• In 2013, on average, throughout the United States about 95 people were killed and nearly 6,400 people were injured each day in transportation-related crashes.
• Transportation safety has been improving in recent decades, averaging 27 fewer fatalities and nearly 2,400 fewer injuries per day in 2013 than in 2000.
• Almost 95 percent of transportation fatalities and more than 99 percent of transportation injuries involved highway motor vehicles. In 2013 there were more than 32,700 fatalities and 2,313,000 injuries on the Nation’s highways.
• In 2013 nearly 4,700 pedestrians and more than 740 pedalcyclists were killed. Alcohol involvement either by the driver or the pedestrian was reported in 49 percent of all pedestrian crashes in 2013.
• Motor vehicle crashes caused an estimated $242 billion, or nearly $784 per person, in economic costs in 2010.
• Comparing injury rates, crash victims in cars and other light-duty vehicles were 10 times more likely to be injured than crash victims in large trucks. A motorcyclist is five times more likely to be injured than a passenger car occupant when involved in a crash.
• Almost 600 people were killed when they were struck by trains at public highway-rail grade crossings or while trespassing on railroad property . Recreational boating and general aviation accounted for more than 550 and about 400 fatalities, respectively.
• Human factors, such as operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or while distracted, are some of the more common contributing factors to transportation fatalities. Cellphone use contributed to 71 thousand motor vehicles crashes. Many people also fail to use safety equipment, such as seat belts or DOT-compliant motorcycle helmets.

FIGURE 6 Fatalities Number by Age and Sex: 1990 and 2013

Table Version | Excel

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatality Analysis Reporting System, available at http://ftp.nhtsa.dot.gov as of March 2015.