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FATALITY FACTS 2011

Passenger vehicle occupants

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 crash forces on occupants will be higher. People in lighter vehicles are at a disadvantage in collisions with heavier vehicles. 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: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 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.

Guide to car size groups						Guide to SUV size groups		Guide to pickup size groups
Curb weight	Shadow (overall length x width in square feet)						Curb weight		Curb weight
Curb weight	≤ 80	81-90	91-100	101-110	> 110	Small	≤ 3,750 lbs	Small	≤ 4,000 lbs
≤ 2,500 lbs	Mini	Small	Small	Small	Midsize	Midsize	3,751-4,750 lbs	Large	> 4,000 lbs and carrying capacity = 1/2 ton
2,501-3,000 lbs	Small	Small	Midsize	Midsize	Midsize	Large	4,751-5,750 lbs	Very large	> 4,000 lbs and carrying capacity > 1/2 ton
3,001-3,500 lbs	Small	Midsize	Midsize	Large	Large	Very large	> 5,750 lbs or shadow > 115 sq ft
3,501-4,000 lbs	Small	Midsize	Large	Large	Very large
> 4,000 lbs	Midsize	Midsize	Large	Very large	Very large
Note: Passenger versions of vans often referred to as minivans are classified as cars.

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

Data subsections:

Trends Crash types Age and gender differences Driver death rates Rollover

Trends

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths represented 66 percent of the 32,367 motor vehicle crash deaths in 2011.

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths vs. all motor vehicle crash deaths, 1975-2011

Year	Passenger vehicle occupant deaths		Other deaths		All motor vehicle crash deaths
Year	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
1975	30,601	69	13,924	31	44,525	100
1976	31,724	70	13,799	30	45,523	100
1977	32,823	69	15,055	31	47,878	100
1978	34,923	69	15,408	31	50,331	100
1979	35,026	69	16,067	31	51,093	100
1980	34,996	68	16,095	32	51,091	100
1981	33,711	68	15,590	32	49,301	100
1982	29,656	67	14,289	33	43,945	100
1983	29,154	68	13,435	32	42,589	100
1984	30,094	68	14,163	32	44,257	100
1985	29,848	68	13,977	32	43,825	100
1986	32,224	70	13,863	30	46,087	100
1987	33,145	71	13,245	29	46,390	100
1988	34,105	72	12,982	28	47,087	100
1989	33,599	74	11,983	26	45,582	100
1990	32,711	73	11,888	27	44,599	100
1991	30,810	74	10,698	26	41,508	100
1992	29,457	75	9,793	25	39,250	100
1993	29,994	75	10,156	25	40,150	100
1994	30,820	76	9,896	24	40,716	100
1995	31,914	76	9,903	24	41,817	100
1996	32,353	77	9,712	23	42,065	100
1997	32,343	77	9,670	23	42,013	100
1998	31,781	77	9,720	23	41,501	100
1999	32,008	77	9,709	23	41,717	100
2000	32,109	77	9,836	23	41,945	100
2001	31,938	76	10,258	24	42,196	100
2002	32,724	76	10,281	24	43,005	100
2003	32,166	75	10,718	25	42,884	100
2004	31,750	74	11,086	26	42,836	100
2005	31,455	72	12,055	28	43,510	100
2006	30,628	72	12,080	28	42,708	100
2007	29,155	71	12,104	29	41,259	100
2008	25,547	68	11,876	32	37,423	100
2009	23,507	69	10,376	31	33,883	100
2010	22,351	68	10,648	32	32,999	100
2011	21,347	66	11,020	34	32,367	100

A total of 21,347 passenger vehicle occupants died in 2011, 30 percent less than in 1975. However, as pickups and SUVs have become more popular, the distribution of vehicle types in fatal crashes has changed. Car occupant deaths have declined 51 percent since 1975, while pickup occupant deaths have risen 15 percent and SUV occupant deaths are 9 times as high.

