Introduction
Motor accidents have a long and bloody history within the U.S, from 1889 when motorists were driving the first cars up till today. The frequency of accidents and their fatality differs significantly from state to state, as the metric is measured based on the population of each state. Overall, the U.S. suffered 49,215 deaths due to motor accidents in 2021, which marks a 10.5% increase from 2020. This is the highest number of deaths the U.S. had due to motor accidents since 2005 when 43,005 people were killed.
Most of the time, the reason a car crash becomes fatal is due to poor road safety practices from drivers. As such, the best way to prevent motor accidents would be to follow the laws of the road and to promote a culture of safety when driving.
The increase in the number of fatalities due to motor accidents is alarming, and the federal government has not been idle. The DRIVE Safe act introduced in the senate aims to improve safety practices for commercial vehicles by instituting an apprenticeship period before a license can be earned and that these commercial vehicles are equipped with proper safety technologies.
To compare the differences in fatal car accidents from state to state, explore the data in the charts.
| # | State | Number of Fatal Car Accidents | Number of Car Accident Deaths |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 3,558 | 3,847 |
| 2 | Florida | 3,098 | 3,331 |
| 3 | Georgia | 1,522 | 1,664 |
| 4 | North Carolina | 1,412 | 1,538 |
| 5 | Ohio | 1,154 | 123 |
| 6 | Tennessee | 1,119 | 1,217 |
| 7 | Illinois | 1,087 | 1,194 |
| 8 | Michigan | 1,011 | 1,084 |
| 9 | Arizona | 967 | 1,054 |
| 10 | New York | 963 | 1,046 |
| 11 | South Carolina | 962 | 1,064 |
| 12 | Missouri | 914 | 987 |
| 13 | Alabama | 852 | 934 |
| 14 | Indiana | 815 | 897 |
| 15 | Virginia | 796 | 850 |
| 16 | Louisiana | 762 | 828 |
| 17 | Kentucky | 709 | 780 |
| 18 | Mississippi | 687 | 752 |
| 19 | Oklahoma | 599 | 652 |
| 20 | Arkansas | 585 | 638 |
| 21 | Colorado | 574 | 622 |
| 22 | Wisconsin | 561 | 614 |
| 23 | New Jersey | 547 | 584 |
| 24 | Maryland | 540 | 567 |
| 25 | Washington | 525 | 560 |
| 26 | Oregon | 461 | 508 |
| 27 | Kansas | 382 | 426 |
| 28 | Minnesota | 369 | 394 |
| 29 | New Mexico | 365 | 398 |
| 30 | Texas | 352 | 3,874 |
| 31 | Massachusetts | 327 | 343 |
| 32 | Iowa | 304 | 337 |
| 33 | Nevada | 293 | 317 |
| 34 | Connecticut | 279 | 295 |
| 35 | Utah | 256 | 276 |
| 36 | West Virginia | 249 | 267 |
| 37 | Nebraska | 217 | 233 |
| 38 | Montana | 190 | 213 |
| 39 | Idaho | 188 | 214 |
| 40 | Maine | 151 | 164 |
| 41 | South Dakota | 132 | 141 |
| 42 | Wyoming | 114 | 127 |
| 43 | Pennsylvania | 106 | 1,129 |
| 44 | Delaware | 104 | 116 |
| 45 | New Hampshire | 98 | 104 |
| 46 | North Dakota | 96 | 100 |
| 47 | Hawaii | 81 | 85 |
| 48 | Rhode Island | 66 | 67 |
| 49 | Vermont | 58 | 62 |
| 50 | Alaska | 53 | 64 |
| 51 | District of Columbia | 34 | 36 |
Number of Fatal Car Accidents by State
Alabama
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
852
Ranked in the US
#13
Ranked in the US
#14
Alaska
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
53
Ranked in the US
#50
Ranked in the US
#49
Arizona
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
967
Ranked in the US
#9
Ranked in the US
#11
Arkansas
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
585
Ranked in the US
#20
Ranked in the US
#21
California
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
3,558
Ranked in the US
#1
Ranked in the US
#2
Colorado
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
574
Ranked in the US
#21
Ranked in the US
#22
Connecticut
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
279
Ranked in the US
#34
Ranked in the US
#34
Delaware
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
104
Ranked in the US
#44
Ranked in the US
#44
District of Columbia
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
34
Ranked in the US
#51
Ranked in the US
#51
Florida
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
3,098
Ranked in the US
#2
Ranked in the US
#3
Georgia
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
1,522
Ranked in the US
#3
Ranked in the US
#4
Hawaii
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
81
Ranked in the US
