Fatality Facts 2005

Occupants of cars, pickups, SUVs, and vans

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Overview | Crash types | Age and gender differences | Driver death rates | Rollover

By far the largest number of motor vehicle crash deaths are occupants of passenger vehicles including cars, minivans, pickups, SUVs, and cargo/large passenger vans. The likelihood of crash death varies markedly among these vehicle types according to size. Small/light vehicles have less structure and size to absorb crash energy, so more injurious forces can reach their occupants in crashes. People in lighter vehicles are at a disadvantage in collisions with heavier vehicles.¹ Pickups and SUVs are proportionally more likely than cars to be in fatal single-vehicle crashes, especially rollovers. However, pickups and SUVs generally are heavier than cars, so occupant deaths in SUVs and pickups are less likely to occur in multiple-vehicle crashes.

 

The following facts are based on analysis of data from the US Department of Transportation's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and The Polk Company's National Vehicle Population Profile.

Overview

A total of 31,322 passenger vehicle occupants died in 2005, only 2 percent more than in 1975. However, the distribution of vehicle types among these crashes has changed. Car occupant deaths have declined 23 percent since 1975, while pickup occupant deaths have risen 65 percent and SUV occupant deaths are more than 10 times as high.

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths by vehicle type, 1975-2005

 

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths by vehicle type, 1975-2005
Year	Car occupants	Pickup occupants	SUV occupants	All passenger vehicle occupants
1975	25,715	3,674	455	30,601
1976	26,163	4,225	577	31,724
1977	26,698	4,512	729	32,823
1978	27,898	5,103	852	34,923
1979	27,518	5,423	945	35,026
1980	27,281	5,489	1,124	34,995
1981	26,406	5,236	1,021	33,711
1982	23,142	4,779	862	29,654
1983	22,800	4,660	920	29,153
1984	23,480	4,884	886	30,091
1985	23,076	4,892	1,024	29,847
1986	24,880	5,334	1,131	32,224
1987	25,115	5,795	1,269	33,145
1988	25,825	6,089	1,320	34,105
1989	25,269	6,016	1,373	33,599
1990	24,413	6,032	1,480	32,711
1991	22,738	5,858	1,521	30,810
1992	21,824	5,476	1,390	29,457
1993	22,117	5,611	1,552	29,994
1994	22,618	5,604	1,809	30,816
1995	23,124	5,973	2,006	31,913
1996	23,426	5,928	2,210	32,353
1997	23,151	5,922	2,415	32,331
1998	22,355	5,904	2,711	31,779
1999	22,119	6,095	3,019	32,008
2000	21,985	6,001	3,332	32,109
2001	21,604	6,147	3,495	31,938
2002	22,007	6,093	3,987	32,724
2003	21,053	5,903	4,393	32,166
2004	20,558	5,795	4,695	31,750
2005	19,811	6,075	4,759	31,322

A total of 21,880 passenger vehicle drivers died in 2005, nearly the same as in 2004 but 13 percent more than in 1975. Sixty-three percent of passenger vehicle driver deaths in 2005 were car drivers. However, the proportion of deaths involving pickup and SUV drivers is growing as the popularity of these vehicles increases.

