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Abstract
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What is already known about this topic?
Motor vehicle crashes are preventable but continue to be a leading cause of death in the United States, resulting in an average of 36,791 deaths each year (101 deaths each day) during 2015-2019.
What is added by this report?
In 2019, the population-based motor vehicle crash death rate in the United States (11.1 per 100,000 population) was the highest among 29 high-income countries. The population-based motor vehicle crash death rate decreased from 2015 to 2019 in 22 countries, but not in the United States.
What are the implications for public health practice?
Implementing proven strategies and the Safe System approach, which accounts for human error and works to protect everyone on the road, can help reduce motor vehicle crash deaths and injuries in the United States.
Motor vehicle crashes are preventable, yet they continue to be a leading cause of death in the United States. An average of 36,791 crash deaths occurred each year (101 deaths each day) during 2015-2019 in the United States. To measure progress in reducing motor vehicle crash deaths, CDC calculated population-based, distance-based, and vehicle-based death rates in 2015 and 2019, as well as average rates and average percent changes from 2015 to 2019, for the United States and 28 other high-income countries for which data were available. In 2019, the population-based death rate in the United States (11.1 per 100,000 population; 36,355 deaths) was the highest among the 29 high-income countries and was 2.3 times the average rate of the 28 other high-income countries (4.8). The 2019 U.S. distance-based death rate (1.11 per 100 million vehicle miles traveled) was higher than the average rate among 20 other high-income countries (0.92), and the 2019 U.S. vehicle-based death rate (1.21 per 10,000 registered vehicles) was higher than the average rate among 27 other high-income countries (0.78). The population-based death rate in the United States increased 0.1% from 2015 to 2019, whereas the average change among 27 other high-income countries was −10.4%. Widespread implementation of proven strategies and the Safe System approach, which accounts for human error and works to protect everyone on the road, (1) can help reduce motor vehicle crash deaths in the United States.
CDC analyzed 2015 and 2019 data from the International Transport Forum's International Road Traffic and Accident Database (IRTAD),* which contains standardized and validated crash, population, exposure, and vehicle data regularly reported by participating countries. IRTAD data used in this report were current as of February 2022; because of data lag, 2020 and 2021 data were not complete enough to be used. All high-income† countries that provided crash death data and had populations of >1 million persons were included. Countries that met these requirements but did not have data for all study variables or had trend breaks during the study period were included in analyses for which they had comparable data. Data from other sources were included for two countries: 2019 U.S. motor vehicle crash deaths came from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System§ (2); crash deaths for the Netherlands came from the Institute for Road Safety Research (SWOV).¶ Motor vehicle crash deaths included any road user who was killed in a crash (e.g., car occupants, motorcyclists, pedestrians, and bicyclists).
The number of crash deaths is reported for each country. The following three motor vehicle crash death rates and associated percent changes were calculated: 1) population-based (per 100,000 population), 2) distance-based (per 100 million vehicle miles traveled), and 3) vehicle-based (per 10,000 registered vehicles). CDC also calculated average rates and average percent changes (comparing 2015 and 2019) with and without the United States. This activity was reviewed by CDC and was conducted consistent with applicable federal law and CDC policy.**
The number of crash deaths from 2015 to 2019 decreased in 21 countries and increased in seven countries (Table 1). Percent changes ranged from a 27.5% decrease in South Korea to an 11.8% increase in Denmark; the average change was −8.1%. The United States experienced a 2.5% increase (from 35,484 deaths in 2015 to 36,355 deaths in 2019).
In 2019, crash deaths per 100,000 population for all 29 countries ranged from a low of 2.0 (Norway) to a high of 11.1 (United States). The U.S. rate was 2.3 times the average rate of the other countries (4.8). The population-based death rate decreased from 2015 to 2019 in 22 countries and increased in six countries (Figure). The United States experienced a nominal 0.1% increase from 2015 to 2019, whereas the average percent change for the 27 other high-income countries was −10.4%.
Among the 21 countries with vehicle-miles-traveled data for 2019, crash deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled ranged from 0.38 (Norway) to 2.05 (Hungary) (Table 2). The United States had the sixth-highest distance-based crash death rate (1.11), which was higher than the average rate among 20 other high-income countries (0.92). The United States experienced a 2.9% decrease from 2015 to 2019, whereas the average percent change for the 16 other high-income countries was −14.2%.
Among the 28 countries with registered vehicle information for 2019, crash deaths per 10,000 registered vehicles ranged from 0.27 (Norway) to 3.52 (Chile) (Table 2). The United States had the fourth-highest vehicle-based death rate (1.21), which was 1.6 times the average rate for the 27 other countries (0.78). Denmark was the only country with a higher rate in 2019 than in 2015. The United States experienced the second-smallest decrease (−3.7%).
Language: en |