More and more people are being killed on America’s roadways. Traffic fatalities have increased by 9% since 2020 and 18% since 2019. Our analysts looked at the latest information on fatal crashes and found that the number of traffic fatalities is up across almost every measurement, especially among people ages 35-44, among pedestrians and on smaller city roads.

Key findings:

  • Traffic fatalities increased by 9% in 2021
  • Idaho, Minnesota and Nevada had the largest increases in fatalities
  • People ages 35-44 saw the largest increase in traffic fatalities
  • Traffic fatalities increased by 20% on smaller urban roads

Traffic fatalities in 2021

The number of people killed on America’s roads increased by 9% in 2021 to 46,020. This increase, though, varies greatly from state to state. Traffic fatalities increased by 10% or more in 21 states and by nearly 30% in Idaho and Minnesota.

Even more concerning is that this increase in traffic fatalities is happening after a particularly deadly year. Traffic fatalities reached a 13-year high in 2020 when 42,000 people died on America’s roads. Texas, California and Florida have the highest numbers of traffic fatalities overall, but those numbers grew more slowly than in many other states. Alaska and Wyoming are two of the seven states that had decreases in fatalities in the last year.

Traffic fatalities in each state
State 2021 2020 % change from 2020
Idaho 271 208 30%
Minnesota 497 395 26%
Nevada 386 312 24%
Massachusetts 414 342 21%
New Mexico 470 390 21%
Oregon 588 490 20%
Vermont 74 62 19%
Illinois 1,324 1,118 18%
Delaware 139 118 18%
Washington 643 546 18%
New Jersey 690 587 18%
Utah 329 282 17%
Louisiana 935 805 16%
Oklahoma 735 637 15%
Texas 4,469 3,891 15%
Montana 240 211 14%
Colorado 687 604 14%
Virginia 953 838 14%
West Virginia 294 263 12%
California 4,161 3,723 12%
New Hampshire 119 108 10%
New York 1,054 963 9%
South Carolina 1,121 1,025 9%
Hawaii 94 86 9%
Arizona 1,106 1,014 9%
Michigan 1,145 1,051 9%
Ohio 1,347 1,238 9%
Tennessee 1,335 1,231 8%
Arkansas 690 638 8%
South Dakota 146 136 7%
North Carolina 1,784 1,664 7%
Pennsylvania 1,246 1,166 7%
Georgia 1,826 1,729 6%
Connecticut 327 310 5%
Iowa 354 337 5%
Mississippi 766 736 4%
Missouri 1,014 985 3%
Kentucky 794 774 3%
Alabama 947 930 2%
Florida 3,555 3,511 1%
North Dakota 98 97 1%
Wisconsin 601 597 1%
Alaska 64 65 -2%
Kansas 412 427 -4%
Nebraska 217 226 -4%
Maryland 544 570 -5%
Indiana 836 888 -6%
Rhode Island 64 73 -12%
Wyoming 112 128 -13%
Maine 147 170 -14%
United States 46,020 42,339 9%

The increase in traffic fatalities is closely tied to the COVID-19 pandemic. The first statewide coronavirus lockdowns went into effect in March of 2020, which is when we start to see an increase in the number of speeding-related deaths. This increase becomes even more pronounced during the summer, before declining toward the end of 2020.

Detailed speeding-related statistics are not yet available for 2021, but overall, the number of speeding-related deaths increased by 11% in 2020, while the total number of miles driven went down.

The increased number of speeding-related deaths is even more telling when broken down by region. We found that states in the northeast and south had the largest increases in speeding-related deaths, while the western half of the country saw declines of between 3% and 11%.

SPEEDING-RELATED DEATHS BY REGION
Region States in region # of speeding-related deaths in 2020 % change from 2019
Region 1 Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont 218 -1%
Region 2 New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands 1060 21%
Region 3 Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia 1,111 20%
Region 4 Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee 1,571 11%
Region 5 Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin 1,527 9%
Region 6 Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas 2,018 26%
Region 7 Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska 771 12%
Region 8 Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming 538 10%
Region 9 Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada 1,271 -11%
Region 10 Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington 410 -3%

Demographic breakdown of fatal crashes

People of color, women and people between the ages of 35 and 44 have been disproportionately affected by the increase in fatal crashes over the last two years. The number of traffic fatalities rose by 23% among Black people, by 12% among women and by 15% among people ages 35-44.