#47
Ranked in the US
#47
Idaho
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
188
Ranked in the US
#39
Ranked in the US
#38
Illinois
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
1,087
Ranked in the US
#7
Ranked in the US
#7
Indiana
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
815
Ranked in the US
#14
Ranked in the US
#15
Iowa
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
304
Ranked in the US
#32
Ranked in the US
#32
Kansas
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
382
Ranked in the US
#27
Ranked in the US
#28
Kentucky
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
709
Ranked in the US
#17
Ranked in the US
#18
Louisiana
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
762
Ranked in the US
#16
Ranked in the US
#17
Maine
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
151
Ranked in the US
#40
Ranked in the US
#40
Maryland
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
540
Ranked in the US
#24
Ranked in the US
#25
Massachusetts
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
327
Ranked in the US
#31
Ranked in the US
#31
Michigan
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
1,011
Ranked in the US
#8
Ranked in the US
#9
Minnesota
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
369
Ranked in the US
#28
Ranked in the US
#30
Mississippi
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
687
Ranked in the US
#18
Ranked in the US
#19
Missouri
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
914
Ranked in the US
#12
Ranked in the US
#13
Montana
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
190
Ranked in the US
#38
Ranked in the US
#39
Nebraska
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
217
Ranked in the US
#37
Ranked in the US
#37
Nevada
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
293
Ranked in the US
#33
Ranked in the US
#33
New Hampshire
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
98
Ranked in the US
#45
Ranked in the US
#45
New Jersey
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
547
Ranked in the US
#23
Ranked in the US
#24
New Mexico
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
365
Ranked in the US
#29
Ranked in the US
#29
New York
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
963
Ranked in the US
#10
Ranked in the US
#12
North Carolina
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
1,412
Ranked in the US
#4
Ranked in the US
#5
North Dakota
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
96
Ranked in the US
#46
Ranked in the US
#46
Ohio
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
1,154
Ranked in the US
#5
Ranked in the US
#43
Oklahoma
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
599
Ranked in the US
#19
Ranked in the US
#20
Oregon
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
461
Ranked in the US
#26
Ranked in the US
#27
Pennsylvania
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
106
Ranked in the US
#43
Ranked in the US
#8
Rhode Island
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
66
Ranked in the US
#48
Ranked in the US
#48
South Carolina
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
962
Ranked in the US
#11
Ranked in the US
#10
South Dakota
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
132
Ranked in the US
#41
Ranked in the US
#41
Tennessee
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
1,119
Ranked in the US
#6
Ranked in the US
#6
Texas
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
352
Ranked in the US
#30
Ranked in the US
#1
Utah
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
256
Ranked in the US
#35
Ranked in the US
#35
Vermont
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
58
Ranked in the US
#49
Ranked in the US
#50
Virginia
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
796
Ranked in the US
#15
Ranked in the US
#16
Washington
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
525
Ranked in the US
#25
Ranked in the US
#26
West Virginia
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
249
Ranked in the US
#36
Ranked in the US
#36
Wisconsin
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
561
Ranked in the US
#22
Ranked in the US
#23
Wyoming
Number of Fatal Car Accidents
114
Ranked in the US
#42
Ranked in the US
#42