Passenger vehicle driver deaths by vehicle type, 1975-2005
Year	Car drivers		Pickup drivers		SUV drivers		All passenger vehicle drivers
	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num
1975	16,141	83	2,481	13	270	1	19,349
1976	16,385	82	2,890	14	347	2	20,091
1977	16,903	81	3,076	15	434	2	20,941
1978	18,047	79	3,535	16	519	2	22,758
1979	18,064	78	3,734	16	596	3	23,109
1980	17,847	78	3,776	16	684	3	22,990
1981	17,553	78	3,687	16	623	3	22,506
1982	15,234	77	3,345	17	549	3	19,663
1983	15,057	78	3,219	17	575	3	19,337
1984	15,785	78	3,422	17	557	3	20,298
1985	15,430	77	3,446	17	645	3	20,057
1986	16,503	77	3,764	18	690	3	21,503
1987	16,722	75	4,082	18	765	3	22,157
1988	17,183	75	4,332	19	850	4	22,884
1989	16,775	74	4,365	19	877	4	22,554
1990	16,200	74	4,307	20	951	4	21,953
1991	14,938	73	4,256	21	943	5	20,551
1992	14,337	73	3,958	20	863	4	19,573
1993	14,547	73	4,105	20	977	5	20,036
1994	14,913	72	4,130	20	1,140	6	20,644
1995	15,323	71	4,431	21	1,248	6	21,456
1996	15,379	71	4,402	20	1,399	6	21,631
1997	15,308	71	4,376	20	1,537	7	21,702
1998	15,035	70	4,452	21	1,686	8	21,627
1999	14,809	68	4,658	21	1,986	9	21,899
2000	14,719	67	4,536	21	2,085	10	21,819
2001	14,553	67	4,653	21	2,253	10	21,862
2002	14,897	66	4,686	21	2,571	11	22,537
2003	14,380	65	4,567	21	2,784	13	22,200
2004	14,038	64	4,395	20	3,090	14	21,952
2005	13,679	63	4,666	21	3,121	14	21,880

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths represented 72 percent of the 43,443 motor vehicle crash deaths in 2005.

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths vs. all motor vehicle crash deaths, 1975-2005
Year	All passenger vehicle occupant deaths		Other deaths		All motor vehicle crash deaths
	Num	%	Num	%	Num
1975	30,601	69	13,924	31	44,525
1976	31,724	70	13,799	30	45,523
1977	32,823	69	15,055	31	47,878
1978	34,923	69	15,408	31	50,331
1979	35,026	69	16,067	31	51,093
1980	34,995	68	16,096	32	51,091
1981	33,711	68	15,590	32	49,301
1982	29,654	67	14,291	33	43,945
1983	29,153	68	13,436	32	42,589
1984	30,091	68	14,166	32	44,257
1985	29,847	68	13,978	32	43,825
1986	32,224	70	13,863	30	46,087
1987	33,145	71	13,245	29	46,390
1988	34,105	72	12,982	28	47,087
1989	33,599	74	11,983	26	45,582
1990	32,711	73	11,888	27	44,599
1991	30,810	74	10,698	26	41,508
1992	29,457	75	9,793	25	39,250
1993	29,994	75	10,156	25	40,150
1994	30,816	76	9,900	24	40,716
1995	31,913	76	9,904	24	41,817
1996	32,353	77	9,712	23	42,065
1997	32,331	77	9,682	23	42,013
1998	31,779	77	9,722	23	41,501
1999	32,008	77	9,709	23	41,717
2000	32,109	77	9,836	23	41,945
2001	31,938	76	10,258	24	42,196
2002	32,724	76	10,281	24	43,005
2003	32,166	75	10,718	25	42,884
2004	31,750	74	11,086	26	42,836
2005	31,322	72	12,121	28	43,443

Crash types

Frontal impacts accounted for 49 percent of passenger vehicle occupant deaths in 2005. Side impacts accounted for another 29 percent of passenger vehicle occupant deaths.

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths in single-vehicle crashes by impact point and vehicle type, 2005
Point of principal impact	Car occupants		Pickup occupants		SUV occupants		All occupants
	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%
Frontal	4,222	50	1,777	48	1,085	36	7,243	47
Side	2,027	24	603	16	417	14	3,100	20
Rear	279	3	69	2	59	2	410	3
Other (mostly rollover)	1,860	22	1,226	33	1,428	48	4,645	30
All*	8,388	100	3,675	100	2,989	100	15,398	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths in multiple-vehicle crashes by impact point and vehicle type, 2005
Point of principal impact	Car occupants		Pickup occupants		SUV occupants		All occupants
	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%
Frontal	5,547	49	1,490	62	954	54	8,184	51
Side	4,857	43	642	27	522	30	6,097	38
Rear	667	6	160	7	147	8	999	6
Other (mostly rollover)	342	3	106	4	144	8	626	4
All*	11,413	100	2,398	100	1,767	100	15,906	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths in all crashes by impact point and vehicle type, 2005
Point of principal impact	Car occupants		Pickup occupants		SUV occupants		All occupants
	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%
Frontal	9,776	49	3,269	54	2,042	43	15,442	49
Side	6,887	35	1,245	20	939	20	9,200	29
Rear	946	5	229	4	206	4	1,409	4
Other (mostly rollover)	2,202	11	1,332	22	1,572	33	5,271	17
All*	19,811	100	6,075	100	4,759	100	31,322	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Forty-two percent of car occupant deaths in 2005 occurred in single-vehicle crashes and 58 percent occurred in multiple-vehicle crashes. In contrast, single-vehicle crashes accounted for 63 percent of SUV occupant deaths and 60 percent of pickup occupant deaths.

