State by state | 2011

2011
All Fatality Facts topics

The number and types of motor vehicle crash deaths differ widely among the 50 states and the District of Columbia. A state's population has an obvious effect on the number of motor vehicle deaths. Fatality rates per capita and per vehicle miles traveled provide a way of examining motor vehicle deaths relative to the population and amount of driving. However, many factors can affect these rates, types of vehicles driven, travel speeds, rates of licensure, state traffic laws, emergency care capabilities, weather and topography.

The following facts are based on analysis of data from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).

Data subsections:

Fatal crash totals

There were 29,757 fatal motor vehicle crashes in the United States in 2011 in which 32,367 deaths occurred. This resulted in national motor vehicle crash death rates of 10.4 deaths per 100,000 people and 1.1 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled. The fatality rate per 100,000 people ranged from a low of 4.4 in the District of Columbia to a high of 23.8 in Wyoming. The death rates per 100 million vehicle miles traveled ranged from 0.62 in Massachusetts to 1.79 in Montana.

Population, vehicle miles traveled, fatal motor vehicle crashes, motor vehicle crash deaths and motor vehicle crash death rates per state, 2011
StatePopulationVehicle miles traveled (millions)Fatal crashesNumber of deathsDeaths per 100,000 populationDeaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled
Alabama 4,802,740 64,914 810 894 18.6 1.38
Alaska 722,718 4,593 63 72 10.0 1.57
Arizona 6,482,505 59,574 754 825 12.7 1.38
Arkansas 2,937,979 32,953 507 549 18.7 1.67
California 37,691,912 320,784 2,594 2,791 7.4 0.87
Colorado 5,116,796 46,606 407 447 8.7 0.96
Connecticut 3,580,709 31,197 207 220 6.1 0.71
Delaware 907,135 9,028 94 99 10.9 1.10
District of Columbia 617,996 3,568 22 27 4.4 0.76
Florida 19,057,542 191,855 2,210 2,398 12.6 1.25
Georgia 9,815,210 108,454 1,116 1,223 12.5 1.13
Hawaii 1,374,810 10,066 97 100 7.3 0.99
Idaho 1,584,985 15,937 152 167 10.5 1.05
Illinois 12,869,257 103,234 835 918 7.1 0.89
Indiana 6,516,922 76,485 675 750 11.5 0.98
Iowa 3,062,309 31,274 329 360 11.8 1.15
Kansas 2,871,238 30,021 350 386 13.4 1.29
Kentucky 4,369,356 48,061 670 721 16.5 1.50
Louisiana 4,574,836 46,513 629 675 14.8 1.45
Maine 1,328,188 14,248 126 136 10.2 0.95
Maryland 5,828,289 56,221 455 485 8.3 0.86
Massachusetts 6,587,536 54,792 321 337 5.1 0.62
Michigan 9,876,187 94,754 834 889 9.0 0.94
Minnesota 5,344,861 56,685 334 368 6.9 0.65
Mississippi 2,978,512 38,851 567 630 21.2 1.62
Missouri 6,010,688 68,789 714 784 13.0 1.14
Montana 998,199 11,660 187 209 20.9 1.79
Nebraska 1,842,641 19,093 164 181 9.8 0.95
Nevada 2,723,322 24,189 223 246 9.0 1.02
New Hampshire 1,318,194 12,720 84 90 6.8 0.71
New Jersey 8,821,155 73,094 586 627 7.1 0.86
New Mexico 2,082,224 25,533 307 353 17.0 1.38
New York 19,465,197 127,726 1,092 1,169 6.0 0.92
North Carolina 9,656,401 103,772 1,140 1,227 12.7 1.18
North Dakota 683,932 9,131 130 148 21.6 1.62
Ohio 11,544,951 111,990 941 1,016 8.8 0.91
Oklahoma 3,791,508 47,464 609 696 18.4 1.47
Oregon 3,871,859 33,373 310 331 8.5 0.99
Pennsylvania 12,742,886 99,204 1,191 1,286 10.1 1.30
Rhode Island 1,051,302 7,901 63 66 6.3 0.84
South Carolina 4,679,230 48,730 767 828 17.7 1.70
South Dakota 824,082 9,002 101 111 13.5 1.23
Tennessee 6,403,353 70,751 874 946 14.8 1.34
Texas 25,674,681 237,440 2,752 3,016 11.7 1.27
Utah 2,817,222 26,222 221 240 8.5 0.92
Vermont 626,431 7,141 48 55 8.8 0.77
Virginia 8,096,604 80,974 700 764 9.4 0.94
Washington 6,830,038 56,955 424 457 6.7 0.80
West Virginia 1,855,364 18,963 319 337 18.2 1.78
Wisconsin 5,711,767 54,402 532 582 10.2 1.07
Wyoming 568,158 9,245 120 135 23.8 1.46
U.S. total 311,591,917 2,946,132 29,757 32,367 10.4 1.10