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths by vehicle type, 1975-2011

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	27,282	5,489	1,124	34,996
1981	26,406	5,236	1,021	33,711
1982	23,144	4,779	862	29,656
1983	22,801	4,660	920	29,154
1984	23,482	4,884	886	30,094
1985	23,076	4,892	1,024	29,848
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	22,622	5,604	1,809	30,820
1995	23,124	5,973	2,006	31,914
1996	23,426	5,928	2,210	32,353
1997	23,162	5,922	2,416	32,343
1998	22,357	5,904	2,711	31,781
1999	22,119	6,095	3,019	32,008
2000	21,985	5,996	3,337	32,109
2001	21,604	6,121	3,521	31,938
2002	22,007	6,058	4,022	32,724
2003	21,053	5,833	4,463	32,166
2004	20,560	5,716	4,772	31,750
2005	19,892	6,040	4,847	31,455
2006	19,034	5,877	4,973	30,628
2007	17,763	5,758	4,975	29,155
2008	15,691	5,021	4,350	25,547
2009	14,102	4,719	4,254	23,507
2010	13,404	4,443	4,130	22,351
2011	12,679	4,228	4,082	21,347

A total of 15,512 passenger vehicle drivers died in 2011, 3 percent fewer than in 2010 and 20 percent fewer than in 1975. Fifty-nine percent of passenger vehicle driver deaths in 2011 were car drivers, 21 percent were pickup drivers, and 18 percent were SUV drivers.

Passenger vehicle driver deaths by vehicle type, 1975-2011

Year	Car drivers		Pickup drivers		SUV drivers		All passenger vehicle drivers
Year	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
1975	16,141	83	2,481	13	270	1	19,349	100
1976	16,385	82	2,890	14	347	2	20,091	100
1977	16,903	81	3,076	15	434	2	20,941	100
1978	18,047	79	3,535	16	519	2	22,758	100
1979	18,064	78	3,734	16	596	3	23,109	100
1980	17,848	78	3,776	16	684	3	22,991	100
1981	17,553	78	3,687	16	623	3	22,506	100
1982	15,235	77	3,345	17	549	3	19,664	100
1983	15,058	78	3,219	17	575	3	19,338	100
1984	15,786	78	3,422	17	557	3	20,300	100
1985	15,430	77	3,446	17	645	3	20,058	100
1986	16,503	77	3,764	18	690	3	21,503	100
1987	16,722	75	4,082	18	765	3	22,157	100
1988	17,183	75	4,332	19	850	4	22,884	100
1989	16,775	74	4,365	19	877	4	22,554	100
1990	16,200	74	4,307	20	951	4	21,953	100
1991	14,938	73	4,256	21	943	5	20,551	100
1992	14,337	73	3,958	20	863	4	19,573	100
1993	14,547	73	4,105	20	977	5	20,036	100
1994	14,916	72	4,130	20	1,140	6	20,647	100
1995	15,323	71	4,431	21	1,248	6	21,457	100
1996	15,379	71	4,402	20	1,399	6	21,631	100
1997	15,317	71	4,376	20	1,537	7	21,711	100
1998	15,035	70	4,452	21	1,686	8	21,627	100
1999	14,809	68	4,658	21	1,986	9	21,899	100
2000	14,719	67	4,535	21	2,086	10	21,819	100
2001	14,553	67	4,641	21	2,265	10	21,862	100
2002	14,897	66	4,658	21	2,599	12	22,537	100
2003	14,380	65	4,522	20	2,829	13	22,200	100
2004	14,040	64	4,344	20	3,139	14	21,952	100
2005	13,728	63	4,642	21	3,171	14	21,953	100
2006	13,235	61	4,528	21	3,347	16	21,592	100
2007	12,422	60	4,451	22	3,269	16	20,542	100
2008	11,053	61	3,929	22	2,975	16	18,266	100
2009	10,019	60	3,670	22	2,872	17	16,834	100
2010	9,517	59	3,484	22	2,801	17	16,029	100
2011	9,171	59	3,323	21	2,792	18	15,512	100

Crash types

Frontal impacts accounted for 41 percent of passenger vehicle occupant deaths in 2011. Side impacts accounted for another 25 percent of passenger vehicle occupant deaths.