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths by vehicle and crash type, 2005
Vehicle type	Deaths in single-vehicle crashes		Deaths in multiple-vehicle crashes		Deaths in all crashes*
	Num	%	Num	%	Num
Cars	8,388	42	11,413	58	19,811
Pickups	3,675	60	2,398	39	6,075
SUVs	2,989	63	1,767	37	4,759
Other	346	51	328	48	677
All passenger vehicles	15,398	49	15,906	51	31,322
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Age and gender differences

Thirty-two percent of passenger vehicle occupants killed in 2005 were younger than 25.

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths by age, 2005
Age	All occupants
	Num	%
<25	10,159	32
25-29	2,865	9
30-34	2,233	7
35-39	2,092	7
40-44	2,154	7
45-49	2,076	7
50-54	1,786	6
55-59	1,515	5
60-64	1,289	4
65-69	1,073	3
≥ 70	4,006	13
All *	31,322	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Seventy percent of passenger vehicle occupants killed in 2005 were drivers; 71 percent of these drivers were males.

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths by occupant age, type, and gender, 2005
Age	Drivers					All occupants
	Male		Female		Total*	Male		Female		Total*
	Num	%	Num	%	Num	Num	%	Num	%	Num
<16	51	67	25	33	76	833	52	780	48	1,615
16-19	1,633	70	702	30	2,335	2,541	65	1,348	35	3,889
20-24	2,469	77	749	23	3,218	3,442	74	1,213	26	4,655
25-29	1,596	76	506	24	2,102	2,104	73	761	27	2,865
30-34	1,253	73	475	27	1,728	1,561	70	672	30	2,233
35-39	1,156	70	486	30	1,642	1,405	67	687	33	2,092
40-44	1,218	70	514	30	1,732	1,424	66	730	34	2,154
45-49	1,146	69	525	31	1,671	1,355	65	721	35	2,076
50-54	1,016	70	426	30	1,442	1,168	65	618	35	1,786
55-59	838	68	390	32	1,228	947	63	568	37	1,515
60-64	693	67	334	33	1,027	780	61	509	39	1,289
65-69	539	65	292	35	831	617	58	456	42	1,073
≥ 70	1,892	67	935	33	2,828	2,249	56	1,756	44	4,006
All*	15,517	71	6,360	29	21,880	20,476	65	10,840	35	31,322
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Driver death rates

Computing driver death rates per million registered passenger vehicles allows for comparisons of fatal crash risk across vehicle groups. The computed rates reflect the influence of vehicle designs plus their patterns of use and the demographics of their drivers. Driver death rates are based on 1-3-year-old vehicles only so as to minimize the effects of vehicle aging. Rates based on fewer than 120,000 vehicle registrations are considered unreliable and are not included.

Since 1978 the overall rates of driver and occupant deaths per million registered vehicles have declined across all passenger vehicle types. Declines in death rates have been largest for SUV occupants.

