Fatality Facts 2017Passenger vehicle occupants

Overview

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. Puckett, S.M. and Kindelberger, J.C. 2016. Relationships between Fatality Risk, Mass, and Footprint in Model Year 2003-2010 Passenger Cars and LTVs – Preliminary Report. (Docket No. NHTSA-2016-0068). 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

Curb weight	Shadow (overall length x width in square feet)
Curb weight	70-80	81-90	91-100	101-110	> 110
Note: Passenger versions of vans often referred to as minivans are classified as cars.
2,001-2,500 lbs	Mini	Small	Small	Small	Midsize
2,501-3,000 lbs	Small	Small	Midsize	Midsize	Midsize
3,001-3,500 lbs	Small	Midsize	Midsize	Large	Large
3,501-4,000 lbs	Small	Midsize	Large	Large	Very large
> 4,000 lbs	Midsize	Midsize	Large	Very large	Very large

Guide to SUV size groups

	Curb weight
Small	3,001-3,750 lbs
Midsize	3,751-4,750 lbs
Large	4,751-5,750 lbs
Very large	> 5,750 lbs or shadow > 115 sq ft

Guide to pickup size groups

	Curb weight
Small	≤ 4,000 lbs
Large	> 4,000 lbs and carrying capacity = 1/2 ton
Very large	> 4,000 lbs and carrying capacity > 1/2 ton

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

Posted December 2018.

Trends

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths represented 64 percent of the 37,133 motor vehicle crash deaths in 2017.

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths vs. all motor vehicle crash deaths, 1975-2017
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	21,413	66	11,066	34	32,479	100
2012	21,906	65	11,876	35	33,782	100
2013	21,361	65	11,533	35	32,894	100
2014	21,131	65	11,613	35	32,744	100
2015	22,741	64	12,744	36	35,485	100
2016	23,957	63	13,849	37	37,806	100
2017	23,708	64	13,425	36	37,133	100

A total of 23,708 passenger vehicle occupants died in 2017, 23 percent fewer than in 1975. As pickups and SUVs have become more popular, the distribution of vehicle types in fatal crashes has changed. Car occupant deaths have declined 46 percent since 1975, while pickup occupant deaths have risen 20 percent and SUV occupant deaths are more than 10 times as high.

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths by vehicle type, 1975-2017

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths by vehicle type, 1975-2017
Year	Car occupants		Pickup occupants		SUV occupants		All passenger vehicle occupants
Year	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
1975	25,715	84	3,674	12	455	1	30,601	100
1976	26,163	82	4,225	13	577	2	31,724	100
1977	26,698	81	4,512	14	729	2	32,823	100
1978	27,898	80	5,103	15	852	2	34,923	100
1979	27,518	79	5,423	15	945	3	35,026	100
1980	27,282	78	5,489	16	1,124	3	34,996	100
1981	26,406	78	5,236	16	1,021	3	33,711	100
1982	23,144	78	4,779	16	862	3	29,656	100
1983	22,801	78	4,660	16	920	3	29,154	100
1984	23,482	78	4,884	16	886	3	30,094	100
1985	23,076	77	4,892	16	1,024	3	29,848	100
1986	24,880	77	5,334	17	1,131	4	32,224	100
1987	25,115	76	5,795	17	1,269	4	33,145	100
1988	25,825	76	6,089	18	1,320	4	34,105	100
1989	25,269	75	6,016	18	1,373	4	33,599	100
1990	24,413	75	6,032	18	1,480	5	32,711	100
1991	22,738	74	5,858	19	1,521	5	30,810	100
1992	21,824	74	5,476	19	1,390	5	29,457	100
1993	22,117	74	5,611	19	1,552	5	29,994	100
1994	22,622	73	5,604	18	1,809	6	30,820	100
1995	23,124	72	5,973	19	2,006	6	31,914	100
1996	23,426	72	5,928	18	2,210	7	32,353	100
1997	23,162	72	5,922	18	2,416	7	32,343	100
1998	22,357	70	5,904	19	2,711	9	31,781	100
1999	22,119	69	6,095	19	3,019	9	32,008	100
2000	21,985	68	5,996	19	3,337	10	32,109	100
2001	21,604	68	6,121	19	3,521	11	31,938	100
2002	22,007	67	6,058	19	4,022	12	32,724	100
2003	21,053	65	5,833	18	4,463	14	32,166	100
2004	20,560	65	5,716	18	4,772	15	31,750	100
2005	19,892	63	6,040	19	4,847	15	31,455	100
2006	19,034	62	5,877	19	4,973	16	30,628	100
2007	17,763	61	5,758	20	4,975	17	29,155	100
2008	15,691	61	5,021	20	4,350	17	25,547	100
2009	14,102	60	4,719	20	4,254	18	23,507	100
2010	13,404	60	4,443	20	4,130	18	22,351	100
2011	12,711	59	4,245	20	4,095	19	21,413	100
2012	13,089	60	4,339	20	4,171	19	21,906	100
2013	12,704	59	4,215	20	4,098	19	21,361	100
2014	12,529	59	4,223	20	4,103	19	21,131	100
2015	13,295	58	4,490	20	4,577	20	22,741	100
2016	14,041	59	4,625	19	4,908	20	23,957	100
2017	13,775	58	4,407	19	5,174	22	23,708	100