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths in single-vehicle crashes by impact point and vehicle type, 2011

Point of principal impact	Car occupants		Pickup occupants		SUV occupants		All occupants
Point of principal impact	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Frontal	2,149	38	914	34	715	28	3,867	35
Side	1,249	22	412	15	355	14	2,037	18
Rear	104	2	20	1	25	1	150	1
Other (mostly rollover)	2,214	39	1,363	50	1,470	57	5,134	46
All*	5,716	100	2,709	100	2,565	100	11,188	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths in multiple-vehicle crashes by impact point and vehicle type, 2011

Point of principal impact	Car occupants		Pickup occupants		SUV occupants		All occupants
Point of principal impact	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Frontal	3,205	46	813	54	722	48	4,834	48
Side	2,520	36	350	23	370	24	3,263	32
Rear	430	6	73	5	83	5	600	6
Other (mostly rollover)	808	12	283	19	342	23	1,462	14
All*	6,963	100	1,519	100	1,517	100	10,159	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths in all crashes by impact point and vehicle type, 2011

Point of principal impact	Car occupants		Pickup occupants		SUV occupants		All occupants
Point of principal impact	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Frontal	5,354	42	1,727	41	1,437	35	8,701	41
Side	3,769	30	762	18	725	18	5,300	25
Rear	534	4	93	2	108	3	750	4
Other (mostly rollover)	3,022	24	1,646	39	1,812	44	6,596	31
All*	12,679	100	4,228	100	4,082	100	21,347	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Forty-five percent of car occupant deaths in 2011 occurred in single-vehicle crashes and 55 percent occurred in multiple-vehicle crashes. In contrast, single-vehicle crashes accounted for 63 percent of SUV occupant deaths and 64 percent of pickup occupant deaths.

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths by vehicle and crash type, 2011

Vehicle type	Deaths in single-vehicle crashes		Deaths in multiple-vehicle crashes		Deaths in all crashes*
Vehicle type	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Cars	5,716	45	6,963	55	12,679	100
Pickups	2,709	64	1,519	36	4,228	100
SUVs	2,565	63	1,517	37	4,082	100
Other	198	55	160	45	358	100
All passenger vehicles	11,188	52	10,159	48	21,347	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Age and gender differences

Twenty-nine percent of passenger vehicle occupants killed in 2011 were younger than 25.

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths by age, 2011

Age	All occupants
Age	Number	%
<25	6,121	29
25-29	2,103	10
30-34	1,615	8
35-39	1,269	6
40-44	1,309	6
45-49	1,349	6
50-54	1,368	6
55-59	1,157	5
60-64	1,046	5
65-69	885	4
70+	3,097	15
All *	21,347	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Seventy-three percent of passenger vehicle occupants killed in 2011 were drivers; 70 percent of these drivers were males.

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths by age, type, and gender, 2011

Age	Drivers						All occupants
	Male		Female		Total*		Male		Female		Total*
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
<16	18	75	6	25	24	100	483	52	437	48	920	100
16-19	853	67	416	33	1,269	100	1,374	64	767	36	2,142	100
20-24	1,577	73	586	27	2,163	100	2,178	71	880	29	3,059	100
25-29	1,173	73	432	27	1,605	100	1,504	72	598	28	2,103	100
30-34	930	73	347	27	1,277	100	1,118	69	497	31	1,615	100
35-39	715	70	300	30	1,015	100	863	68	406	32	1,269	100
40-44	737	69	332	31	1,069	100	844	64	465	36	1,309	100
45-49	801	72	312	28	1,113	100	920	68	429	32	1,349	100
50-54	814	72	321	28	1,135	100	918	67	450	33	1,368	100
55-59	687	71	275	29	962	100	784	68	373	32	1,157	100
60-64	611	71	252	29	863	100	675	65	371	35	1,046	100
65-69	453	63	261	37	714	100	511	58	374	42	885	100
≥70	1,476	64	816	36	2,292	100	1,704	55	1,393	45	3,097	100
All*	10,851	70	4,657	30	15,512	100	13,890	65	7,450	35	21,347	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Nine percent of passenger vehicle occupant deaths were in the second or third row; 26 percent of these were younger than 13.