Occupant deaths per million registered passenger vehicles 1-3 years old, 1978-2005
Year	Drivers				All occupants
	Cars	Pickups	SUVs	All passenger vehicles	Cars	Pickups	SUVs	All passenger vehicles
1978	155	237	273	169	235	346	438	256
1979	165	246	271	180	244	350	425	265
1980	167	221	287	177	248	316	494	263
1981	177	216	237	182	259	296	389	265
1982	155	188	229	159	231	263	392	236
1983	148	188	225	153	220	263	337	225
1984	147	190	143	151	218	259	218	222
1985	139	182	141	144	208	257	227	213
1986	128	172	134	133	196	239	224	202
1987	130	178	136	136	197	248	232	205
1988	134	186	121	140	206	251	198	211
1989	130	185	116	137	200	255	185	207
1990	122	179	126	131	188	245	201	197
1991	108	169	109	117	169	229	175	178
1992	102	151	88	108	160	200	151	165
1993	97	137	93	102	153	187	141	156
1994	100	134	87	104	160	178	148	161
1995	103	134	102	107	160	180	157	162
1996	107	127	98	108	168	178	150	167
1997	96	118	93	99	153	161	146	153
1998	90	119	86	94	141	158	141	144
1999	91	120	93	96	138	162	139	143
2000	83	117	81	89	127	155	135	134
2001	83	130	74	89	125	170	116	131
2002	84	123	76	88	126	162	122	131
2003	81	116	70	85	122	153	113	126
2004	76	106	64	79	114	146	100	117
2005	79	107	55	78	117	141	87	114

For each vehicle type (car, pickup, SUV), the rates of driver deaths per million registered vehicles in 2005 were highest for the smallest and lightest vehicles.

Driver deaths per million registered passenger vehicles 1-3 years old, 2005

 

Driver deaths per million registered passenger vehicles 1-3 years old, 2005
Vehicle size		Rate
Cars	Mini	144
	Small	106
	Midsize	70
	Large	67
	Very large	44
Pickups	Small	122
	Large	104
	Very large	101
SUVs	Small	60
	Midsize	57
	Large	48
	Very large	24

Multiple-vehicle crashes accounted for 38 driver deaths per million registered passenger vehicles in 2005, while there were 40 deaths per million in single-vehicle crashes. In single-vehicle crashes, pickups had the highest number of deaths per registered vehicle (69 per million) in 2005. In multiple-vehicle crashes, cars had the highest number of deaths per registered vehicle (46 per million), and SUVs had the lowest number of deaths per registered vehicle (21 per million).

Driver deaths per million registered passenger vehicles 1-3 years old by crash type, 2005
		Multiple-vehicle	Single-vehicle	Single-vehicle rollover	All crashes
Cars	Mini	94	50	31	144
	Small	61	45	24	106
	Midsize	39	32	14	70
	Large	43	25	11	67
	Very large	27	16	7	44
	All cars	46	33	16	79
Pickups	Small	55	67	38	122
	Large	37	67	42	104
	Very large	21	80	57	101
	All pickups	38	69	45	107
SUVs	Small	29	31	20	60
	Midsize	20	36	26	57
	Large	17	30	23	48
	Very large	8	16	8	24
	All utility vehicles	21	34	24	55
All passenger vehicles		38	40	23	78

 

Frontal impacts accounted for 20 driver deaths per million registered passenger vehicles in multiple-vehicle crashes in 2005, compared with 14 deaths per million in side impacts and 2 deaths per million in rear impacts.

Driver deaths in multiple-vehicle crashes per million registered passenger vehicles 1-3 years old, 2005
	Frontal impacts	Side impacts	Rear impacts	Other	Total
Cars	23	20	2	<1	46
Pickups	24	9	3	<1	38
SUVs	12	7	1	1	21
All passenger vehicles	20	14	2	<1	38

 

Frontal impacts accounted for 19 driver deaths per million registered passenger vehicles in single-vehicle crashes in 2005, compared with 8 deaths per million in side impacts and 1 death per million in rear impacts.

Driver deaths in single-vehicle crashes per million registered passenger vehicles 1-3 years old, 2005
	Frontal impacts	Side impacts	Rear impacts	Other	Total
Cars	16	8	1	6	33
Pickups	31	13	2	19	69
SUVs	16	5	1	11	34
All passenger vehicles	19	8	1	10	40

 

Rollover

A vehicle is classified as rolling over if it tips onto its side or roof at any time during the crash. The rollover may occur subsequent to a frontal or side impact with another vehicle or a fixed object. Many rollovers occur after a vehicle leaves the roadway and may lead to occupants being ejected from the vehicle, increasing the likelihood of fatality.

