Car Accident Statistics

Below are some updated 2021 car accident statistics for Maryland and the United States. Elsewhere, we provide the settlement value of car and truck accident claims in Maryland and drunk driving statistics and texting accident statistics.

The following car accident statistics are offered just to give a context of the scope of the problem and to highlight some of the points we have been making:

• Smaller, more efficient vehicles offer less protection to occupants in a collision.
• Distracted driving has become one of the biggest dangers on the road today thanks to smart phones and in-car technology.

With that in mind, we offer the following car crash statistics:

Total Car Accidents

• There were a total of 6,756,000 police-reported car accidents in the United States in 2019 and an additional 10 million estimated auto accidents that were not reported according the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
• There were a total of 1,916,000 medically consulted injuries resulting from auto accidents in 2019 – causing a total estimate loss of $413 billion (which includes lost earnings, medical expenses, property damage and employer costs). This represents a 1% decrease from 2018.

Car Accident Fatalities

• 33,244 people were killed in car accidents in 2019 based on NHTSA data (which sometimes differs from other estimates).
• This represents a small decrease in car accident fatalities since compared to 2018 (33,919).
• The total number of accident fatalities is not a very insightful statistic for evaluating car accident safety trends. Deaths per cars on the road and deaths per miles driven are much more accurate measures of highway safety. Both of these analytical tools show that motor vehicles are comparatively safer now than ever before:
  • In 1913 there were 33 fatalities for every 10,000 registered vehicles. In 2019 there were only 1.5 deaths for every 10,000 registered vehicles. This represents a decrease of 95%.
  • Deaths per total vehicle miles driven has decreased by a factor of 16 since 1920.
• The fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT) was 1.11 in 2019. This is down from 1.14 in 2018 and 1.17 in 2017. In 1980 the VMT was 3.3.

Total Car Accidents in Maryland

• There were a total of 120,000 police reported car accidents in the state of Maryland in 2019 according to the Maryland Department of Transportation.
• About 30% of the police-reported car accidents resulted in physical injuries to drivers or passengers.
• Just over 50,000 people were injured in Maryland car accidents in 2019. About 3,500 of these were classified as “serious” physical injuries.

Car Accident Fatalities in Maryland

• Fatal accidents accounted for only .5% of all police-reported accidents.
• 512 people died in Maryland traffic crashes during 2019. This number is down slightly compared to 2018 when 521 people died on Maryland’s roads.
• The 5-year fatality rate per vehicle miles driven in Maryland is .894. This is less than the 5-year national VMT fatality rate of 1.2 suggesting that driving in Maryland is somewhat safer compared to other parts of the country.

• Vehicle speed is the greatest predictor of the extent of the driver's injury, followed by the type of crash, the age of the victim, use of a seatbelt, the mass of the vehicle, and sex of the driver.
• Distracted driving is now the number one killer of American teens. Five seconds is the average time a driver's eyes are off the road while texting. When traveling at 55 mph, that equates to the distance of one football field.
• Pedestrians jaywalking, or crossing mid-block is the leading accident cause of pedestrian accidents. These accidents are 39 percent of the deaths in Maryland suburbs, 21 percent of the time in the District and 18 percent of the time in Northern Virginia.
• In 2019, teenage drivers in Maryland were involved ib 90 fatal auto accidents and about 7,000 crashes with injuries according to the Maryland Highway Safety Office.

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Experienced counsel can help you to get the compensation you deserve for your injuries. Our firm has the experience and the resources to did through these complicated issues and stand up to the insurance companies to fight for equitable compensation.

If you or someone you know has been injured in a motor vehicle collision, select here for a free consultation or call 1-800-553-8082 to speak with an attorney who can help you figure out what the best path is for you.

• How Long Should It Take to Settle My Case? (information on how long your personal injury accident claim - as opposed to property damage claim - will take for settlement)
• Guide to Handling These Claims (information on everything you want to know about car accident)
• Sample Demand Letter (an example of an accident demand letter for money damages to the insurance company)
• Settling Your Case Without Ever Hiring a Lawyer: tips and strategies for dealing with insurance companies in vehicle crash cases
• Is There a Colossus Insurance Calculator? (how Colossus works in valuing claims
• Putting a Dollar Amount on an Injury Case (article on how to value the pain and suffering component of personal injury claims)