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths by seating position and age, 2011

Seating position	<13 years		13-19 years		≥20 years		All*
Seating position	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Driver	1	0	1,292	8	14,208	92	15,512	100
Front row passenger	118	3	590	16	2,901	80	3,619	100
Second row passenger	445	25	423	24	891	51	1,762	100
Third row passenger	39	39	23	23	38	38	100	100
All*	657	3	2,405	11	18,257	86	21,347	100
*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, 1978-2011

Year	Drivers				All occupants
Year	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	138	200	255	185	208
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	109	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	115	72	85	122	151	115	126
2004	76	107	66	79	114	145	103	117
2005	79	110	56	78	117	145	88	115
2006	77	101	49	73	112	137	74	106
2007	70	95	44	67	104	128	69	99
2008	65	87	35	61	92	114	52	85
2009	57	71	28	51	82	94	39	72
2010	49	72	21	45	71	90	31	63
2011	43	54	18	38	62	72	26	54

Historically, the rates of driver deaths per million registered vehicles have been higher for the smaller and lighter vehicles. This was true again in 2011, but the differences were less extreme than they used to be.

Driver deaths per million registered passenger vehicles 1-3 years old, 2011

		Registered vehicles	Deaths	Rate
Cars	Mini	1,032,641	67	65
	Small	6,313,476	351	56
	Midsize	8,015,433	274	34
	Large	2,696,170	119	44
	Very large	1,625,105	39	24
	All cars	19,682,825	854	43
Pickups	Small	794,816	52	65
	Large	2,598,022	128	49
	Very large	799,635	42	53
	All pickups	4,192,473	226	54
SUVs	Small	2,716,598	61	22
	Midsize	4,272,239	68	16
	Large	1,382,371	19	14
	Very large	341,992	9	26
	All SUVs	8,713,200	157	18
All passenger vehicles	All	33,015,875	1,267	38

Overall, driver deaths per million registered passenger vehicles in 2011 were about the same for single and multiple vehicle crashes, but this pattern varied by vehicle type. Pickups had the highest number of deaths per registered vehicle in single-vehicle crashes (32 per million) and cars had the highest number of deaths per registered vehicle in multiple-vehicle crashes (24 per million). SUVs had the lowest number of deaths per registered vehicle both in single-vehicle crashes (8 per million) and in multiple-vehicle crashes (10 per million).

Driver deaths per million registered passenger vehicles 1-3 years old by crash type, 2011

		Multiple-vehicle		Single-vehicle		Single-vehicle rollover		All crashes
		Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate
Cars	Mini	38	37	29	28	17	16	67	65
	Small	216	34	135	21	53	8	351	56
	Midsize	143	18	131	16	53	7	274	34
	Large	53	20	66	24	31	11	119	44
	Very large	27	17	12	7	4	2	39	24
	All cars	480	24	374	19	158	8	854	43
Pickups	Small	23	29	29	36	17	21	52	65
	Large	53	20	75	29	41	16	128	49
	Very large	13	16	29	36	19	24	42	53
	All pickups	91	22	135	32	78	19	226	54
SUVs	Small	39	14	22	8	6	2	61	22
	Midsize	36	8	32	7	21	5	68	16
	Large	5	4	14	10	6	4	19	14
	Very large	4	12	5	15	1	3	9	26
	All SUVs	84	10	73	8	34	4	157	18
All passenger vehicles	All	669	20	598	18	279	8	1,267	38

Driver deaths per million registered passenger vehicles 1-3 years old by crash type, 2011, for pickups and SUVs by 2WD and 4WD

		Multiple-vehicle				Single-vehicle				Single-vehicle rollover				All crashes
		2WD		4WD		2WD		4WD		2WD		4WD		2WD		4WD
		Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate
Pickups	Small	17	37	6	18	16	34	13	39	9	19	8	24	33	71	19	57
	Large	27	24	26	18	35	31	40	28	14	12	27	19	62	54	66	45
	Very large	2	14	11	17	5	36	24	36	2	14	17	26	7	50	35	53
	All pickups	46	26	43	18	56	32	77	31	25	14	52	21	102	58	120	49
SUVs	Small	22	20	17	11	7	6	15	9	1	1	5	3	29	26	32	20
	Midsize	18	11	18	7	15	9	17	7	9	5	12	5	33	19	35	14
	Large	4	7	1	1	5	9	9	11	3	5	3	4	9	16	10	12
	Very large	1	8	3	14	1	8	4	19			1	5			7	33
	All SUVs	45	13	39	7	28	8	45	9	13	4	21	4	73	21	84	16

Frontal impacts accounted for 11 driver deaths per million registered passenger vehicles in multiple-vehicle crashes in 2011 compared with 5 deaths per million in side impacts and 1 death per million in rear impacts.