A total of 10,770 passenger vehicle occupants died in rollover crashes in 2005. Twenty-three percent of these did not involve any other impact.

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths in rollover crashes by impact point and vehicle type, 2005
Point of principal impact	Car occupants		Pickup occupants		SUV occupants		All occupants
	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%
Frontal	1,932	40	1,040	37	841	30	3,910	36
Side	933	19	456	16	410	14	1,855	17
Rear	191	4	126	5	125	4	456	4
None	781	16	704	25	917	32	2,484	23
Other	975	20	472	17	557	20	2,065	19
All*	4,812	100	2,798	100	2,850	100	10,770	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Crashes in which a vehicle rolled over accounted for 34 percent of passenger vehicle occupant deaths in 2005 (56 percent of single-vehicle occupant crash deaths and 13 percent of multiple-vehicle occupant crash deaths).

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths by crash type, 1978-2005
Year	Deaths in single-vehicle crashes				Deaths in multiple-vehicle crashes				Deaths in all crashes*
	Rollover		No rollover		Rollover		No rollover		Rollover		No rollover
	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%
1978	7,858	48	8,460	52	1,477	8	17,093	92	9,350	27	25,573	73
1979	8,010	48	8,542	52	1,666	9	16,779	91	9,691	28	25,335	72
1980	8,673	49	9,000	51	1,588	9	15,679	91	10,282	29	24,713	71
1981	8,211	50	8,188	50	1,588	9	15,692	91	9,812	29	23,899	71
1982	6,974	49	7,204	51	1,305	8	14,157	92	8,282	28	21,372	72
1983	6,951	50	7,079	50	1,256	8	13,867	92	8,207	28	20,946	72
1984	7,116	50	7,090	50	1,358	9	14,527	91	8,474	28	21,617	72
1985	6,900	50	6,779	50	1,361	8	14,804	92	8,262	28	21,585	72
1986	7,954	52	7,428	48	1,501	9	15,341	91	9,455	29	22,769	71
1987	8,162	53	7,363	47	1,629	9	15,991	91	9,791	30	23,354	70
1988	8,562	53	7,494	47	1,582	9	16,467	91	10,144	30	23,961	70
1989	8,060	52	7,558	48	1,620	9	16,361	91	9,680	29	23,919	71
1990	8,068	52	7,382	48	1,556	9	15,705	91	9,624	29	23,087	71
1991	7,749	52	7,131	48	1,523	10	14,407	90	9,272	30	21,538	70
1992	7,135	52	6,693	48	1,492	10	14,137	90	8,627	29	20,830	71
1993	7,002	51	6,821	49	1,524	9	14,647	91	8,526	28	21,468	72
1994	7,268	52	6,636	48	1,669	10	15,243	90	8,937	29	21,879	71
1995	7,802	53	6,940	47	1,708	10	15,463	90	9,510	30	22,403	70
1996	7,903	53	6,891	47	1,691	10	15,869	90	9,594	30	22,760	70
1997	7,711	53	6,737	47	1,774	10	16,109	90	9,485	29	22,846	71
1998	7,846	54	6,594	46	1,872	11	15,467	89	9,718	31	22,061	69
1999	8,255	56	6,502	44	1,839	11	15,412	89	10,094	32	21,914	68
2000	8,112	54	6,841	46	1,800	10	15,356	90	9,912	31	22,197	69
2001	8,375	55	6,786	45	1,747	10	15,030	90	10,122	32	21,816	68
2002	8,724	55	7,114	45	1,952	12	14,934	88	10,676	33	22,048	67
2003	8,462	55	6,936	45	1,940	12	14,828	88	10,402	32	21,764	68
2004	8,525	56	6,764	44	2,022	12	14,439	88	10,547	33	21,203	67
2005	8,691	56	6,707	44	2,078	13	13,828	87	10,770	34	20,552	66
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Since 1978 pickups and SUVs have a consistently higher percentage of rollover deaths than cars.