Deaths by road user

In 2011, the types of motor vehicle crash deaths varied across states. For example, North Dakota had  one of the lowest percentages of deaths involving car occupants (28 percent) and the highest percentage of deaths involving occupants of SUVs and pickups (49 percent). In contrast, New Jersey had relatively high proportions of car occupant deaths (41 percent) and pedestrian deaths (23 percent), and a relatively low percentage of deaths involving SUV or pickup occupants (15 percent).  The highest percentage of motorcyclist deaths occurred in Hawaii (23 percent), and the percentage of pedestrian deaths was highest in the District of Columbia (30 percent).

Motor vehicle crash deaths by road user type and state, 2011
StatePassenger car occupants Pickup and SUV occupantsLarge truck occupants Motorcyclists Pedestrians Bicyclists Total*
Number%Number%Number%Number%Number%Number%Number%
Alabama 398 45 269 30 16 2 96 11 79 9 5 1 894 100
Alaska 16 22 31 4300 10 14 9 12 2 3 72 100
Arizona 211 26 216 26 14 2 128 16 147 18 22 3 825 100
Arkansas 189 34 206 38 22 4 63 11 42 8 6 1 549 100
California 1,001 36 535 19 33 1 409 15 625 22 113 4 2,791 100
Colorado 155 35 133 30 10 2 77 17 45 10 8 2 447 100
Connecticut 105 48 34 15 3 1 33 15 26 12 8 4 220 100
Delaware 44 44 14 1400 19 19 18 1800 99 100
District of Columbia 11 41 2 700 4 15 8 30 1 4 27 100
Florida 746 31 474 20 20 1 447 19 490 20 125 5 2,398 100
Georgia 481 39 390 32 23 2 135 11 130 11 14 1 1,223 100
Hawaii 19 19 21 21 1 1 23 23 23 23 2 2 100 100
Idaho 76 46 48 29 5 3 16 10 9 500 167 100
Illinois 397 43 173 19 16 2 142 15 134 15 27 3 918 100
Indiana 352 47 154 21 25 3 96 13 61 8 11 1 750 100
Iowa 156 43 110 31 8 2 33 9 25 7 5 1 360 100
Kansas 178 46 123 32 7 2 44 11 14 4 2 1 386 100
Kentucky 325 45 220 31 14 2 67 9 50 7 2 0 721 100
Louisiana 233 35 233 35 9 1 80 12 88 13 18 3 675 100
Maine 75 55 24 18 3 2 15 11 10 700 136 100
Maryland 205 42 72 15 8 2 67 14 102 21 5 1 485 100
Massachusetts 172 51 52 15 2 1 34 10 58 17 5 1 337 100
Michigan 385 43 186 21 7 1 108 12 138 16 24 3 889 100
Minnesota 182 49 81 22 4 1 41 11 39 11 5 1 368 100
Mississippi 235 37 254 40 9 1 58 9 47 7 7 1 630 100
Missouri 350 45 241 31 17 2 79 10 75 10 1 0 784 100
Montana 73 35 90 43 3 1 19 9 15 7 1 0 209 100
Nebraska 85 47 52 29 3 2 23 13 7 4 2 1 181 100
Nevada 78 32 57 23 6 2 39 16 46 19 4 2 246 100
New Hampshire 44 49 20 22 1 1 14 16 5 6 4 4 90 100
New Jersey 259 41 93 15 11 2 92 15 142 23 17 3 627 100
New Mexico 124 35 114 32 12 3 44 12 41 12 4 1 353 100
New York 415 36 162 14 6 1 169 14 287 25 57 5 1,169 100
North Carolina 508 41 321 26 14 1 133 11 160 13 25 2 1,227 100
North Dakota 42 28 72 49 4 3 14 9 9 6 1 1 148 100
Ohio 469 46 210 21 19 2 165 16 104 10 16 2 1,016 100
Oklahoma 268 39 247 35 18 3 96 14 43 6 1 0 696 100
Oregon 125 38 89 27 6 2 38 11 46 14 15 5 331 100
Pennsylvania 587 46 279 22 25 2 190 15 147 11 11 1 1,286 100
Rhode Island 31 47 5 800 14 21 14 2100 66 100
South Carolina 331 40 210 25 22 3 106 13 113 14 15 2 828 100
South Dakota 48 43 37 3300 14 13 7 6 1 1 111 100
Tennessee 417 44 292 31 15 2 111 12 80 8 5 1 946 100
Texas 1,011 34 953 32 58 2 465 15 421 14 43 1 3,016 100
Utah 92 38 71 30 5 2 27 11 30 12 5 2 240 100
Vermont 30 55 12 2200 8 15 3 500 55 100
Virginia 327 43 213 28 19 2 91 12 73 10 6 1 764 100
Washington 185 40 101 22 7 2 70 15 64 14 11 2 457 100
West Virginia 144 43 116 34 6 2 27 8 20 600 337 100
Wisconsin 252 43 140 24 9 2 79 14 57 10 12 2 582 100
Wyoming 37 27 58 43 8 6 16 12 6 4 1 1 135 100
U.S. total 12,679 39 8,310 26 553 2 4,388 14 4,432 14 675 2 32,367 100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Crash types