A total of 17,662 passenger vehicle drivers died in 2017, about the same as in 2016 and 9 percent fewer than in 1975. Fifty-seven percent of passenger vehicle driver deaths in 2017 were car drivers, 20 percent were pickup drivers, and 21 percent were SUV drivers.

Passenger vehicle driver deaths by vehicle type, 1975-2017
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	9,196	59	3,335	21	2,802	18	15,561	100
2012	9,407	59	3,395	21	2,903	18	15,915	100
2013	9,238	59	3,291	21	2,828	18	15,577	100
2014	9,040	58	3,338	22	2,941	19	15,495	100
2015	9,630	58	3,544	21	3,216	19	16,629	100
2016	10,277	58	3,684	21	3,432	19	17,641	100
2017	10,147	57	3,601	20	3,679	21	17,662	100

Crash types

Frontal impacts accounted for 56 percent of passenger vehicle occupant deaths in 2017. Side impacts accounted for another 24 percent of passenger vehicle occupant deaths.

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths in single-vehicle crashes by impact point and vehicle type, 2017
Point of initial impact	Car occupants		Pickup occupants		SUV occupants		All occupants
Point of initial impact	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Frontal	3,084	55	1,289	50	1,369	50	5,826	53
Side	1,056	19	357	14	342	12	1,770	16
Rear	132	2	23	1	34	1	191	2
Other (mostly rollover)	1,295	23	891	35	1,014	37	3,232	29
All*	5,567	100	2,560	100	2,759	100	11,019	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths in multiple-vehicle crashes by impact point and vehicle type, 2017
Point of initial impact	Car occupants		Pickup occupants		SUV occupants		All occupants
Point of initial impact	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Frontal	4,527	55	1,209	65	1,477	61	7,357	58
Side	2,767	34	428	23	613	25	3,852	30
Rear	758	9	156	8	270	11	1,207	10
Other (mostly rollover)	156	2	54	3	55	2	273	2
All*	8,208	100	1,847	100	2,415	100	12,689	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths in all crashes by impact point and vehicle type, 2017
Point of initial impact	Car occupants		Pickup occupants		SUV occupants		All occupants
Point of initial impact	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Frontal	7,611	55	2,498	57	2,846	55	13,183	56
Side	3,823	28	785	18	955	18	5,622	24
Rear	890	6	179	4	304	6	1,398	6
Other (mostly rollover)	1,451	11	945	21	1,069	21	3,505	15
All*	13,775	100	4,407	100	5,174	100	23,708	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Forty percent of car occupant deaths in 2017 occurred in single-vehicle crashes and 60 percent occurred in multiple-vehicle crashes. In contrast, single-vehicle crashes accounted for 53 percent of SUV occupant deaths and 58 percent of pickup occupant deaths.

