Transportation safety in the United States encompasses safety of transportation in the United States, including automobile crashes, airplane crashes, rail crashes, and other mass transit incidents, although the most fatalities are generated by road incidents annually killing 32,479 people in 2011 to over 42,000 people in 2022. The number of deaths per passenger-mile on commercial airlines in the United States between 2000 and 2010 was about 0.2 deaths per 10 billion passenger-miles. For driving, the rate was 150 per 10 billion vehicle-miles: 750 times higher per mile than for flying in a commercial airplane. For a person who drives a million miles in a lifetime (somewhat above average) this amounts to a 1.5% chance of death.
There is a considerable and growing gap between the United States and other comparable countries in terms of roadway deaths, with the United States having higher death rates. In 2014, two different U.S. government estimated that there were 33,736 or 32,744 motor vehicle traffic deaths in 2014. The National Safety Council (NSC), a nonprofit safety advocacy group, estimates U.S. motor vehicle deaths in 2016 were 40,200, a 14% increase from its 2014 estimate. After decades of improvements in road safety for pedestrians, the pedestrian death rate in the United States has skyrocketed since 2009 while most comparable countries have experienced declining pedestrian death rates.
In 2020, fatalities increased to about 38,680 deaths, from about 36,000 in 2019, even with fewer drivers on the road and fewer miles traveled. The increase was attributed to more risky driving behavior, including speeding, failing to wear seat belts, and driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. 2021 and 2022 experienced even more deaths, having 42,939 and 42,795 motor vehicle fatalities, respectively.
Overall statistics
In the United States, most fatalities are generated by road vehicles.
Note: Train data is without trespassing; 1990–2010 and 2012–2014 are two different series and may not be compared. Source NTSB For 2017 For 2014 For 2012, 2013 For 1990, 2000, 2009 and 2010, BTS
Safety overall has steadily improved in the United States for many decades. Between 1920 and 2000, the rate of fatal automobile crashes per vehicle-mile decreased by a factor of about 17. Except for a pause during the youth bulge of the 1960s (a time when many young, inexperienced drivers were on the road), progress in reducing fatal crashes has been steady. Safety for other types of U.S. passenger transportation has also improved substantially, but long-term statistical data are not as readily available. While the fatality rate roughly leveled off around 2000–2005 at around 1.5 fatalities per 100 million miles traveled, it has resumed a downward trend and reached 1.27 in 2008. The National Safety Council, using methodology that differs from the NHTSA, reports a rate (including deaths of pedestrians and cyclists killed in motor vehicle crashes) of 1.25 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles (or 12.5 deaths per billion vehicle miles) traveled in 2016.
Source: OECD 2017 NTSB 2019 pedestrian source: autoblog 2019 fatalities early estimates: NHTSA
Between 2008 and 2011, the economic recession, by a reduction in distance traveled, contributed to reducing fatalities.
Traffic safety by mode by traveled distance (public transportation)
* Source, left: caranddriver, US Department Of Transport
Government regulation
Federal organizations Several federal organizations deal with transportation safety in the United States: The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigates accidents and makes recommendations to the regulatory agencies. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in the United States Department of Transportation issues mandatory safety regulations for road vehicles. The Federal Highway Administration issues: The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, which has mandatory nationwide standards for traffic signs and road markings Road design standards for the Interstate Highway System Technical recommendations for roads on federal property (like national parks and forests) and in the Indian Reservation Roads Program Safety standards for commercial motor carriers and motor vehicle operators are the responsibility of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Railroad safety is the province of the Federal Railroad Administration. Aviation safety is the responsibility of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA); The Federal Transit Administration conducts oversight of public transport agency safety. Pipeline safety is the responsibility of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). Safe transportation of hazardous materials is the responsibility PHMSA. Marine safety is the responsibility of the U.S. Coast Guard within the Department of Homeland Security. Offshore pipeline safety is the responsibility of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement within the Department of the Interior. Workplace safety, including the safety of transportation workers, is the responsibility of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration within the Department of Labor. However, because states have separate sovereignty, their workers are not necessarily subject to federal work safety requirements. Transport of hazardous waste is generally subject to regulation by PHMSA, but is subject to additional regulation by the Environmental Protection Agency. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission sets standards for the design and manufacture of packages containing radioactive materials, while PHMSA regulates actual transport of the materials.
State and local responsibilities
State, territorial, tribal, and local governments are responsible for road design, speed limits, and traffic law enforcement for most roads. Many but not all states have vehicle inspection programs and vehicle regulations in addition to the NHTSA standards.