Nationwide, 52 percent of passenger vehicle occupant deaths in 2011 occurred in single-vehicle crashes. The highest proportion of passenger vehicle occupant deaths in single-vehicle crashes occurred in South Dakota (67 percent).

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths by crash type and state, 2011
StateSingle-vehicle Multiple-vehicle All crashes*
Number%Number%Number%
Alabama 365 54 316 46 681 100
Alaska 25 53 22 47 47 100
Arizona 223 52 210 48 433 100
Arkansas 223 55 179 45 402 100
California 819 53 736 47 1,555 100
Colorado 170 56 133 44 303 100
Connecticut 94 65 51 35 145 100
Delaware 31 51 30 49 61 100
District of Columbia 7 54 6 46 13 100
Florida 612 49 640 51 1,252 100
Georgia 442 50 438 50 880 100
Hawaii 26 65 14 35 40 100
Idaho 78 62 48 38 126 100
Illinois 286 49 293 51 579 100
Indiana 230 45 286 55 516 100
Iowa 136 51 133 49 269 100
Kansas 147 48 160 52 307 100
Kentucky 282 51 266 49 548 100
Louisiana 259 55 213 45 472 100
Maine 59 58 43 42 102 100
Maryland 124 43 163 57 287 100
Massachusetts 121 53 109 47 230 100
Michigan 267 46 312 54 579 100
Minnesota 115 43 150 57 265 100
Mississippi 302 60 199 40 501 100
Missouri 353 59 243 41 596 100
Montana 98 60 66 40 164 100
Nebraska 68 48 73 52 141 100
Nevada 69 50 68 50 137 100
New Hampshire 42 64 24 36 66 100
New Jersey 164 46 194 54 358 100
New Mexico 150 62 90 38 240 100
New York 306 51 298 49 604 100
North Carolina 470 56 367 44 837 100
North Dakota 61 53 54 47 115 100
Ohio 318 46 375 54 693 100
Oklahoma 266 51 255 49 521 100
Oregon 125 58 92 42 217 100
Pennsylvania 455 52 419 48 874 100
Rhode Island 21 57 16 43 37 100
South Carolina 323 59 225 41 548 100
South Dakota 58 67 29 33 87 100
Tennessee 381 54 330 46 711 100
Texas 995 50 996 50 1,991 100
Utah 90 54 76 46 166 100
Vermont 25 58 18 42 43 100
Virginia 329 59 226 41 555 100
Washington 167 57 124 43 291 100
West Virginia 148 56 116 44 264 100
Wisconsin 198 50 199 50 397 100
Wyoming 65 64 36 36 101 100
U.S. total 11,188 52 10,159 48 21,347 100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Alcohol involvement

Some states report blood alcohol concentration (BAC) for only a small percentage of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers. If BAC is missing for a driver, it is imputed by the U.S. Department of Transportation's multiple imputation model. Subramanian, R. 2002. Transitioning to multiple imputation — a new method to impute missing blood alcohol concentration (BAC) values in FARS. Report no. DOT HS-809-403. Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. However, BAC information is most precise in states that report a high percentage of BACs. In the following table, estimated percentages of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers with BACs at or above 0.08 percent are shown only for states in which BAC reporting was 70 percent or higher. Estimated percentages are based on known BAC when available and imputed BAC for the remaining drivers.

For the nation in 2011, BAC was reported for 72 percent of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers. Maine reported BACs for 95 percent of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers, while Iowa reported BACs for 25 percent. Among the 35 states with reporting rates of at least 70 percent, Hawaii had the highest estimated percentage of fatally injured drivers with BACs of 0.08 percent or higher (65 percent), and Maine had the lowest (14 percent).