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths by vehicle and crash type, 2017
Vehicle type	Deaths in single-vehicle crashes		Deaths in multiple-vehicle crashes		Deaths in all crashes*
Vehicle type	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Cars	5,567	40	8,208	60	13,775	100
Pickups	2,560	58	1,847	42	4,407	100
SUVs	2,759	53	2,415	47	5,174	100
Other	133	38	219	62	352	100
All passenger vehicles	11,019	46	12,689	54	23,708	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Age and gender differences

Twenty-four percent of passenger vehicle occupants killed in 2017 were younger than 25.

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths by age, 2017
Age	All occupants
Age	Number	%
<25	5,706	24
25-29	2,474	10
30-34	1,907	8
35-39	1,654	7
40-44	1,388	6
45-49	1,419	6
50-54	1,458	6
55-59	1,505	6
60-64	1,352	6
65-69	1,084	5
70+	3,722	16
All *	23,708	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Seventy-four percent of passenger vehicle occupants killed in 2017 were drivers; 71 percent of these were males.

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths by age, type, and gender, 2017
Age	Drivers						All occupants
	Male		Female		Total*		Male		Female		Total*
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
<16	20	65	11	35	31	100	484	52	448	48	932	100
16-19	757	68	350	32	1,108	100	1,179	64	655	36	1,835	100
20-24	1,536	73	576	27	2,113	100	2,004	68	934	32	2,939	100
25-29	1,424	73	516	27	1,940	100	1,740	70	734	30	2,474	100
30-34	1,127	74	404	26	1,532	100	1,333	70	573	30	1,907	100
35-39	1,011	74	353	26	1,364	100	1,181	71	473	29	1,654	100
40-44	779	69	352	31	1,132	100	900	65	487	35	1,388	100
45-49	816	70	351	30	1,168	100	938	66	480	34	1,419	100
50-54	863	72	336	28	1,199	100	978	67	480	33	1,458	100
55-59	886	70	376	30	1,262	100	998	66	507	34	1,505	100
60-64	809	71	329	29	1,138	100	890	66	462	34	1,352	100
65-69	602	68	280	32	882	100	671	62	413	38	1,084	100
≥70	1,859	67	915	33	2,774	100	2,172	58	1,550	42	3,722	100
All*	12,500	71	5,151	29	17,662	100	15,488	65	8,208	35	23,708	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Eight percent of passenger vehicle occupant deaths were in the second or third row; 29 percent of these were younger than 13.

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths by seating position and age, 2017
Seating position	<13 years		13-19 years		≥20 years		All*
Seating position	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Driver	0	0	1,139	6	16,504	93	17,662	100
Front row passenger	79	2	505	13	3,225	85	3,816	100
Second row passenger	503	28	360	20	911	51	1,781	100
Third row passenger	42	51	14	17	27	33	83	100
All*	677	3	2,090	9	20,902	88	23,708	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, 1978-2017
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	84	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	114
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	63	25	49	82	83	36	69
2010	49	64	20	43	71	80	29	61
2011	43	49	17	37	62	66	24	52
2012	42	44	16	35	61	56	23	49
2013	41	39	19	34	58	52	26	48
2014	37	38	18	32	53	47	24	44
2015	42	40	20	35	62	52	29	51
2016	44	39	21	36	63	48	32	51
2017	46	37	22	36	65	46	32	51

Historically, the rates of driver deaths per million registered vehicles have been higher for the smaller and lighter vehicles. This was true again in 2017, but the differences were less extreme than they used to be.

Driver deaths per million registered passenger vehicles 1-3 years old, 2017

Driver deaths per million registered passenger vehicles 1-3 years old, 2017
		Registered vehicles	Deaths	Rate
Cars	Mini	1,052,460	74	70
	Small	8,182,113	444	54
	Midsize	10,146,585	416	41
	Large	2,732,934	119	44
	Very large	1,850,087	44	24
	All cars	23,964,179	1,099	46
Pickups	Small	973,303	35	36
	Large	4,592,115	162	35
	Very large	1,533,163	53	35
	All pickups	7,098,581	263	37
SUVs	Small	6,753,134	180	27
	Midsize	8,444,218	167	20
	Large	2,023,869	34	17
	Very large	400,019	6	15
	All SUVs	17,621,240	389	22
All passenger vehicles	All	49,527,232	1,784	36

Overall in 2017, there were 13 driver deaths per million registered passenger vehicles in single-vehicle crashes and 23 driver deaths per million registered passenger vehicles in multiple-vehicle crashes. Cars had the highest number of deaths per registered vehicle both in single-vehicle crashes (16 per million) and in multiple-vehicle crashes (30 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 (14 per million).