Informational graphic on traffic fatalities

Most dangerous types of roads

The type of roadway and method of transportation can have a substantial impact on the severity of a crash. City roads and rural highways saw the biggest increases in fatal crashes, while fatalities involving pedestrians or large trucks increased by 13%. The number of fatalities involving large trucks continues to increase quickly. More than 5,600 people were killed in 2021, compared to 3,500 in the early 2010s.

Traffic fatalities by roadway
Roadway 2021 2020 % chance
Rural interstate 2,147 1,864 15%
Urban interstate 3,511 3,151 11%
Rural arterial 7,899 7,609 4%
Urban arterial 16,197 14,094 15%
Rural collector 7,424 7,320 1%
Urban collector 5,736 4,787 20%
Traffic fatalities by type
Type 2021 2020 % chance
Driver 21,837 19,519 12%
Passenger 6,530 5,966 9%
Motorcycle 6,101 5,579 9%
Pedestrian 7,342 6,516 13%
Pedacyclist 985 938 5%
Large trucks 5,601 4,965 13%
Speeding related 11,780 11,258 5%
Alcohol involved 8,174 7,795 5%

While the number of fatal crashes has increased dramatically over the last two years, there are some early signs fatalities may be dropping in 2022. Preliminary estimates for the first half of 2022 show that fatalities have dropped by 1% nationwide so far. However, traffic fatalities are dramatically different in each state. For example, traffic fatalities have increased by 52% in Maine and decreased by 56% in Rhode Island so far this year.

Traffic fatalities in 2022
State 2022 - first half 2021 - first half % change from 2021
Maine 82 54 52%
Delaware 76 53 43%
Vermont 40 28 43%
Alaska 31 22 41%
Hawaii 60 44 36%
Washington 327 249 31%
Connecticut 190 147 29%
New Jersey 334 262 27%
New Hampshire 65 51 27%
Nebraska 124 104 19%
Colorado 325 288 13%
New York 441 398 11%
Massachusetts 195 178 10%
Virginia 440 403 9%
Indiana 450 415 8%
Wisconsin 261 242 8%
Illinois 584 543 8%
California 1,987 1,848 8%
Maryland 257 240 7%
Wyoming 49 46 7%
Nevada 190 181 5%
Iowa 149 145 3%
Texas 2,107 2,063 2%
North Carolina 862 855 1%
Pennsylvania 537 536 0%
Kansas 163 166 -2%
Utah 147 150 -2%
New Mexico 206 211 -2%
South Carolina 501 515 -3%
Florida 1,766 1,818 -3%
Michigan 505 523 -3%
Alabama 469 487 -4%
Georgia 875 911 -4%
Mississippi 331 347 -5%
Missouri 454 476 -5%
Ohio 566 601 -6%
Louisiana 404 431 -6%
West Virginia 115 124 -7%
Oregon 241 261 -8%
Tennessee 615 682 -10%
Arkansas 279 323 -14%
Kentucky 318 370 -14%
Minnesota 175 211 -17%
North Dakota 38 46 -17%
Oklahoma 241 317 -24%
Idaho 80 107 -25%
South Dakota 44 65 -32%
Montana 68 104 -35%
Arizona 359 597 -40%
Rhode Island 14 32 -56%
United States 21,340 21,530 -1%

Methodology

Traffic fatality data was sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and National Safety Council (NSC). NSC data was used to calculate the number of deaths in each state in 2019 to 2021. To calculate the number of speeding-related deaths, we took the total number of deaths for each monthly period and multiplied it by the percentage of speeding-related deaths provided by the NHTSA. Definitions for types of fatalities and roadway categories follow NHTSA guidelines.

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