FATALITY FACTS 2009

Gender

More men than women die each year in motor vehicle crashes. Men typically drive more miles than women and more often engage in risky driving practices including not using seat belts, driving while impaired by alcohol, and speeding. Crashes involving male drivers often are more severe than those involving female drivers. Li, G.; Baker, S.P.; Langlois, J.A.; and Kelen, G.D. 1998. Are female drivers safer? An application of the decomposition method. Epidemiology 9:379-84. However, in crashes of equal severity, females are more likely than males to be killed or injured.^{Bedard, M.; Guyatt, G.H.; Stones, J.J.; and Hirdes, J.P. 2002. The independent contribution of driver, crash, and vehicle characteristics to driver fatalities. Accident Analysis and Prevention 34:717-27.

Evans, L. 2001. Age and fatality risk from similar severity impacts. Journal of Traffic Medicine 29:10-19.

Evans, L. 2001. Female compared with male fatality risk from similar physical impacts. Journal of Trauma 50:281-88.

Evans, L. and Gerrish, P.H. 2001. Gender and age influence on fatality risk from the same physical impact determined using two-car crashes (SAE 011174). Vehicle Aggressivity and Compatibility in Automotive Crashes (SP-1601). Warrendale, PA: Society of Automotive Engineers.}

From 1975 to the mid-2000s, deaths among female passenger vehicle drivers increased, while male passenger vehicle driver deaths declined slightly. Deaths among both female and male drivers have experienced large declines in the past few years. The increase in female driver deaths since 1975 can be explained by an increase in exposure. More women are licensed now than in the past. They drive more miles and are more likely to drive at night. The rate of fatal crashes per 100 million miles of travel for male and female drivers decreased similarly between 1977 and 2001 — a 48 percent decrease for female drivers and a 45 percent decrease for male drivers. Ferguson, S.A. and Braitman, K.A. 2006. Women's issues in highway safety: a summary of the literature. Proceedings of the Research on Women's Issues in Transportation Conference. Volume 2: Technical Papers. Washington, DC: Transportation Research Board.

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

Data subsections:

Trends Age differences Alcohol involvement

Trends

Male motor vehicle crash deaths declined 27 percent from 1975 to 2009, while female deaths decreased 15 percent. The smaller decrease in female crash deaths overall was largely due to a 34 percent increase in deaths of female passenger vehicle drivers since 1975. Deaths of male passenger vehicle drivers declined 24 percent during the same time period. Since 1975, deaths have gone down among both male and female passengers, pedestrians, and bicyclists, while motorcyclist deaths increased among both males and females. Since 1997 motorcyclist deaths more than doubled for both males and females.