Driver deaths per million registered passenger vehicles 1-3 years old by crash type, 2017
		Multiple-vehicle		Single-vehicle		Single-vehicle rollover		All crashes
		Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate
Cars	Mini	55	52	19	18	6	6	74	70
	Small	311	38	133	16	51	6	444	54
	Midsize	257	25	159	16	58	6	416	41
	Large	60	22	59	22	22	8	119	44
	Very large	29	16	15	8	6	3	44	24
	All cars	713	30	386	16	143	6	1,099	46
Pickups	Small	15	15	20	21	6	6	35	36
	Large	101	22	61	13	25	5	162	35
	Very large	32	21	21	14	8	5	53	35
	All pickups	157	22	106	15	41	6	263	37
SUVs	Small	121	18	59	9	28	4	180	27
	Midsize	105	12	62	7	21	2	167	20
	Large	17	8	17	8	10	5	34	17
	Very large	3	7	3	7	1	2	6	15
	All SUVs	247	14	142	8	61	3	389	22
All passenger vehicles	All	1,144	23	640	13	248	5	1,784	36

Driver deaths per million registered passenger vehicles 1-3 years old by crash type, 2017, 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	10	22	5	10	9	20	11	21	3	7	3	6	19	42	16	31
	Large	39	28	62	19	21	15	40	12	8	6	17	5	60	43	102	32
	Very large	4	31	28	20	0	0	21	15	0	0	8	6	0	0	49	35
	All pickups	53	27	95	19	30	15	72	14	11	6	28	5	83	42	167	33
SUVs	Small	75	27	46	11	29	11	30	7	11	4	17	4	104	38	76	19
	Midsize	55	17	50	10	30	9	32	6	8	2	13	3	85	26	82	16
	Large	9	12	8	6	11	15	6	5	6	8	4	3	20	27	14	11
	Very large	1	8	2	7	3	24	0	0	1	8	0	0	4	32	2	7
	All SUVs	140	20	106	10	73	11	68	6	26	4	34	3	213	31	174	16

Frontal impacts accounted for 16 driver deaths per million registered passenger vehicles in multiple-vehicle crashes in 2017 compared with 5 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, 2017
	Frontal impacts		Side impacts		Rear impacts		Other		Total
	Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate
Cars	474	20	160	7	66	3	4	<1	713	30
Pickups	115	16	24	3	14	2	1	<1	157	22
SUVs	163	9	49	3	29	2	2	<1	247	14
All passenger vehicles	774	16	236	5	111	2	7	<1	1,144	23

Driver deaths in multiple-vehicle crashes per million registered passenger vehicles 1-3 years old, 2017, by passenger vehicle sizes
		Frontal impacts		Side impacts		Rear impacts		Other		Total
		Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate
Cars	Mini	31	29	16	15	7	7	0	<1	55	52
	Small	214	26	56	7	36	4	0	<1	311	38
	Midsize	169	17	63	6	19	2	3	<1	257	25
	Large	38	14	18	7	4	1	0	<1	60	22
	Very large	21	11	7	4	0	<1	1	<1	29	16
	All cars	474	20	160	7	66	3	4	<1	713	30
Pickups	Small	13	13	2	2	0	<1	0	<1	15	15
	Large	75	16	15	3	9	2	0	<1	101	22
	Very large	23	15	5	3	3	2	0	<1	32	21
	All pickups	115	16	24	3	14	2	1	<1	157	22
SUVs	Small	74	11	25	4	18	3	1	<1	121	18
	Midsize	72	9	22	3	10	1	0	<1	105	12
	Large	14	7	2	1	1	0	0	0	17	8
	Very large	3	7	0	<1	0	<1	0	<1	3	7
	All SUVs	163	9	49	3	29	2	2	<1	247	14
All passenger vehicles	All	774	16	236	5	111	2	7	<1	1,144	23