The FHA's Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices is mandatory for all roads "open for public travel", but states may have supplementary regulations. The federal government is the primary funding source for the Interstate Highway System and regulates it more stringently, even though it is maintained and operated by state governments. Some roads are directly federally owned and operated, including those in the Indian Reservation Roads Program and on federal property (such as nationals parks and forests).
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials is a collaboration of state governments that publishes voluntary standards to help coordinate road design across jurisdictions.
Many state and local jurisdictions have adopted Vision Zero programs, with the goal of reducing transportation fatalities to zero.
United States compared to other nations
The US ranks 41 out of 52 high-income nations based on road traffic deaths. US safety results are better than Russia, Saudi Arabia or Qatar. Nonetheless the fatality rate in the United States is high relative to most other high-income nations. The 2013 U.S. rate of 7.1 road fatalities per 1 billion vehicle-km is about double the 2013 rate in Sweden, which was 3.5 road fatalities per 1 billion vehicle-km. (See: List of countries by traffic-related death rate.) The United States has been called "the most dangerous of wealthy nations for a child to be born into".
This differences might be linked to a lack of traffic calming, higher prevalence of wide, multilane stroads which encourage high speeds, reliance on stop signs instead of roundabouts, as well as a difference of approach in driving safety culture, for instance in the balance between liberty and mandatory or forbidden dangerous or unsafe behavior.
To some extent this is due to geography and driver training, but more rigorous impaired driving enforcement and severe penalties in Sweden for driving under the influence may also explain the difference. While it might be argued that highways and vehicles in Sweden are different from those in the United States, the U.S. fatality rate is also about double the rate in the Canadian province of Ontario, which experienced 3.6 road fatalities per 1 billion vehicle-km according to preliminary 2014 data. Ontario, which is a vast province of more than 1 million square kilometers, has a similar mix of highway types including congested urban and rural highways. Ontario also has a similar mix of large transport trucks essentially identical to U.S. transport trucks, full-size pickup trucks, SUVs and passenger cars, although there may be more small cars driven in Ontario compared to the United States. This suggests that differences in fatality rates are due to non-physical factors such as driver behavior.
Comparing motorways (controlled-access, divided highways) in Europe and the United States, according to 2012 data, Denmark had the safest motorways with a rate of 0.72 road fatalities per 1 billion vehicle-km, while the United States had 3.38 road fatalities per 1 billion vehicle-km on its Interstate-type highways, often called freeways.
In Germany the death rate on such highways was 1.74 road fatalities per 1 billion vehicle-km, about half the U.S. rate for Interstate-type highways.See In Germany significant sections to the Autobahn network do not have mandatory speed limits, when according to the German Road Safety Council (DVR) the number of deaths per kilometer of motorway is 30% lower when motorways have speed limit.
Another difference between the US and Europe is that Europeans believe higher speed limits have an adverse impact on safety. For instance, in 2008 an ETSC report considers that «empirical evidence indicates that all instances of introduced speed limits on German motorways have caused very large casualty reductions.». According to the ETSC, in Germany, fatalities per kilometer of motorway is not linked to speed limit, but speed limit sections allows higher traffic volumes for a similar number of fatalities. That means that fatalities per traveled distance is lower where there are speed limits.
Road safety compared to European Union nations
Until the 1980s, the US had lower road death rates than European countries. Most European countries have consistently improved their road safety since then, and now have lower rates than the US.
UE: Source UESÉCURITÉ ROUTIÈRE: Quelle est la situation dans votre pays? ec.europa.eu/transport/road_safety/pdf/statistics/dacota/scoreboard_2015_en.pdf D'après des données CARE/Eurostat United-States: Source OCDE/ITFBase de donénes IRTAD_CASUAL_BY_AGE stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=IRTAD_CASUAL_BY_AGE for 1990, 2000 and 2010–2015 period (killed after 30 days) EU28, ETSC IIHS 2016 series. IIHS 2017 series. EU-27, source eurostatPersons killed in road accidents by type of vehicle (CARE data), online data code: TRAN_SF_ROADVE, last update: 17/06/2021) EU-27, 2020 preliminary estimate, European commission
In 2020, fatalities increased to nearly 38,680 in the US due to fewer people driving on the road. The same year, fatalities decreased to 18,800 in the EU, due to fewer people driving on the road. That year there was % more fatalities in the US than in the EU, or % less in the EU than in the US.
Road safety compared to other UNECE nations by population
With 114 fatalities per million inhabitants in 2017, the United States has a lower fatality rate than Kyrgyzstan (147 per million inhabitants), Georgia (139 per million inhabitants) and Kazakhstan (115 per million inhabitants).Statistics of Road Traffic Accidents, in europe and north america, Volume LV, 2019
Killed by population in 2019 * source British statistics
Cultural and political differences
Automated enforcement