Driver deaths in multiple-vehicle crashes per million registered passenger vehicles 1-3 years old, 2011

	Frontal impacts		Side impacts		Rear impacts		Other		Total
	Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate
Cars	257	13	129	7	33	2	7	<1	480	24
Pickups	52	12	17	4	4	<1	5	1	91	22
SUVs	50	6	18	2	0	0	6	<1	84	10
All passenger vehicles	368	11	166	5	39	1	18	<1	669	20

Driver deaths in multiple-vehicle crashes per million registered passenger vehicles 1-3 years old, 2011, by passenger vehicle sizes

		Frontal impacts		Side impacts		Rear impacts		Other		Total
		Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate
Cars	Mini	22	21	8	8	4	4	1	<1	38	37
	Small	107	17	63	10	15	2	4	<1	216	34
	Midsize	78	10	39	5	12	1	1	<1	143	18
	Large	29	11	14	5	2	<1	1	<1	53	20
	Very large	19	12	4	2	0	<1	0	<1	27	17
	All cars	257	13	129	7	33	2	7	<1	480	24
Pickups	Small	6	8	5	6	2	3	0	<1	23	29
	Large	36	14	9	3	1	<1	4	2	53	20
	Very large	8	10	3	4	1	1	1	1	13	16
	All pickups	52	12	17	4	4	<1	5	1	91	22
SUVs	Small	23	8	7	3	0	<1	4	1	39	14
	Midsize	23	5	7	2	0	<1	2	<1	36	8
	Large	2	1	2	1	0	0	0	0	5	4
	Very large	2	6	2	6	0	<1	0	<1	4	12
	All SUVs	50	6	18	2	0	<1	6	<1	84	10
All passenger vehicles	All	368	11	166	5	39	1	18	<1	669	20

Frontal impacts accounted for 8 driver deaths per million registered passenger vehicles in single-vehicle crashes in 2011 compared with 3 deaths per million in side impacts and fewer than 1 death per million in rear impacts.

Driver deaths in single-vehicle crashes per million registered passenger vehicles 1-3 years old, 2011

	Frontal impacts		Side impacts		Rear impacts		Other		Total
	Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate
Cars	172	9	61	3	8	<1	74	4	374	19
Pickups	50	12	19	5	0	0	46	11	135	32
SUVs	35	4	6	<1	0	0	12	1	73	8
All passenger vehicles	267	8	87	3	8	<1	136	4	598	18

Driver deaths in single-vehicle crashes per million registered passenger vehicles 1-3 years old, 2011, by passenger vehicle sizes

		Frontal impacts		Side impacts		Rear impacts		Other		Total
		Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate
Cars	Mini	12	12	3	3	2	2	8	8	29	28
	Small	63	10	26	4	2	<1	23	4	135	21
	Midsize	62	8	23	3	3	<1	23	3	131	16
	Large	29	11	7	3	0	<1	18	7	66	24
	Very large	5	3	2	1	1	<1	2	1	12	7
	All cars	172	9	61	3	8	<1	74	4	374	19
Pickups	Small	10	13	2	3	0	<1	11	14	29	36
	Large	27	10	11	4	0	<1	24	9	75	29
	Very large	12	15	6	8	0	<1	10	13	29	36
	All pickups	50	12	19	5	0	<1	46	11	135	32
SUVs	Small	13	5	3	1	0	<1	2	<1	22	8
	Midsize	14	3	2	<1	0	<1	5	1	32	7
	Large	6	4	0	0	0	0	3	2	14	10
	Very large	2	6	1	3	0	<1	2	6	5	15
	All SUVs	35	4	6	<1	0	<1	12	1	73	8
All passenger vehicles	All	267	8	87	3	8	<1	136	4	598	18

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 a fatality.

A total of 7,420 passenger vehicle occupants died in rollover crashes in 2011. Twenty-six percent of these did not involve any other impact.

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths in rollover crashes by impact point and vehicle type, 2011

Point of principal impact	Car occupants		Pickup occupants		SUV occupants		All occupants
Point of principal impact	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Frontal	646	21	417	21	364	16	1,466	20
Side	461	15	254	13	309	14	1,042	14
Rear	81	3	32	2	39	2	158	2
None	718	24	520	26	662	29	1,937	26
Other	1,145	38	742	38	880	39	2,817	38
All*	3,051	100	1,965	100	2,254	100	7,420	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Crashes in which a vehicle rolled over accounted for 35 percent of passenger vehicle occupant deaths in 2011 (55 percent of single-vehicle occupant crash deaths and 13 percent of multiple-vehicle occupant crash deaths).