Frontal impacts accounted for 9 driver deaths per million registered passenger vehicles in single-vehicle crashes in 2017 compared with 1 death 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, 2017
	Frontal impacts		Side impacts		Rear impacts		Other		Total
	Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate
Cars	255	11	43	2	6	<1	40	2	386	16
Pickups	77	11	14	2	1	<1	7	<1	106	15
SUVs	103	6	15	<1	1	<1	14	<1	142	8
All passenger vehicles	440	9	72	1	8	<1	61	1	640	13

Driver deaths in single-vehicle crashes per million registered passenger vehicles 1-3 years old, 2017, by passenger vehicle sizes
		Frontal impacts		Side impacts		Rear impacts		Other		Total
		Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate
Cars	Mini	11	10	3	3	1	<1	2	2	19	18
	Small	97	12	11	1	2	<1	13	2	133	16
	Midsize	103	10	20	2	3	<1	17	2	159	16
	Large	33	12	7	3	0	<1	5	2	59	22
	Very large	10	5	2	1	0	<1	3	2	15	8
	All cars	255	11	43	2	6	<1	40	2	386	16
Pickups	Small	16	16	4	4	0	<1	0	<1	20	21
	Large	46	10	7	2	0	<1	3	<1	61	13
	Very large	13	8	3	2	0	<1	3	2	21	14
	All pickups	77	11	14	2	1	<1	7	<1	106	15
SUVs	Small	42	6	9	1	1	<1	4	<1	59	9
	Midsize	44	5	5	<1	0	<1	8	<1	62	7
	Large	14	7	0	0	0	0	2	1	17	8
	Very large	3	7	0	<1	0	<1	0	<1	3	7
	All SUVs	103	6	15	<1	1	<1	14	<1	142	8
All passenger vehicles	All	440	9	72	1	8	<1	61	1	640	13

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 7,229 passenger vehicle occupants died in rollover crashes in 2017. Twenty-seven percent of these did not involve any other impact.

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths in rollover crashes by impact point and vehicle type, 2017
Point of initial impact	Car occupants		Pickup occupants		SUV occupants		All occupants
Point of initial impact	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Frontal	1,372	46	726	40	933	40	3,080	43
Side	544	18	273	15	354	15	1,194	17
Rear	108	4	79	4	124	5	320	4
None	577	19	585	32	736	32	1,920	27
Other	377	13	165	9	170	7	715	10
All*	2,978	100	1,828	100	2,317	100	7,229	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Crashes in which a vehicle rolled over accounted for 30 percent of passenger vehicle occupant deaths in 2017 (51 percent of single-vehicle occupant crash deaths and 13 percent of multiple-vehicle occupant crash deaths).

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths by crash type, 1978-2017
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	6,148	55	5,076	45	1,293	13	8,896	87	7,441	35	13,972	65
2012	6,273	55	5,201	45	1,312	13	9,120	87	7,585	35	14,321	65
2013	5,825	53	5,168	47	1,257	12	9,111	88	7,082	33	14,279	67
2014	5,570	52	5,059	48	1,304	12	9,198	88	6,874	33	14,257	67
2015	5,802	53	5,138	47	1,458	12	10,343	88	7,260	32	15,481	68
2016	5,919	52	5,511	48	1,616	13	10,911	87	7,535	31	16,422	69
2017	5,595	51	5,424	49	1,634	13	11,055	87	7,229	30	16,479	70
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Rollover crashes accounted for 45 percent of occupant deaths in SUVs and 41 percent in pickups in 2017, compared with 22 percent in cars.

