NSC Motor Vehicle Fatality Estimates
Prepared by the Statistics Department
National Safety Council
Motor-vehicle deaths up 8% in 2015.
With continued lower gasoline prices and an improving economy resulting in an estimated 3.5%
increase in motor-vehicle mileage, the number of motor-vehicle deaths in 2015 totaled 38,300,
up 8% from 2014. The 2015 estimate is provisional and may be revised when more data are
available. The total for 2015 was up 8% from the 2013 figure. The annual total for 2014 was
35,398, a less than 0.5% increase from 2013. The 2013 figure was 3% lower than 2012. The
estimated annual population death rate is 11.87 deaths per 100,000 population, an increase of 7%
from the 2014 rate. The estimated annual mileage death rate is 1.22 deaths per 100 million
vehicle miles traveled, an increase of 5% from the 2014 rate.
Medically consulted motor-vehicle injuries in 2015 are estimated to be about 4.4 million. As a
result of a refinement made this year to the medically consulted injury estimate, comparison of
medically consulted injuries to previous years is not appropriate.
The estimated cost of motor-vehicle deaths, injuries, and property damage in 2015 was $412.1
billion. The costs include wage and productivity losses, medical expenses, administrative
expenses, employer costs, and property damage. Due to recent updates to the Council’s cost
model, comparison of current year cost estimates to previous years is not appropriate.
Table 1
December 2015
Motor-Vehicle Deaths and Changes
United States, Twelve Months, 2012 to 2015*
Number of Deaths
Month
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
TOTAL
2012
2,782
2,533
2,954
2,906
3,145
3,235
3,336
3,267
3,151
3,090
3,022
2,994
36,415
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
2,810
2,380
2,820
2,900
3,320
3,330
3,650
3,680
3,450
3,500
3,160
3,300
38,300
Percent Changes
Four Month Moving
Corresponding Month
Average +
2013 to
2013 to
2014 to
2013 to
2014 to
2015
2014
2015
2014
2015
6%
9%
6%
4%
6%
7%
1%
9%
8%
7%
7%
8%
11%
9%
8%
5%
8%
8%
17%
13%
9%
9%
12%
11%
8%
12%
11%
10%
6%
11%
3%
0%
8%
17%
7%
6%
8%
8%
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 2012, 2013, and 2014 data are from the National Center for Health Statistics. All other figures are
National Safety Council estimates.
*
Latest updates: 2012--11/6/14; 2013--2/5/15; 2014--1/13/16.
+
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
11
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
2015
38,300
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
572
862
224
244
326
114
553
296
1,090
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
560
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
2013
35,369
840
50
842
481
3,134
465
276
100
29
2,352
1,158
105
213
999
780
317
349
638
672
144
455
334
952
376
553
756
228
205
260
135
546
308
1,247
149
994
615
314
1,211
66
761
133
996
3,360
219
70
741
429
319
530
87
Percent Changes
2014 to
2015
8%
3%
-8%
15%
14%
5%
17%
14%
4%
0%
18%
22%
-5%
17%
12%
12%
0%
-7%
12%
3%
16%
16%
2%
10%
14%
2%
14%
17%
10%
14%
24%
-2%
-20%
11%
-4%
9%
-4%
27%
-1%
-13%
16%
-2%
-1%
1%
7%
30%
7%
21%
0%
13%
-3%
2013 to
2015
8%
1%
30%
5%
11%
4%
17%
3%
30%
-10%
26%
20%
-10%
2%
2%
5%
1%
2%
17%
-4%
8%
12%
6%
3%
9%
3%
14%
-2%
19%
25%
-16%
1%
-4%
12%
-12%
11%
3%
42%
0%
-32%
25%
0%
-4%
4%
26%
-19%
2%
32%
-15%
6%
67%
NOTE: Deaths are reported by state traffic authorities. ALL FIGURES
ARE PRELIMINARY. To ensure proper comparisons, 2013 and
2014 figures are preliminary figures covering the same reporting
period as those for 2015. The totals for 2013 and 2014 are
from the National Center for Health Statistics.
States in bold: States with a decrease in deaths from 2014 to 2015.
Denotes change of less than 0.5%.