Fatality Facts 2007

State by state

Overview | Crash types | Alcohol involvement | Restraint use | Rural versus urban

The number and type of motor vehicle crash deaths differ widely among the 50 states and the District of Columbia. A state's population has an obvious effect on the number of motor vehicle deaths. Fatality rates per capita provide a way of examining motor vehicle deaths relative to a state's population. However, many factors can affect these rates, including amounts and types of travel, types of vehicles driven, higher speed traffic, rates of licensure, state traffic laws, emergency care capabilities, weather, and topography.

The following facts are based on analysis of data from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).

Overview

There were 37,248 fatal motor vehicle crashes in the United States in 2007 in which 41,059 deaths occurred. This resulted in a national motor vehicle death rate of 13.6 deaths per 100,000 people. Motor vehicle death rates varied among states from a low of 6.5 deaths per 100,000 people in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, to a high of 30.3 deaths per 100,000 people in Mississippi.

States with lowest and highest rates of motor vehicle crash deaths per 100,000 people, 2007

Population, fatal motor vehicle crashes, motor vehicle crash deaths, and motor vehicle crash deaths per 100,000 people by state, 2007
State	Population	Fatal motor vehicle crashes	Motor vehicle crash deaths
State	Population	Num	Num	Rate
Alabama	4,627,851	1,010	1,110	24.0
Alaska	683,478	77	84	12.3
Arizona	6,338,755	948	1,066	16.8
Arkansas	2,834,797	584	650	22.9
California	36,553,215	3,572	3,974	10.9
Colorado	4,861,515	508	554	11.4
Connecticut	3,502,309	252	277	7.9
Delaware	864,764	105	117	13.5
District of Columbia	588,292	36	44	7.5
Florida	18,251,243	2,943	3,214	17.6
Georgia	9,544,750	1,492	1,641	17.2
Hawaii	1,283,388	125	138	10.8
Idaho	1,499,402	218	252	16.8
Illinois	12,852,548	1,127	1,249	9.7
Indiana	6,345,289	804	898	14.2
Iowa	2,988,046	392	445	14.9
Kansas	2,775,997	379	416	15.0
Kentucky	4,241,474	803	864	20.4
Louisiana	4,293,204	893	985	22.9
Maine	1,317,207	170	183	13.9
Maryland	5,618,344	558	614	10.9
Massachusetts	6,449,755	390	417	6.5
Michigan	10,071,822	991	1,088	10.8
Minnesota	5,197,621	458	504	9.7
Mississippi	2,918,785	804	884	30.3
Missouri	5,878,415	900	992	16.9
Montana	957,861	250	277	28.9
Nebraska	1,774,571	230	256	14.4
Nevada	2,565,382	341	373	14.5
New Hampshire	1,315,828	122	129	9.8
New Jersey	8,685,920	674	724	8.3
New Mexico	1,969,915	371	413	21.0
New York	19,297,729	1,238	1,333	6.9
North Carolina	9,061,032	1,513	1,675	18.5
North Dakota	639,715	95	111	17.4
Ohio	11,466,917	1,163	1,257	11.0
Oklahoma	3,617,316	637	754	20.8
Oregon	3,747,455	411	455	12.1
Pennsylvania	12,432,792	1,393	1,491	12.0
Rhode Island	1,057,832	64	69	6.5
South Carolina	4,407,709	974	1,066	24.2
South Dakota	796,214	130	146	18.3
Tennessee	6,156,719	1,110	1,210	19.7
Texas	23,904,380	3,006	3,363	14.1
Utah	2,645,330	258	299	11.3
Vermont	621,254	62	66	10.6
Virginia	7,712,091	940	1,027	13.3
Washington	6,468,424	529	568	8.8
West Virginia	1,812,035	386	431	23.8
Wisconsin	5,601,640	675	756	13.5
Wyoming	522,830	137	150	28.7
US total	301,621,157	37,248	41,059	13.6

In 2007, the types of motor vehicle crash deaths varied across states. For example, Wyoming had the lowest percentages of deaths involving car occupants (23 percent) and pedestrians (1 percent) and the highest percentage of deaths involving occupants of SUVs and pickups (50 percent). In contrast, New York had relatively high proportions of car occupant deaths (43 percent) and pedestrian deaths (21 percent), and a relatively low percentage of deaths involving SUV or pickup occupants (15 percent). The highest percentage of motorcyclist deaths occurred in South Dakota (20 percent), and the percentage of pedestrian deaths was highest in the District of Columbia (43 percent).