Motor vehicle deaths by gender, 1975-2009

Motor vehicle crash deaths by type and gender, 1975-2009
Year	Passenger vehicle drivers		Passenger vehicle passengers		Pedestrians		Bicyclists		Motorcyclists		Total motor vehicle deaths*
Year	Male	Female	Male	Female	Male	Female	Male	Female	Male	Female	Male	Female
1975	15,706	3,642	6,069	5,095	5,196	2,319	820	183	2,863	243	32,675	11,844
1976	16,013	4,078	6,206	5,330	5,120	2,307	751	163	2,950	282	33,038	12,481
1977	16,499	4,442	6,242	5,542	5,331	2,400	730	192	3,676	328	34,627	13,248
1978	17,974	4,782	6,373	5,659	5,494	2,296	714	178	4,059	389	36,731	13,591
1979	18,273	4,836	6,430	5,388	5,701	2,391	759	173	4,295	417	37,588	13,498
1980	18,110	4,877	6,439	5,438	5,613	2,454	782	183	4,524	430	37,392	13,689
1981	17,592	4,910	5,972	5,077	5,459	2,332	748	181	4,348	389	35,930	13,161
1982	15,129	4,534	5,298	4,609	5,144	2,185	720	144	3,933	334	31,879	12,062
1983	14,620	4,716	5,022	4,699	4,775	2,050	700	130	3,800	299	30,499	12,084
1984	14,933	5,366	5,094	4,605	5,016	2,005	684	153	4,076	349	31,541	12,709
1985	14,767	5,288	5,009	4,704	4,671	2,133	732	137	4,074	341	30,959	12,856
1986	15,935	5,564	5,667	4,931	4,771	2,004	789	140	4,002	305	32,856	13,191
1987	16,133	6,022	5,782	5,093	4,777	1,967	826	114	3,526	306	32,621	13,757
1988	16,744	6,140	5,815	5,293	4,756	2,111	773	128	3,255	235	32,947	14,123
1989	16,284	6,269	5,562	5,408	4,594	1,959	696	126	2,790	240	31,338	14,232
1990	15,901	6,049	5,587	5,061	4,495	1,985	732	121	2,888	240	30,916	13,665
1991	14,824	5,727	5,231	4,904	3,985	1,815	715	121	2,491	211	28,545	12,953
1992	14,021	5,550	4,995	4,779	3,867	1,679	627	90	2,119	171	26,772	12,444
1993	14,298	5,737	5,014	4,869	3,936	1,711	702	104	2,144	202	27,322	12,814
1994	14,612	6,034	5,041	5,022	3,757	1,732	687	109	2,013	202	27,411	13,293
1995	15,163	6,293	5,203	5,137	3,856	1,728	699	128	1,949	189	28,133	13,663
1996	15,066	6,563	5,379	5,260	3,780	1,667	654	107	1,888	189	28,061	13,991
1997	15,023	6,683	5,231	5,294	3,643	1,677	712	99	1,869	187	27,827	14,168
1998	14,975	6,651	5,007	5,047	3,558	1,670	658	99	2,027	200	27,608	13,885
1999	15,238	6,658	5,044	4,979	3,466	1,472	656	94	2,197	221	28,040	13,667
2000	15,323	6,495	5,381	4,831	3,251	1,512	613	76	2,563	266	28,545	13,396
2001	15,396	6,465	5,275	4,705	3,421	1,479	657	72	2,840	283	28,986	13,205
2002	15,907	6,629	5,361	4,737	3,298	1,552	590	73	2,883	304	29,466	13,529
2003	15,551	6,647	5,209	4,682	3,274	1,499	554	71	3,283	358	29,346	13,532
2004	15,390	6,562	5,103	4,638	3,237	1,435	626	96	3,485	417	29,443	13,387
2005	15,564	6,386	4,936	4,489	3,450	1,441	687	97	4,023	437	30,347	13,155
2006	15,199	6,390	4,707	4,223	3,332	1,459	675	94	4,286	413	29,849	12,842
2007	14,648	5,892	4,498	4,038	3,288	1,411	616	83	4,605	445	29,173	12,080
2008	13,022	5,239	3,910	3,314	3,078	1,331	624	92	4,662	449	26,744	10,665
2009	11,902	4,887	3,394	3,204	2,814	1,277	549	81	3,865	416	23,726	10,070
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Seventy percent of all motor vehicle crash deaths in 2009 were males. Males accounted for 71 percent of passenger vehicle driver deaths, 51 percent of passenger vehicle passenger deaths, 69 percent of pedestrian deaths, 87 percent of bicyclist deaths, and 90 percent of motorcyclist deaths.

Number and percent of motor vehicle crash deaths by type and gender, 2009
Gender	Passenger vehicle drivers		Passenger vehicle passengers		Pedestrians		Bicyclists		Motorcyclists		Total motor vehicle deaths*
Gender	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%
Male	11,902	71	3,394	51	2,814	69	549	87	3,865	90	23,726	70
Female	4,887	29	3,204	49	1,277	31	81	13	416	10	10,070	30
Total*	16,791	100	6,602	100	4,092	100	630	100	4,281	100	33,808	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

From 1975 to 2009, the rate of passenger vehicle occupant deaths per 100,000 people decreased 34 percent among females and 51 percent among males. During the same time period, occupant death rates were about 2 to 2 1/2 times higher for males than females.

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths per 100,000 people by gender, 1975-2009

