A total of 37,133 people died in motor vehicle crashes in 2017. IIHS publishes annual statistical summaries of the motor vehicle safety picture. Fatality Facts are updated once a year, when the U.S. Department of Transportation releases data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System. The most current Fatality Facts and previous years going back to 2005 are available.
State law summaries
Highway safety laws differ from state to state. Use the links below to access information on specific types of laws in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. We monitor legislative changes and update this information as needed.
The Institute actively participates in highway safety policy debates. One way we can influence policy is through the rulemaking process of federal agencies such as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, whose regulations have the force of law.
The Institute occasionally submits petitions for regulations on unaddressed motor vehicle or highway safety issues or to amend existing regulations based on new data or technologies. More frequently, the Institute comments on rules proposed by the agencies to ensure the final outcome improves highway safety.
Although IIHS does not lobby, our experts are often invited to provide testimony about highway safety issues before Congress and state legislatures as lawmakers consider new legislation, review existing policies and investigate agency regulatory activity.
The Institute submits amicus curiae (friend of the court) briefs in court cases that could affect laws concerning motor vehicle standards or highway safety.
Access chronological archives of these documents in PDF format:
Insurance losses by make and model
Access loss information for hundreds of passenger vehicles grouped by body style and size under six insurance coverages: collision, property damage liability, comprehensive personal injury protection, medical payment and bodily injury liability.
Auto insurance basics
Auto insurance covers damage to vehicles and property in crashes plus injuries to the people involved in the crashes. The six different types of coverages are defined here. In addition, comparative loss information for different vehicle types and other HLDI analyses are available here.
Noncrash fire losses
Periodically, HLDI provides the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Office of Defects Investigation with insurance fire reports that describe comprehensive noncrash fire losses for passenger vehicles. Noncrash fire losses represent fire damage to vehicles not caused by collision or vandalism. Download the latest report.
Selected HLDI research
IIHS has been conducting research for more than 50 years. Papers published in copyrighted publications such as books, journals and conference proceedings are available upon request, but their contents may not be redistributed or republished without consent of the publishers. Unpublished and noncopyrighted reports are available for download, and their contents may be redistributed and republished with attribution.
Selected bibliography of William Haddon Jr., M.D.
William Haddon Jr., M.D., IIHS president from 1969 to 1985, is widely considered the father of modern injury epidemiology. He argued for a more scientifically driven approach to injury control and created conceptual frameworks, such as the Haddon Matrix, for understanding how injuries occur and developing strategies for intervention. His pioneering efforts helped transform the highway safety field from one focused solely on crash prevention to one that examines human, vehicle and environmental factors to identify a full range of options for reducing crash losses.
This selected bibliography reflects Dr. Haddon’s belief that "the understanding and prevention of disease and injury should be the first strategy of medicine and that treatment, no matter how necessary, is not the logical first line of attack." It documents his research beginning at the Harvard University School of Public Health and New York State Department of Health through his leadership at the National Highway Safety Bureau and IIHS.