Motor vehicle crash deaths by type and state, 2007
State	Car occupants		Pickup and SUV occupants		Large truck occupants		Motorcyclists		Pedestrians		Total motor vehicle deaths*
State	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num
Alabama	520	47	375	34	15	1	85	8	69	6	1,110
Alaska	34	40	18	21	1	1	6	7	14	17	84
Arizona	366	34	311	29	16	2	132	12	154	14	1,066
Arkansas	261	40	216	33	27	4	80	12	45	7	650
California	1,717	43	827	21	42	1	507	13	640	16	3,974
Colorado	202	36	155	28	22	4	87	16	58	10	554
Connecticut	146	53	45	16	5	2	41	15	31	11	277
Delaware	59	50	24	21	0	0	16	14	16	14	117
District of Columbia	15	34	6	14	0	0	2	5	19	43	44
Florida	1,196	37	660	21	41	1	546	17	531	17	3,214
Georgia	732	45	496	30	35	2	159	10	153	9	1,641
Hawaii	42	30	31	22	0	0	26	19	27	20	138
Idaho	100	40	89	35	5	2	27	11	17	7	252
Illinois	602	48	238	19	13	1	156	12	171	14	1,249
Indiana	396	44	228	25	23	3	113	13	59	7	898
Iowa	211	47	118	27	12	3	61	14	23	5	445
Kansas	186	45	139	33	11	3	46	11	20	5	416
Kentucky	401	46	238	28	21	2	109	13	44	5	864
Louisiana	369	37	355	36	26	3	89	9	107	11	985
Maine	89	49	48	26	5	3	21	11	10	5	183
Maryland	268	44	112	18	6	1	92	15	116	19	614
Massachusetts	197	47	74	18	4	1	57	14	61	15	417
Michigan	537	49	220	20	6	1	120	11	131	12	1,088
Minnesota	231	46	135	27	8	2	58	12	33	7	504
Mississippi	388	44	301	34	11	1	50	6	58	7	884
Missouri	459	46	287	29	32	3	91	9	79	8	992
Montana	100	36	101	36	11	4	36	13	15	5	277
Nebraska	131	51	85	33	7	3	15	6	8	3	256
Nevada	148	40	97	26	3	1	45	12	52	14	373
New Hampshire	56	43	29	22	1	1	25	19	13	10	129
New Jersey	344	48	98	14	14	2	83	11	149	21	724
New Mexico	127	31	141	34	19	5	50	12	52	13	413
New York	573	43	205	15	21	2	168	13	278	21	1,333
North Carolina	807	48	409	24	37	2	194	12	171	10	1,675
North Dakota	40	36	49	44	3	3	8	7	5	5	111
Ohio	651	52	221	18	14	1	190	15	107	9	1,257
Oklahoma	277	37	284	38	25	3	72	10	66	9	754
Oregon	174	38	133	29	6	1	51	11	48	11	455
Pennsylvania	743	50	274	18	27	2	222	15	151	10	1,491
Rhode Island	35	51	6	9	0	0	13	19	13	19	69
South Carolina	428	40	343	32	11	1	122	11	106	10	1,066
South Dakota	57	39	48	33	2	1	29	20	7	5	146
Tennessee	552	46	367	30	26	2	147	12	69	6	1,210
Texas	1,234	37	1,112	33	66	2	394	12	387	12	3,363
Utah	100	33	107	36	9	3	32	11	32	11	299
Vermont	27	41	19	29	1	2	7	11	4	6	66
Virginia	460	45	296	29	19	2	128	12	88	9	1,027
Washington	252	44	138	24	9	2	69	12	60	11	568
West Virginia	190	44	128	30	7	2	39	9	27	6	431
Wisconsin	375	50	159	21	9	1	102	13	58	8	756
Wyoming	34	23	75	50	9	6	19	13	2	1	150
US total	17,639	43	10,670	26	743	2	5,037	12	4,654	11	41,059
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Crash types

Nationwide, 51 percent of passenger vehicle occupant deaths in 2007 occurred in single-vehicle crashes. The highest proportions of single-vehicle crashes occurred in Rhode Island (76 percent), Wyoming (70 percent), Idaho (67 percent), and North Dakota (66 percent).