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths in rollover vs. no rollover crashes, 1978-2005
Year	Car occupants				Pickup occupants				SUV occupants
	Rollover		No rollover		Rollover		No rollover		Rollover		No rollover
	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%
1978	6,422	23	21,476	77	1,989	39	3,114	61	520	61	332	39
1979	6,416	23	21,102	77	2,222	41	3,201	59	630	67	315	33
1980	6,862	25	20,419	75	2,263	41	3,226	59	735	65	389	35
1981	6,541	25	19,865	75	2,177	42	3,059	58	663	65	358	35
1982	5,477	24	17,665	76	1,935	40	2,844	60	571	66	291	34
1983	5,381	24	17,419	76	1,939	42	2,721	58	609	66	311	34
1984	5,525	24	17,955	76	2,048	42	2,836	58	587	66	299	34
1985	5,219	23	17,857	77	2,044	42	2,848	58	671	66	353	34
1986	5,996	24	18,884	76	2,371	44	2,963	56	737	65	394	35
1987	5,997	24	19,118	76	2,598	45	3,197	55	824	65	445	35
1988	6,227	24	19,598	76	2,762	45	3,327	55	815	62	505	38
1989	5,784	23	19,485	77	2,680	45	3,336	55	847	62	526	38
1990	5,695	23	18,718	77	2,713	45	3,319	55	910	61	570	39
1991	5,443	24	17,295	76	2,593	44	3,265	56	934	61	587	39
1992	4,944	23	16,880	77	2,479	45	2,997	55	879	63	511	37
1993	4,865	22	17,252	78	2,415	43	3,196	57	971	63	581	37
1994	5,112	23	17,506	77	2,393	43	3,211	57	1,102	61	707	39
1995	5,340	23	17,784	77	2,581	43	3,392	57	1,257	63	749	37
1996	5,323	23	18,104	77	2,539	43	3,389	57	1,429	65	781	35
1997	5,142	22	18,009	78	2,479	42	3,443	58	1,516	63	899	37
1998	5,120	23	17,235	77	2,537	43	3,367	57	1,703	63	1,008	37
1999	5,174	23	16,945	77	2,699	44	3,396	56	1,901	63	1,118	37
2000	4,997	23	16,988	77	2,532	42	3,469	58	2,064	62	1,268	38
2001	5,028	23	16,576	77	2,657	43	3,490	57	2,138	61	1,357	39
2002	5,243	24	16,764	76	2,730	45	3,363	55	2,459	62	1,528	38
2003	4,916	23	16,137	77	2,555	43	3,348	57	2,612	59	1,781	41
2004	4,779	23	15,779	77	2,572	44	3,223	56	2,898	62	1,797	38
2005	4,812	24	14,999	76	2,798	46	3,277	54	2,850	60	1,909	40

More than three-fourths of fatal rollovers are single-vehicle crashes.² The remaining facts will concentrate on single-vehicle rollovers.

A total of 8,691 passenger vehicle occupants died in single-vehicle rollover crashes in 2005, 2 percent more than in 2004 and 11 percent more than in 1978.

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths in single-vehicle rollover crashes, 1978-2005
Year	Car drivers	Pickup drivers	SUV drivers	All passenger vehicle drivers	All passenger vehicle occupants
1978	3,710	1,140	271	5,323	7,858
1979	3,610	1,263	329	5,396	8,010
1980	3,995	1,309	406	5,895	8,673
1981	3,826	1,291	364	5,687	8,211
1982	3,222	1,162	312	4,828	6,974
1983	3,169	1,120	319	4,732	6,951
1984	3,252	1,226	331	4,964	7,116
1985	3,076	1,202	360	4,773	6,900
1986	3,474	1,401	375	5,400	7,954
1987	3,427	1,535	403	5,528	8,162
1988	3,675	1,656	447	5,925	8,562
1989	3,309	1,629	463	5,551	8,060
1990	3,291	1,563	486	5,477	8,068
1991	3,092	1,595	470	5,282	7,749
1992	2,800	1,492	442	4,848	7,135
1993	2,664	1,462	494	4,729	7,002
1994	2,826	1,403	522	4,879	7,268
1995	3,005	1,556	602	5,284	7,802
1996	2,932	1,514	720	5,294	7,903
1997	2,817	1,469	754	5,177	7,711
1998	2,857	1,545	808	5,328	7,846
1999	2,866	1,667	999	5,644	8,255
2000	2,795	1,526	1,035	5,466	8,112
2001	2,836	1,660	1,054	5,654	8,375
2002	2,977	1,680	1,212	5,967	8,724
2003	2,755	1,618	1,308	5,789	8,462
2004	2,704	1,567	1,465	5,853	8,525
2005	2,750	1,726	1,451	6,052	8,691