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths per 100,000 people by gender, 1975-2009
Year	Male			Female			Total*
Year	Population	Deaths	Rate	Population	Deaths	Rate	Population	Deaths	Rate
1975	105,365,965	21,841	20.7	110,607,234	8,755	7.9	215,973,199	30,601	14.2
1976	106,308,604	22,300	21.0	111,726,560	9,420	8.4	218,035,164	31,724	14.5
1977	107,334,548	22,806	21.2	112,904,877	10,015	8.9	220,239,425	32,823	14.9
1978	108,423,580	24,443	22.5	114,160,965	10,477	9.2	222,584,545	34,923	15.7
1979	109,583,961	24,772	22.6	115,471,526	10,252	8.9	225,055,487	35,026	15.6
1980	110,398,754	24,649	22.3	116,825,965	10,342	8.9	227,224,719	34,996	15.4
1981	111,502,912	23,667	21.2	117,962,696	10,038	8.5	229,465,608	33,711	14.7
1982	112,579,479	20,496	18.2	119,085,017	9,158	7.7	231,664,496	29,656	12.8
1983	113,646,987	19,720	17.4	120,144,916	9,430	7.8	233,791,903	29,154	12.5
1984	114,670,252	20,102	17.5	121,154,531	9,991	8.2	235,824,783	30,093	12.8
1985	115,729,577	19,825	17.1	122,194,155	10,016	8.2	237,923,732	29,847	12.5
1986	116,865,225	21,677	18.5	123,267,616	10,514	8.5	240,132,841	32,224	13.4
1987	117,960,907	21,986	18.6	124,328,116	11,148	9.0	242,289,023	33,145	13.7
1988	119,085,496	22,633	19.0	125,413,340	11,459	9.1	244,498,836	34,105	13.9
1989	120,277,490	21,897	18.2	126,541,629	11,693	9.2	246,819,119	33,599	13.6
1990	121,626,118	21,564	17.7	127,838,278	11,132	8.7	249,464,396	32,711	13.1
1991	122,956,043	20,151	16.4	129,197,049	10,651	8.2	252,153,092	30,810	12.2
1992	124,423,544	19,077	15.3	130,606,155	10,350	7.9	255,029,699	29,457	11.6
1993	125,787,805	19,360	15.4	131,994,803	10,622	8.0	257,782,608	29,994	11.6
1994	127,049,175	19,730	15.5	133,277,846	11,078	8.3	260,327,021	30,820	11.8
1995	128,293,712	20,442	15.9	134,509,564	11,452	8.5	262,803,276	31,913	12.1
1996	129,504,353	20,491	15.8	135,724,219	11,852	8.7	265,228,572	32,354	12.2
1997	130,783,107	20,316	15.5	137,000,500	12,010	8.8	267,783,607	32,343	12.1
1998	132,029,729	20,058	15.2	138,218,274	11,715	8.5	270,248,003	31,781	11.8
1999	133,276,559	20,347	15.3	139,414,254	11,654	8.4	272,690,813	32,008	11.7
2000	138,468,999	20,759	15.0	143,723,163	11,346	7.9	282,192,162	32,109	11.4
2001	140,012,615	20,747	14.8	145,089,460	11,187	7.7	285,102,075	31,938	11.2
2002	141,518,989	21,326	15.1	146,422,231	11,389	7.8	287,941,220	32,724	11.4
2003	143,024,340	20,810	14.5	147,764,636	11,354	7.7	290,788,976	32,166	11.1
2004	144,537,408	20,534	14.2	149,117,996	11,215	7.5	293,655,404	31,750	10.8
2005	145,999,746	20,550	14.1	150,410,658	10,898	7.2	296,410,404	31,455	10.6
2006	147,512,152	19,977	13.5	151,886,332	10,641	7.0	299,398,484	30,628	10.2
2007	148,658,898	19,198	12.9	152,962,259	9,952	6.5	301,621,157	29,155	9.7
2008	149,924,604	16,973	11.3	154,135,120	8,568	5.6	304,059,724	25,547	8.4
2009	151,449,490	15,334	10.1	155,557,060	8,097	5.2	307,006,550	23,437	7.6
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

The number of driver fatal crash involvements per 100 million miles driven in 2001-02 was about 50 percent higher for males (2.5 per 100 million miles traveled) than females (1.7 per 100 million miles traveled). Up to about age 59 rates were substantially higher for males than females. But starting around age 60 rates for males and females were similar. The gender difference was largest among drivers ages 16-19.

Fatal passenger vehicle crash involvements per 100 million miles traveled by driver age and gender, April 2001-March 2002
Age	Male			Female			Total*
Age	Crash involvements	Miles	Rate	Crash involvements	Miles	Rate	Crash involvements	Miles	Rate
16-19	4,255	46,427,394,010	9.2	1,851	35,264,476,105	5.2	6,106	81,691,870,114	7.5
20-29	8,893	225,999,581,860	3.9	3,163	156,283,683,955	2.0	12,057	382,283,265,815	3.2
30-59	14,904	845,507,965,689	1.8	6,927	551,350,306,430	1.3	21,831	1,396,858,272,119	1.6
60-69	2,088	128,814,817,845	1.6	1,006	64,778,212,790	1.6	3,094	193,593,030,635	1.6
≥ 70	3,145	76,991,652,560	4.1	1,571	39,093,332,009	4.0	4,716	116,084,984,569	4.1
Total*	33,540	1,324,373,970,682	2.5	14,602	847,734,931,097	1.7	48,414	2,172,108,901,779	2.2
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Age differences

In 2009, the rates of passenger vehicle occupant deaths per 100,000 people were much higher among males than among females for every age group except 0-15. Males 85 and older had the highest fatality rate, followed by males ages 20-24. Fatality rates were lowest for males and females younger than 16.