Estimated number and percent of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers with BAC ≥ 0.08 percent by state, 2011
StateDrivers killed with known BAC resultsTotal drivers killedEstimated drivers killed with BACs ≥ 0.08
Number%NumberNumber%
Alabama 285 56 505‡‡
Alaska 27 93 29 9 31
Arizona 201 72 281 84 30
Arkansas 247 78 318 105 33
California 904 86 1,054 359 34
Colorado 183 84 218 82 38
Connecticut 94 83 113 52 46
Delaware 29 63 46‡‡
District of Columbia 5 83 6 2 32
Florida 591 68 866‡‡
Georgia 347 52 661‡‡
Hawaii 26 93 28 18 65
Idaho 51 61 84‡‡
Illinois 359 88 410 128 31
Indiana 254 66 384‡‡
Iowa 51 25 203‡‡
Kansas 107 48 223‡‡
Kentucky 331 81 407 87 21
Louisiana 258 71 361 141 39
Maine 78 95 82 11 14
Maryland 200 91 220 73 33
Massachusetts 106 60 178‡‡
Michigan 287 68 424‡‡
Minnesota 179 92 194 63 33
Mississippi 146 39 379‡‡
Missouri 350 80 435 141 32
Montana 107 87 123 54 44
Nebraska 89 90 99 26 26
Nevada 81 80 101 33 32
New Hampshire 44 90 49 14 28
New Jersey 227 89 255 84 33
New Mexico 124 82 152 46 30
New York 332 78 425 114 27
North Carolina 451 74 612 202 33
North Dakota 76 88 86 41 48
Ohio 446 87 514 150 29
Oklahoma 353 94 374 136 36
Oregon 150 94 160 56 35
Pennsylvania 464 71 655 219 33
Rhode Island 21 68 31‡‡
South Carolina 334 84 397 143 36
South Dakota 47 85 55 16 28
Tennessee 286 54 534‡‡
Texas 788 54 1,447‡‡
Utah 54 48 113‡‡
Vermont 28 88 32 10 32
Virginia 315 77 407 131 32
Washington 185 86 214 81 38
West Virginia 186 93 200 48 24
Wisconsin 289 93 310 107 35
Wyoming 34 59 58‡‡
U.S. total 11,207 72 15,512 5,046 33
‡ Cells with missing data have insufficient reporting of results for reliably estimating percent of fatally injured drivers with BACs ≥ 0.08 Percent.

Restraint use

Based on daytime observational surveys conducted by the states, the rate of safety belt use among front seat passenger vehicle occupants in 2011 ranged from 73 percent in Massachusetts and South Dakota to 98 percent in Washington. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 2012. Seat belt use in 2011 — use rates in the states and territories. Report no. DOT HS-811-651. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Transportation.   When examining restraint use among fatally injured motor vehicle occupants, it is important to note that percentages will be lower than observed restraint use because unrestrained occupants are more likely than restrained occupants to be fatally injured in a crash.  Restrained fatally injured occupants include occupants in child safety seats and occupants restrained by safety belts.  Nine states had at least 50 percent restraint use among fatally injured passenger vehicle occupants (California, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington). All of these states had at least 85 percent restraint use in the general population of front seat occupants, according to observational surveys.