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths by crash type, 1978-2011

Year	Deaths in single-vehicle crashes				Deaths in multiple-vehicle crashes				Deaths in all crashes*
	Rollover		No rollover		Rollover		No rollover		Rollover		No rollover
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
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	9,001	51	1,588	9	15,679	91	10,282	29	24,714	71
1981	8,211	50	8,188	50	1,588	9	15,692	91	9,812	29	23,899	71
1982	6,974	49	7,205	51	1,305	8	14,158	92	8,282	28	21,374	72
1983	6,951	50	7,079	50	1,256	8	13,868	92	8,207	28	20,947	72
1984	7,116	50	7,092	50	1,358	9	14,528	91	8,474	28	21,620	72
1985	6,900	50	6,779	50	1,361	8	14,805	92	8,262	28	21,586	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	6,637	48	1,669	10	15,246	90	8,937	29	21,883	71
1995	7,802	53	6,940	47	1,708	10	15,464	90	9,510	30	22,404	70
1996	7,903	53	6,891	47	1,691	10	15,869	90	9,594	30	22,760	70
1997	7,712	53	6,743	47	1,774	10	16,114	90	9,486	29	22,857	71
1998	7,848	54	6,594	46	1,872	11	15,467	89	9,720	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	8,730	57	6,713	43	2,095	13	13,902	87	10,825	34	20,630	66
2006	8,790	57	6,666	43	1,919	13	13,229	87	10,712	35	19,916	65
2007	8,429	56	6,528	44	1,844	13	12,330	87	10,274	35	18,881	65
2008	7,541	56	6,002	44	1,529	13	10,459	87	9,073	36	16,474	64
2009	6,868	55	5,538	45	1,451	13	9,630	87	8,322	35	15,185	65
2010	6,375	55	5,245	45	1,365	13	9,366	87	7,740	35	14,611	65
2011	6,133	55	5,055	45	1,287	13	8,872	87	7,420	35	13,927	65
*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, 1978-2011

Year	Car occupants				Pickup occupants				SUV occupants
	Rollover		No rollover		Rollover		No rollover		Rollover		No rollover
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
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	20,420	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	17,667	76	1,935	40	2,844	60	571	66	291	34
1983	5,381	24	17,420	76	1,939	42	2,721	58	609	66	311	34
1984	5,525	24	17,957	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	17,510	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	5,143	22	18,019	78	2,479	42	3,443	58	1,516	63	900	37
1998	5,122	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	2,529	42	3,467	58	2,067	62	1,270	38
2001	5,028	23	16,576	77	2,636	43	3,485	57	2,159	61	1,362	39
2002	5,243	24	16,764	76	2,715	45	3,343	55	2,474	62	1,548	38
2003	4,916	23	16,137	77	2,509	43	3,324	57	2,658	60	1,805	40
2004	4,781	23	15,779	77	2,519	44	3,197	56	2,949	62	1,823	38
2005	4,830	24	15,062	76	2,773	46	3,267	54	2,909	60	1,938	40
2006	4,739	25	14,295	75	2,781	47	3,096	53	2,919	59	2,054	41
2007	4,400	25	13,363	75	2,660	46	3,098	54	2,929	59	2,046	41
2008	3,982	25	11,709	75	2,368	47	2,653	53	2,510	58	1,840	42
2009	3,509	25	10,593	75	2,246	48	2,473	52	2,388	56	1,866	44
2010	3,194	24	10,210	76	2,057	46	2,386	54	2,340	57	1,790	43
2011	3,051	24	9,628	76	1,965	46	2,263	54	2,254	55	1,828	45

More than three-fourths of fatal rollovers are single-vehicle crashes. Deutermann, W. 2002. Characteristics of fatal rollover crashes. Report no. DOT HS-809-438. Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. A total of 6,133 passenger vehicle occupants died in single-vehicle rollover crashes in 2011, 4 percent less than in 2010 and 22 percent less than in 1978.

