How Many People Die on US Roads Each Year? 2024 Data

Quick answer: 39,254 people died in motor vehicle crashes on US roads in 2024, according to NHTSA's final figures. That is 4.3% fewer than the 41,025 deaths in 2023 and the second annual fall in a row from 42,721 in 2022. The death rate was 1.19 per 100 million miles travelled. Even with the improvement, 36,297 fatal crashes still killed more than 100 people a day on average.

The headline numbers

• 39,254 deaths in 2024, down 1,771 (4.3%) from 41,025 in 2023.
• 42,721 deaths in 2022, so 2024 is the second consecutive annual fall.
• 36,297 fatal crashes and 6,180,241 police-reported crashes in total.
• 2,422,195 people injured, only slightly fewer than the 2,442,694 injured in 2023.
• Death rate 1.19 per 100 million vehicle miles travelled, down from 1.26 in 2023 and 1.34 in 2022.
• 11.54 deaths per 100,000 people, down from 12.18 in 2023 and 12.79 in 2022.

What kills people on US roads

Two behaviours dominate the toll, and they overlap:

• Alcohol-impaired driving: 11,904 deaths, or 30% of all traffic deaths in 2024.
• Speeding: 11,288 deaths, or 29%, down from 11,913 in 2023, a fall of 5.2%.

These shares overlap: a single crash can involve both an impaired driver and speeding, so the two percentages cannot simply be added together. Together they show that a large share of the toll comes from choices made before and during the drive, not from the road itself. NHTSA also reports that 19% of all drivers involved in fatal crashes in 2024 were speeding, and that estimated front-seat belt use for adults was 91.2%, slightly down from 91.9% in 2023.

Who faces the highest risk per mile

The risk per mile travelled varies enormously by vehicle type. In 2024, the fatality rate for motorcycle riders was 28.00 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles travelled, compared with 1.05 for passenger car occupants, 0.63 for light truck occupants and 0.28 for large truck occupants. Motorcycling is a small share of total travel but a large share of the risk, which is why rider deaths feature so heavily in the national toll despite riders being a minority of road users.

Where deaths happen

• Rural roads: 16,006 deaths, or 41% of the total.
• Urban roads: 22,905 deaths, or 59%.

The rural share was the same in 2023, when rural roads accounted for 16,796 deaths and urban roads for 24,036. Rural roads therefore continue to account for about two-fifths of deaths even though most Americans live in urban areas.

By state, the picture varies sharply. Texas recorded the most deaths in absolute terms at 4,160 in 2024, while Mississippi had the highest rate at 25.6 deaths per 100,000 people and Rhode Island the lowest at 4.7, according to NHTSA FARS 2024 figures tabulated by state. See US road deaths by state for every state's figures.

Is the trend improving

Yes, but slowly, and from a high level. Deaths rose sharply during the pandemic years and reached 42,721 in 2022. They have fallen in each year since, to 41,025 in 2023 and 39,254 in 2024. NHTSA's early estimate for 2025 puts deaths at 36,640, a further 6.7% fall, with the rate down to 1.10 per 100 million miles, and deaths falling in 39 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. But that is an early estimate, not a final count, and it will be revised.

The injury picture has improved much less: 2,422,195 people were injured in 2024, barely below the 2023 figure, which is a reminder that fewer deaths does not yet mean far fewer crashes.

How these numbers were counted

The figures come from NHTSA's Overview of Motor Vehicle Traffic Crashes in 2024 and its Quick Facts 2024 tables, built on the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), the census of fatal crashes on US public roads. The 2024 figures use the 2024 Annual Report File and can be revised in the final file. Crash and injury totals come from FARS and the Crash Report Sampling System, and the rates use Federal Highway Administration mileage and Census Bureau population estimates. The 2025 figure is an early estimate and is labelled as such wherever it appears.

Related reading: all Live Accident Tracker articles and world road-safety statistics.