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths per 100,000 people by age and gender, 2009
Age	Male			Female			Total*
Age	Population	Deaths	Rate	Population	Deaths	Rate	Population	Deaths	Rate
0-15	33,763,291	517	1.5	32,253,298	533	1.7	66,016,589	1,051	1.6
16-19	8,933,428	1,613	18.1	8,470,674	961	11.3	17,404,102	2,575	14.8
20-24	11,093,552	2,393	21.6	10,446,007	862	8.3	21,539,559	3,256	15.1
25-29	11,115,560	1,712	15.4	10,562,159	677	6.4	21,677,719	2,389	11.0
30-34	10,107,974	1,155	11.4	9,780,629	499	5.1	19,888,603	1,654	8.3
35-39	10,353,016	997	9.6	10,185,335	457	4.5	20,538,351	1,454	7.1
40-44	10,504,139	1,057	10.1	10,487,466	442	4.2	20,991,605	1,499	7.1
45-49	11,295,524	1,119	9.9	11,535,568	562	4.9	22,831,092	1,681	7.4
50-54	10,677,847	980	9.2	11,083,544	484	4.4	21,761,391	1,464	6.7
55-59	9,204,666	764	8.3	9,770,360	442	4.5	18,975,026	1,206	6.4
60-64	7,576,933	708	9.3	8,234,990	390	4.7	15,811,923	1,098	6.9
65-69	5,511,164	533	9.7	6,273,156	360	5.7	11,784,320	893	7.6
70-74	4,082,226	460	11.3	4,925,521	331	6.7	9,007,747	791	8.8
75-79	3,149,236	445	14.1	4,176,292	324	7.8	7,325,528	769	10.5
80-84	2,298,260	449	19.5	3,524,074	398	11.3	5,822,334	847	14.5
≥ 85	1,782,674	412	23.1	3,847,987	361	9.4	5,630,661	773	13.7
Total	151,449,490	15,334	10.1	155,557,060	8,097	5.2	307,006,550	23,437	7.6
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Alcohol involvement

From 1982 to 2009, the proportion of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers with blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) at or above 0.08 percent has been substantially higher for female drivers than for male drivers.

Estimated number and percent of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers with BACs ≥ 0.08 percent, 1982-2009
Year	Male			Female			Total*
	Drivers killed	Estimated deaths with BAC ≥ 0.08		Drivers killed	Estimated deaths with BAC ≥ 0.08		Drivers killed	Estimated deaths with BAC ≥ 0.08
	Num	Num	%	Num	Num	%	Num	Num	%
1982	15,129	8,529	56	4,534	1,495	33	19,664	10,024	51
1983	14,620	8,070	55	4,716	1,458	31	19,338	9,529	49
1984	14,933	7,855	53	5,366	1,523	28	20,299	9,378	46
1985	14,767	7,325	50	5,288	1,348	25	20,057	8,674	43
1986	15,935	7,950	50	5,564	1,444	26	21,503	9,396	44
1987	16,133	7,787	48	6,022	1,554	26	22,157	9,343	42
1988	16,744	8,080	48	6,140	1,500	24	22,884	9,581	42
1989	16,284	7,710	47	6,269	1,491	24	22,554	9,201	41
1990	15,901	7,591	48	6,049	1,380	23	21,953	8,973	41
1991	14,824	6,916	47	5,727	1,326	23	20,551	8,242	40
1992	14,021	6,216	44	5,550	1,217	22	19,573	7,434	38
1993	14,298	6,114	43	5,737	1,213	21	20,036	7,328	37
1994	14,612	5,898	40	6,034	1,184	20	20,647	7,083	34
1995	15,163	6,216	41	6,293	1,272	20	21,456	7,488	35
1996	15,066	6,063	40	6,563	1,272	19	21,631	7,336	34
1997	15,023	5,819	39	6,683	1,248	19	21,711	7,069	33
1998	14,975	5,712	38	6,651	1,232	19	21,627	6,945	32
1999	15,238	5,832	38	6,658	1,161	17	21,899	6,994	32
2000	15,323	5,844	38	6,495	1,283	20	21,819	7,127	33
2001	15,396	5,954	39	6,465	1,250	19	21,862	7,205	33
2002	15,907	6,182	39	6,629	1,199	18	22,537	7,381	33
2003	15,551	5,938	38	6,647	1,182	18	22,200	7,120	32
2004	15,390	5,804	38	6,562	1,148	17	21,952	6,952	32
2005	15,564	5,897	38	6,386	1,205	19	21,953	7,104	32
2006	15,199	5,776	38	6,390	1,387	22	21,592	7,164	33
2007	14,648	5,841	40	5,892	1,216	21	20,542	7,057	34
2008	13,022	5,211	40	5,239	1,067	20	18,266	6,280	34
2009	11,902	4,788	40	4,887	1,071	22	16,791	5,861	35
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

FATALITY FACTS 2009

Gender

Trends

Age differences

Alcohol involvement

References