 deaths per 100,000 population in 2022. While studies traditionally point to alcohol and drug abuse as causes of high rates of motor vehicle fatalities, they tend to overlook the historical trauma and mistreatment of AIAN populations that are linked to these “diseases of despair.”^4,5,6,7,8

When accounting for differing levels of travel by race, studies show that Black and Hispanic Americans who are walking or cycling are more likely to be killed in a traffic fatality than white Americans.⁹ The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes policies to improve roadway safety and infrastructure.¹⁰

1. “Motor-Vehicle Deaths in the U.S. Compared to the World”. National Safety Council. https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/international/motor-vehicle-deaths-in-the-u-s-compared-to-the-world/ 

2. “The Exceptionally American Problem of Rising Roadway Deaths”. Badger, Parlapiano. The New York Times. November, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/27/upshot/road-deaths-pedestrians-cyclists.html?action=click&module=Well&pgtype=Homepage&section=US%20News 

3. “Road injury crashes, fatalities and injuries”. International Transport Forum. https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=ITF_ROAD_ACCIDENTS# 

4. “Why Native Americans Are Dying Sooner”. Gounder. Time. October, 2022. https://time.com/6219765/native-americans-life-expectancy/ 

5. “Examining the Theory of Historical Trauma Among Native Americans”. Brown-Rice. The Professional Counselor. October, 2014. https://tpcjournal.nbcc.org/examining-the-theory-of-historical-trauma-among-native-americans/ 

6. “An Analysis of Traffic Fatalities by Race and Ethnicity”. Governors Highway Safety Association. June, 2021. https://www.ghsa.org/sites/default/files/2021-06/An%20Analysis%20of%20Traffic%20Fatalities%20by%20Race%20and%20Ethnicity_0.pdf 

7. “Motor Vehicle Deaths Among American Indian and Alaska Native Populations”. Pollack, Frattaroli, Young, Dana-Sacco, Gielen. Oxford Academic. November, 2011. https://academic.oup.com/epirev/article/34/1/73/495638 

8. “Tribal Road Safety: Get the Facts”. CDC. https://www.cdc.gov/transportationsafety/native/factsheet.html 

9. “Disparities in Activity and Traffic Fatalities by Race/Ethnicity”. Raifman, Choma. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. June, 2022. https://www.ajpmonline.org/article/S0749-3797(22)00155-6/fulltext 

10. “Bipartisan Infrastructure Law”. U.S. Department of Transportation. https://www.nhtsa.gov/bipartisan-infrastructure-law