States' rates of observed daytime front safety belt use and number and percent of fatally injured passenger vehicle occupants by restraint use and state, 2011
State and Percent of observed safety belt useRestrained UnrestrainedUnknown Total
Number%Number%Number%Number
Alabama 88 269 40 381 56 31 5 681
Alaska 89 14 30 26 55 7 15 47
Arizona 83 166 38 221 51 46 11 433
Arkansas 78 150 37 221 55 31 8 402
California 97 928 60 525 34 102 7 1,555
Colorado 82 115 38 185 61 3 <1 303
Connecticut 88 57 39 56 39 32 22 145
Delaware 90 27 44 33 54 1 2 61
District of Columbia95 4 31 6 46 3 23 13
Florida 88 573 46 613 49 66 5 1,252
Georgia 93 390 44 421 48 69 8 880
Hawaii 96 15 38 14 35 11 28 40
Idaho 79 46 37 72 57 8 6 126
Illinois 93 269 46 269 46 41 7 579
Indiana 93 251 49 192 37 73 14 516
Iowa 94 114 42 123 46 32 12 269
Kansas 83 127 41 159 52 21 7 307
Kentucky 82 237 43 308 56 3 <1 548
Louisiana 78 170 36 269 57 33 7 472
Maine 82 47 46 51 50 4 4 102
Maryland 94 135 47 139 48 13 5 287
Massachusetts 73 72 31 108 47 50 22 230
Michigan 95 316 55 195 34 68 12 579
Minnesota 93 128 48 106 40 31 12 265
Mississippi 82 192 38 309 6200 501
Missouri 79 176 30 371 62 49 8 596
Montana 77 51 31 109 66 4 2 164
Nebraska 84 43 30 79 56 19 13 141
Nevada 94 54 39 64 47 19 14 137
New Hampshire 75 13 20 53 8000 66
New Jersey 95 199 56 153 43 6 2 358
New Mexico 91 129 54 109 45 2 <1 240
New York 91 344 57 185 31 75 12 604
North Carolina 90 418 50 380 45 39 5 837
North Dakota 77 30 26 77 67 8 7 115
Ohio 84 267 39 358 52 68 10 693
Oklahoma 86 204 39 294 56 23 4 521
Oregon 97 126 58 64 29 27 12 217
Pennsylvania 84 266 30 500 57 108 12 874
Rhode Island 80 12 32 22 59 3 8 37
South Carolina 86 249 45 258 47 41 7 548
South Dakota 73 22 25 53 61 12 14 87
Tennessee 87 282 40 373 52 56 8 711
Texas 94 980 49 839 42 172 9 1,991
Utah 89 73 44 78 47 15 9 166
Vermont 85 25 58 17 40 1 2 43
Virginia 82 247 45 301 54 7 1 555
Washington 98 157 54 103 35 31 11 291
West Virginia 85 85 32 132 50 47 18 264
Wisconsin 79 171 43 189 48 37 9 397
Wyoming 83 35 35 63 62 3 3 101
U.S. total 84 9,470 44 10,226 48 1,651 8 21,347

Rural versus urban

Nationwide, 62 percent of passenger vehicle occupant deaths in 2011 occurred in rural areas. The percentage of passenger vehicle occupant deaths on rural roads was 99 percent in Maine, 95 percent in North Dakota and 90 percent in Montana compared with 15 percent in Massachusetts, 14 percent in Rhode Island and none in the District of Columbia.

Number and percent of fatally injured passenger vehicle occupants by land use and state, 2011
StateUrban Rural UnknownTotal
Number%Number%Number%Number
Alabama 265 39 414 61 2 <1 681
Alaska 14 30 33 7000 47
Arizona 182 42 251 5800 433
Arkansas 81 20 321 8000 402
California 751 48 804 5200 1,555
Colorado 123 41 180 5900 303
Connecticut 115 79 28 19 2 1 145
Delaware 19 31 42 6900 61
District of Columbia 13 1000000 13
Florida 646 52 601 48 5 <1 1,252
Georgia 369 42 495 56 16 2 880
Hawaii 14 35 26 6500 40
Idaho 19 15 107 8500 126
Illinois 289 50 290 5000 579
Indiana 183 35 333 6500 516
Iowa 39 14 230 8600 269
Kansas 46 15 261 8500 307
Kentucky 100 18 448 8200 548
Louisiana 202 43 270 5700 472
Maine 1 1 101 9900 102
Maryland 167 58 120 4200 287
Massachusetts 194 84 34 15 2 1 230
Michigan 275 47 304 5300 579
Minnesota 69 26 196 7400 265
Mississippi 85 17 416 8300 501
Missouri 195 33 401 6700 596
Montana 16 10 148 9000 164
Nebraska 29 21 112 7900 141
Nevada 62 45 74 54 1 1 137
New Hampshire 17 26 49 7400 66
New Jersey 296 83 61 17 1 <1 358
New Mexico 36 15 204 8500 240
New York 243 40 361 6000 604
North Carolina 206 25 631 7500 837
North Dakota 6 5 109 9500 115
Ohio 216 31 477 6900 693
Oklahoma 129 25 392 7500 521
Oregon 50 23 167 7700 217
Pennsylvania 386 44 488 5600 874
Rhode Island 32 86 5 1400 37
South Carolina 80 15 468 8500 548
South Dakota 8 9 79 9100 87
Tennessee 275 39 436 6100 711
Texas 897 45 1,089 55 5 <1 1,991
Utah 80 48 86 5200 166
Vermont 10 23 33 7700 43
Virginia 180 32 318 57 57 10 555
Washington 87 30 202 69 2 1 291
West Virginia 79 30 185 7000 264
Wisconsin 115 29 282 7100 397
Wyoming 28 28 73 7200 101
U.S. total 8,019 38 13,235 62 93 <1 21,347

References