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths in single-vehicle rollover crashes, 1978-2011

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	2,818	1,469	754	5,178	7,712
1998	2,857	1,545	808	5,328	7,848
1999	2,866	1,667	999	5,644	8,255
2000	2,795	1,526	1,035	5,466	8,112
2001	2,836	1,651	1,063	5,654	8,375
2002	2,977	1,668	1,224	5,967	8,724
2003	2,755	1,595	1,331	5,789	8,462
2004	2,706	1,540	1,490	5,853	8,525
2005	2,761	1,711	1,478	6,074	8,730
2006	2,764	1,754	1,555	6,198	8,790
2007	2,634	1,683	1,516	5,934	8,429
2008	2,354	1,537	1,398	5,380	7,541
2009	2,101	1,478	1,273	4,913	6,868
2010	1,946	1,324	1,226	4,548	6,375
2011	1,846	1,293	1,213	4,418	6,133

Single-vehicle rollover crashes accounted for 44 percent of occupant deaths in SUVs in 2011, compared with 39 percent of occupant deaths in pickups and 20 percent in cars.

Deaths in single-vehicle rollover crashes as a percent of all occupant deaths, 2011

		Drivers				All occupants
		Single-vehicle rollover		All crashes		Single-vehicle rollover		All crashes
		Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Cars	Mini	103	18	588	100	140	18	789	100
	Small	589	20	2,908	100	811	21	3,955	100
	Midsize	640	21	2,993	100	891	21	4,185	100
	Large	398	20	1,965	100	555	20	2,723	100
	Very large	93	15	611	100	135	15	884	100
	All cars	1,846	20	9,171	100	2,561	20	12,679	100
Pickups	Small	391	34	1,161	100	476	34	1,416	100
	Large	595	39	1,522	100	769	39	1,958	100
	Very large	263	50	522	100	352	51	691	100
	All pickups	1,293	39	3,323	100	1,656	39	4,228	100
SUVs	Small	252	34	742	100	344	34	1,007	100
	Midsize	686	46	1,489	100	1,015	47	2,171	100
	Large	194	51	380	100	313	52	606	100
	Very large	76	45	168	100	130	47	277	100
	All SUVs	1,213	43	2,792	100	1,811	44	4,082	100
All passenger vehicles	All	4,418	28	15,512	100	6,133	29	21,347	100

Deaths in single-vehicle rollover crashes as a percent of all driver deaths, 2011, for pickups and SUVs by 2WD and 4WD

		2WD				4WD
		Single-vehicle rollover		All crashes		Single-vehicle rollover		All crashes
		Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Pickups	Small	250	30	821	100	141	41	340	100
	Large	284	33	858	100	311	47	664	100
	Very large	57	39	147	100	206	55	375	100
	All pickups	596	32	1,842	100	659	48	1,383	100
SUVs	Small	54	24	226	100	198	38	516	100
	Midsize	256	44	578	100	430	47	911	100
	Large	92	57	162	100	102	47	218	100
	Very large	35	43	81	100	41	47	87	100
	All SUVs	437	42	1,047	100	773	45	1,735	100

Deaths in single-vehicle rollover crashes as percent of all occupant deaths, 2011, for pickups and SUVs by 2WD and 4WD

		2WD				4WD
		Single-vehicle rollover		All crashes		Single-vehicle rollover		All crashes
		Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Pickups	Small	303	31	988	100	173	40	428	100
	Large	370	34	1,104	100	399	47	854	100
	Very large	78	40	193	100	274	55	498	100
	All pickups	757	33	2,306	100	847	47	1,785	100
SUVs	Small	82	26	314	100	262	38	693	100
	Midsize	395	45	870	100	620	48	1,301	100
	Large	144	57	252	100	169	48	354	100
	Very large	64	47	137	100	66	47	140	100
	All SUVs	685	44	1,573	100	1,120	45	2,492	100

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 8 driver deaths per million registered passenger vehicles in 2011.

Driver deaths in single-vehicle rollover crashes per million registered passenger vehicles 1-3 years old, 1978-2011

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	19	52	36	28
2003	16	47	34	25
2004	15	44	30	23
2005	16	46	24	23
2006	15	44	19	21
2007	14	38	16	19
2008	13	32	12	16
2009	13	31	7	14
2010	11	28	4	11
2011	8	19	4	8