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths in rollover vs. no rollover crashes, 1978-2017
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	3,058	24	9,653	76	1,973	46	2,272	54	2,259	55	1,836	45
2012	3,200	24	9,889	76	1,987	46	2,352	54	2,287	55	1,884	45
2013	2,984	23	9,720	77	1,916	45	2,299	55	2,057	50	2,041	50
2014	2,815	22	9,714	78	1,871	44	2,352	56	2,070	50	2,033	50
2015	2,999	23	10,296	77	1,916	43	2,574	57	2,211	48	2,366	52
2016	3,119	22	10,922	78	1,973	43	2,652	57	2,305	47	2,603	53
2017	2,978	22	10,797	78	1,828	41	2,579	59	2,317	45	2,857	55

More than three-fourths of fatal rollovers are single-vehicle crashes. A total of 5,595 passenger vehicle occupants died in single-vehicle rollover crashes in 2017, 5 percent fewer than in 2016 and 29 percent fewer than in 1978.

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths in single-vehicle rollover crashes, 1978-2017
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	1,848	1,297	1,218	4,430	6,148
2012	1,951	1,288	1,287	4,567	6,273
2013	1,805	1,219	1,112	4,181	5,825
2014	1,673	1,195	1,185	4,100	5,570
2015	1,793	1,206	1,210	4,269	5,802
2016	1,890	1,221	1,208	4,377	5,919
2017	1,793	1,152	1,246	4,230	5,595

Single-vehicle rollover crashes accounted for 33 percent of occupant deaths in SUVs and 32 percent in pickups in 2017, compared with 17 percent in cars.

Deaths in single-vehicle rollover crashes as a percent of all occupant deaths, 2017
		Drivers				All occupants
		Single-vehicle rollover		All crashes		Single-vehicle rollover		All crashes
		Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Cars	Mini	74	13	560	100	92	13	703	100
	Small	516	16	3,180	100	677	16	4,309	100
	Midsize	703	19	3,693	100	942	19	5,010	100
	Large	365	19	1,928	100	484	19	2,601	100
	Very large	121	18	691	100	183	18	1,021	100
	All cars	1,793	18	10,147	100	2,398	17	13,775	100
Pickups	Small	305	30	1,025	100	368	31	1,204	100
	Large	582	31	1,888	100	729	31	2,331	100
	Very large	234	40	584	100	286	39	738	100
	All pickups	1,152	32	3,601	100	1,420	32	4,407	100
SUVs	Small	280	26	1,079	100	353	25	1,419	100
	Midsize	660	36	1,834	100	924	35	2,622	100
	Large	215	39	551	100	314	38	827	100
	Very large	85	44	192	100	121	45	266	100
	All SUVs	1,246	34	3,679	100	1,722	33	5,174	100
All passenger vehicles	All	4,230	24	17,662	100	5,595	24	23,708	100

Deaths in single-vehicle rollover crashes as a percent of all driver deaths, 2017, 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	190	26	729	100	115	39	296	100
	Large	269	26	1,017	100	313	36	871	100
	Very large	46	32	144	100	188	43	440	100
	All pickups	509	27	1,901	100	618	38	1,609	100
SUVs	Small	90	20	444	100	190	30	634	100
	Midsize	271	36	760	100	389	36	1,074	100
	Large	92	37	249	100	123	41	302	100
	Very large	35	43	82	100	50	45	110	100
	All SUVs	488	32	1,535	100	755	36	2,125	100

Deaths in single-vehicle rollover crashes as percent of all occupant deaths, 2017, 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	230	27	838	100	138	38	366	100
	Large	335	27	1,249	100	394	36	1,082	100
	Very large	53	31	171	100	233	41	567	100
	All pickups	622	27	2,269	100	767	38	2,017	100
SUVs	Small	108	19	575	100	245	29	843	100
	Midsize	378	35	1,076	100	546	35	1,546	100
	Large	130	36	361	100	184	39	466	100
	Very large	48	42	113	100	73	48	153	100
	All SUVs	664	31	2,125	100	1,052	35	3,015	100

Since 1978, driver death rates for single-vehicle rollover crashes have declined across all passenger vehicle types, particularly for SUVs.

Driver deaths in single-vehicle rollover crashes per million registered passenger vehicles 1-3 years old, 1978-2017
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	14	32	12	16
2009	13	28	6	13
2010	11	25	4	11
2011	8	17	4	8
2012	6	11	3	6
2013	5	11	3	5
2014	6	9	3	6
2015	6	7	3	5
2016	5	7	3	5
2017	6	6	3	5