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths by crash type and state, 2007
State	Single-vehicle		Multiple-vehicle		All crashes*
State	Num	%	Num	%	Num
Alabama	507	56	397	44	906
Alaska	25	45	30	54	56
Arizona	358	52	332	48	690
Arkansas	255	53	226	47	481
California	1,282	49	1,310	51	2,592
Colorado	179	49	184	51	364
Connecticut	95	49	97	51	192
Delaware	42	51	41	49	83
District of Columbia	8	38	13	62	21
Florida	841	45	1,037	55	1,879
Georgia	613	50	621	50	1,238
Hawaii	42	58	31	42	73
Idaho	128	67	63	33	191
Illinois	435	50	430	50	865
Indiana	330	49	337	51	667
Iowa	161	48	173	52	334
Kansas	158	48	172	52	330
Kentucky	348	54	297	46	645
Louisiana	400	55	329	45	729
Maine	85	61	53	38	140
Maryland	184	48	200	52	384
Massachusetts	173	63	103	37	276
Michigan	323	41	456	59	779
Minnesota	158	41	226	59	384
Mississippi	452	61	289	39	741
Missouri	402	53	355	47	757
Montana	129	63	74	36	204
Nebraska	111	51	106	49	218
Nevada	127	50	127	50	254
New Hampshire	48	56	38	44	86
New Jersey	225	49	231	51	457
New Mexico	180	65	99	35	279
New York	379	48	405	52	786
North Carolina	635	51	600	49	1,235
North Dakota	61	66	31	34	92
Ohio	450	50	451	50	903
Oklahoma	281	49	289	51	571
Oregon	172	54	144	46	316
Pennsylvania	517	50	519	50	1,036
Rhode Island	31	76	10	24	41
South Carolina	487	62	298	38	787
South Dakota	68	64	38	36	106
Tennessee	510	55	418	45	929
Texas	1,115	47	1,279	53	2,394
Utah	123	57	94	43	217
Vermont	24	52	22	48	46
Virginia	443	57	327	42	771
Washington	209	52	189	47	399
West Virginia	187	58	136	42	323
Wisconsin	264	49	274	51	538
Wyoming	78	70	33	30	111
US total	14,838	51	14,034	49	28,896
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Alcohol involvement

Some states report blood alcohol concentration (BAC) for only a small percentage of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers. If BAC is missing for a driver, it is imputed by the US Department of Transportation’s multiple imputation model.¹ However, BAC information is most precise in states that report a high percentage of BACs. In the following table, estimated percentages of fatally injured drivers with BACs at or above 0.08 percent are shown only for states in which BAC reporting was 70 percent or higher. Estimated percentages are based on known BAC when available and imputed BAC for the remaining drivers.

For the nation in 2007, BAC was reported for 64 percent of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers. New Mexico and Vermont reported BACs for 94 percent of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers, while Alabama reported BACs for 14 percent. Among states with reporting rates of at least 70 percent, North Dakota (50 percent) had the highest estimated percentage of fatally injured drivers with BACs of 0.08 percent or higher, and Kentucky (25 percent) had the lowest.