Single-vehicle rollover crashes accounted for 48 percent of occupant deaths in SUVs in 2005, compared with 37 percent of occupant deaths in pickups and 20 percent in cars.

Deaths in single-vehicle rollover crashes as a percent of all occupant deaths, 2005
		Drivers			All occupants
		Single-vehicle rollover crashes		All crashes	Single-vehicle rollover crashes		All crashes
		Num	%	Num	Num	%	Num
Cars	Mini	213	17	1,279	291	16	1,805
	Small	929	21	4,395	1,291	21	6,267
	Midsize	861	21	4,104	1,225	21	5,861
	Large	558	20	2,816	824	19	4,233
	Very large	138	16	858	236	18	1,328
	All cars	2,750	20	13,679	3,933	20	19,811
Pickups	Small	584	32	1,803	757	33	2,271
	Large	748	38	1,974	988	38	2,617
	Very large	300	47	634	399	47	855
	All pickups	1,726	37	4,666	2,270	37	6,075
SUVs	Small	281	40	701	378	39	960
	Midsize	902	49	1,856	1,378	49	2,793
	Large	223	46	490	439	50	886
	Very large	6	60	10	12	57	21
	All utility vehicles	1,451	46	3,121	2,269	48	4,759
All passenger vehicles		6,052	28	21,880	8,691	28	31,322

 

 

Deaths in single-vehicle rollover crashes as a percent of all occupant deaths, 2005
		2WD			4WD
		Single-vehicle rollover crashes		All crashes	Single-vehicle rollover crashes		All crashes
		Num	%	Num	Num	%	Num
Pickups	Small	460	28	1,656	297	48	615
	Large	542	33	1,630	446	45	987
	Very large	95	32	299	304	55	556
	All pickups	1,126	31	3,635	1,061	49	2,186
SUVs	Small	149	42	357	229	38	603
	Midsize	532	51	1,037	846	48	1,756
	Large	171	48	358	268	51	528
	Very large				12	57	21
	All utility vehicles	852	49	1,753	1,355	47	2,908

Since 1978 driver death rates for single-vehicle rollover crashes have declined across all passenger vehicle types, particularly for SUVs. Single-vehicle crashes involving rollover accounted for 23 driver deaths per million registered passenger vehicles in 2005.

Driver deaths in single-vehicle rollover crashes per million registered passenger vehicles 1-3 years old, 1978-2005
Year	Car drivers	Pickup drivers	SUV drivers	All passenger vehicles
1978	32	78	141	41
1979	31	90	155	43
1980	37	83	168	47
1981	35	76	137	44
1982	31	65	129	38
1983	29	62	126	35
1984	27	72	69	34
1985	25	61	73	32
1986	24	70	62	32
1987	24	68	67	33
1988	26	70	55	34
1989	24	68	60	33
1990	25	68	60	34
1991	23	66	54	31
1992	20	56	40	27
1993	19	50	51	26
1994	19	42	37	25
1995	20	49	45	27
1996	24	47	55	31
1997	21	44	43	27
1998	21	43	43	28
1999	20	49	47	29
2000	18	46	42	27
2001	18	53	36	27
2002	18	52	37	28
2003	16	48	33	25
2004	15	45	29	23
2005	16	45	24	23

References

¹ Kahane, C.J. 2003. Vehicle weight, fatality risk, and crash compatibility of model year 1991-99 passenger cars and light trucks. Report no. DOT HS-809-662. Washington, DC: US Department of Transportation.

² Deutermann, W. 2002. Characteristics of fatal rollover crashes. Report no. DOT HS-809-438. Washington, DC: US Department of Transportation.