Estimated number and percent of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers with BAC ≥ 0.08 percent by state, 2007
State	Drivers killed with known BAC results		Total drivers killed	Estimated drivers killed with BAC ≥ 0.08
State	Num	%	Num	Num	%
Alabama	90	14	658	*	*
Alaska	9	26	35	*	*
Arizona	307	73	421	158	38
Arkansas	269	76	353	109	31
California	1,398	84	1,674	563	34
Colorado	212	85	248	86	35
Connecticut	122	87	141	58	41
Delaware	34	57	60	*	*
District of Columbia	8	67	12	*	*
Florida	785	61	1,286	*	*
Georgia	416	48	874	*	*
Hawaii	48	92	52	22	42
Idaho	94	75	125	44	35
Illinois	538	89	602	213	35
Indiana	311	65	480	*	*
Iowa	88	39	224	*	*
Kansas	157	65	242	*	*
Kentucky	344	72	475	119	25
Louisiana	310	59	527	*	*
Maine	94	85	110	42	38
Maryland	230	85	272	94	35
Massachusetts	62	30	207	*	*
Michigan	370	68	541	*	*
Minnesota	212	71	298	94	32
Mississippi	119	21	570	*	*
Missouri	437	81	542	191	35
Montana	125	86	146	66	45
Nebraska	130	87	149	43	29
Nevada	139	79	177	64	36
New Hampshire	58	85	68	19	29
New Jersey	273	83	328	98	30
New Mexico	159	94	170	63	37
New York	383	67	575	*	*
North Carolina	449	50	907	*	*
North Dakota	53	93	57	28	50
Ohio	595	89	667	207	31
Oklahoma	341	87	391	123	31
Oregon	204	88	232	84	36
Pennsylvania	588	77	764	264	35
Rhode Island	16	59	27	*	*
South Carolina	375	67	561	*	*
South Dakota	60	85	71	26	37
Tennessee	159	22	712	*	*
Texas	639	38	1,660	*	*
Utah	64	49	131	*	*
Vermont	33	94	35	9	26
Virginia	242	44	551	*	*
Washington	254	92	276	109	39
West Virginia	185	78	237	79	33
Wisconsin	351	92	383	161	42
Wyoming	64	83	77	30	39
US total	13,003	64	20,381	7,042	35
*Cells with missing data have insufficient reporting of BAC results by state for reliably estimating percent of fatally injured drivers with BAC ≥ 0.08 percent

Restraint use

When examining restraint use among fatally injured motor vehicle occupants, it is important to note that percentages will be lower than observed restraint use because unrestrained occupants are more likely than restrained occupants to be fatally injured. Restrained occupants include occupants in child safety seats and occupants restrained by safety belts.

The percentage of fatally injured passenger vehicle occupants who were restrained in 2007 varied by state. South Dakota (23 percent) had the lowest percentage of fatally injured restrained occupants, and California had the highest (58 percent). States with a high proportion of unknowns include the District of Columbia (29 percent), Massachusetts (21 percent) and Rhode Island (20 percent). For the nation, 42 percent of fatally injured occupants were restrained.

Number and percent of fatally injured passenger vehicle occupants by restraint use and state, 2007
State	Restrained		Unrestrained		Unknown		Total
State	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num
Alabama	335	37	538	59	33	4	906
Alaska	26	46	30	54	.	.	56
Arizona	235	34	375	54	80	12	690
Arkansas	159	33	274	57	48	10	481
California	1,493	58	856	33	243	9	2,592
Colorado	160	44	191	52	13	4	364
Connecticut	88	46	81	42	23	12	192
Delaware	43	52	35	42	5	6	83
District of Columbia	8	38	7	33	6	29	21
Florida	735	39	1,079	57	65	3	1,879
Georgia	488	39	631	51	119	10	1,238
Hawaii	40	55	27	37	6	8	73
Idaho	71	37	112	59	8	4	191
Illinois	364	42	398	46	103	12	865
Indiana	293	44	290	43	84	13	667
Iowa	152	46	153	46	29	9	334
Kansas	130	39	180	55	20	6	330
Kentucky	265	41	380	59	.	.	645
Louisiana	237	33	433	59	59	8	729
Maine	57	41	75	54	8	6	140
Maryland	206	54	150	39	28	7	384
Massachusetts	75	27	142	51	59	21	276
Michigan	426	55	252	32	101	13	779
Minnesota	166	43	185	48	33	9	384
Mississippi	226	30	515	70	.	.	741
Missouri	244	32	460	61	53	7	757
Montana	58	28	144	71	2	<1	204
Nebraska	67	31	121	56	30	14	218
Nevada	114	45	124	49	16	6	254
New Hampshire	26	30	60	70	.	.	86
New Jersey	228	50	213	47	16	4	457
New Mexico	109	39	163	58	7	3	279
New York	413	53	278	35	95	12	786
North Carolina	583	47	539	44	113	9	1,235
North Dakota	27	29	58	63	7	8	92
Ohio	364	40	519	57	20	2	903
Oklahoma	223	39	314	55	34	6	571
Oregon	166	53	104	33	46	15	316
Pennsylvania	333	32	549	53	154	15	1,036
Rhode Island	14	34	19	46	8	20	41
South Carolina	243	31	481	61	63	8	787
South Dakota	24	23	73	69	9	8	106
Tennessee	336	36	536	58	57	6	929
Texas	1,228	51	987	41	179	7	2,394
Utah	103	47	78	36	36	17	217
Vermont	24	52	22	48	.	.	46
Virginia	273	35	463	60	35	5	771
Washington	212	53	149	37	38	10	399
West Virginia	113	35	158	49	52	16	323
Wisconsin	196	36	298	55	44	8	538
Wyoming	46	41	64	58	1	<1	111
US total	12,245	42	14,363	50	2,288	8	28,896

Rural versus urban

Sixty-two percent of passenger vehicle occupant deaths in 2007 occurred in rural areas. The state with the greatest proportion of passenger vehicle occupant deaths on rural roads was Vermont (98 percent).

Number and percent of fatally injured passenger vehicle occupants by land use and state, 2007
State	Urban		Rural		Unknown		Total
State	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num
Alabama	274	30	610	67	22	2	906
Alaska	31	55	25	45	0	0	56
Arizona	313	45	377	55	0	0	690
Arkansas	102	21	378	79	1	<1	481
California	1,407	54	1,185	46	0	0	2,592
Colorado	122	34	242	66	0	0	364
Connecticut	162	84	30	16	0	0	192
Delaware	26	31	57	69	0	0	83
District of Columbia	21	100	0	0	0	0	21
Florida	991	53	831	44	57	3	1,879
Georgia	481	39	665	54	92	7	1,238
Hawaii	33	45	40	55	0	0	73
Idaho	21	11	170	89	0	0	191
Illinois	485	56	380	44	0	0	865
Indiana	251	38	416	62	0	0	667
Iowa	56	17	278	83	0	0	334
Kansas	56	17	274	83	0	0	330
Kentucky	125	19	520	81	0	0	645
Louisiana	309	42	419	57	1	<1	729
Maine	11	8	129	92	0	0	140
Maryland	207	54	177	46	0	0	384
Massachusetts	252	91	24	9	0	0	276
Michigan	275	35	504	65	0	0	779
Minnesota	31	8	91	24	262	68	384
Mississippi	196	26	545	74	0	0	741
Missouri	199	26	557	74	1	<1	757
Montana	8	4	196	96	0	0	204
Nebraska	40	18	178	82	0	0	218
Nevada	146	57	107	42	1	<1	254
New Hampshire	13	15	73	85	0	0	86
New Jersey	365	80	92	20	0	0	457
New Mexico	51	18	228	82	0	0	279
New York	314	40	472	60	0	0	786
North Carolina	281	23	949	77	5	<1	1,235
North Dakota	5	5	87	95	0	0	92
Ohio	301	33	601	67	1	<1	903
Oklahoma	136	24	435	76	0	0	571
Oregon	53	17	263	83	0	0	316
Pennsylvania	463	45	573	55	0	0	1,036
Rhode Island	14	34	6	15	21	51	41
South Carolina	70	9	717	91	0	0	787
South Dakota	14	13	92	87	0	0	106
Tennessee	359	39	570	61	0	0	929
Texas	884	37	1,508	63	2	<1	2,394
Utah	62	29	155	71	0	0	217
Vermont	1	2	45	98	0	0	46
Virginia	271	35	499	65	1	<1	771
Washington	127	32	271	68	1	<1	399
West Virginia	50	15	273	85	0	0	323
Wisconsin	164	30	374	70	0	0	538
Wyoming	15	14	96	86	0	0	111
US total	10,644	37	17,784	62	468	2	28,896

References

¹Subramanian, R. 2002. Transitioning to multiple imputation — a new method to impute missing blood alcohol concentration (BAC) values in FARS. Report no. DOT HS-809-403. Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.