Fatality Facts 2018Gender

Overview

Many more men than women die each year in motor vehicle crashes. Men typically drive more miles than women and more often engage in risky driving practices including not using safety belts, driving while impaired by alcohol, and speeding. Crashes involving male drivers often are more severe than those involving female drivers. Li, G.; Baker, S.P.; Langlois, J.A.; and Kelen, G.D. 1998. Are female drivers safer? An application of the decomposition method. Epidemiology 9:379-84.However, females are more likely than males to be killed or injured in crashes of equal severity, although gender differences in fatality risk diminish with age. Kahane, C.J. 2013. Injury vulnerability and effectiveness of occupant protection technologies for older occupants and women. Report no. DOT HS-811-766. Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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

Posted December 2019.

Trends

For nearly every year from 1975 to 2018, the number of male crash deaths was more than twice the number of female crash deaths, but the gap has narrowed. From 1975 to 2018, male crash deaths declined by 21 percent and female crash deaths declined by 10 percent. Since 1975, motorcyclist deaths have increased by more than 50 percent among both males and females.

Motor vehicle crash deaths by gender, 1975-2018

Motor vehicle crash deaths by type and gender, 1975-2018
Year	Passenger vehicle drivers		Passenger vehicle passengers		Large truck drivers		Large truck passengers		Pedestrians		Bicyclists		Motorcyclists		Total motor vehicle deaths*
Year	Male	Female	Male	Female	Male	Female	Male	Female	Male	Female	Male	Female	Male	Female	Male	Female
1975	15,706	3,642	6,069	5,095	542	4	88	24	5,196	2,319	820	183	2,928	252	32,675	11,844
1976	16,013	4,078	6,206	5,330	667	6	102	34	5,120	2,307	751	163	3,015	291	33,038	12,481
1977	16,499	4,442	6,242	5,542	760	7	104	44	5,331	2,400	730	192	3,758	341	34,627	13,248
1978	17,974	4,782	6,373	5,659	799	15	100	49	5,494	2,296	714	178	4,173	401	36,731	13,591
1979	18,273	4,836	6,430	5,388	817	10	140	41	5,701	2,391	759	173	4,452	440	37,588	13,498
1980	18,110	4,877	6,439	5,438	709	9	99	49	5,613	2,454	782	183	4,684	453	37,392	13,689
1981	17,592	4,910	5,972	5,077	680	10	94	46	5,459	2,332	748	181	4,484	412	35,930	13,161
1982	15,129	4,534	5,298	4,609	591	9	77	41	5,144	2,185	720	144	4,093	356	31,879	12,062
1983	14,620	4,716	5,022	4,699	611	4	81	35	4,775	2,050	700	130	3,934	326	30,499	12,084
1984	14,934	5,366	5,094	4,605	706	14	85	43	5,016	2,005	684	153	4,229	373	31,541	12,709
1985	14,768	5,288	5,009	4,704	620	12	77	33	4,671	2,133	732	137	4,191	371	30,959	12,856
1986	15,935	5,564	5,667	4,931	579	10	67	32	4,771	2,004	789	140	4,231	333	32,856	13,191
1987	16,133	6,022	5,782	5,093	551	8	51	42	4,777	1,967	826	114	3,695	339	32,621	13,757
1988	16,744	6,140	5,815	5,293	606	8	65	25	4,756	2,111	773	128	3,401	259	32,947	14,123
1989	16,284	6,269	5,562	5,408	539	7	57	38	4,594	1,959	696	126	2,882	253	31,338	14,232
1990	15,901	6,049	5,587	5,061	429	7	47	19	4,495	1,985	732	121	2,987	256	30,916	13,665
1991	14,824	5,727	5,231	4,904	403	4	25	16	3,985	1,815	715	121	2,578	227	28,545	12,953
1992	14,021	5,550	4,995	4,779	358	11	27	14	3,867	1,679	627	90	2,211	183	26,772	12,444
1993	14,298	5,737	5,014	4,869	373	10	28	12	3,936	1,711	702	104	2,234	211	27,322	12,814
1994	14,612	6,034	5,041	5,022	381	7	40	25	3,757	1,732	687	109	2,108	209	27,411	13,293
1995	15,164	6,293	5,203	5,137	389	11	30	13	3,856	1,728	699	128	2,023	203	28,133	13,663
1996	15,066	6,563	5,379	5,260	380	4	33	7	3,780	1,667	654	107	1,966	195	28,061	13,991
1997	15,023	6,683	5,231	5,294	419	8	34	19	3,643	1,677	712	99	1,926	190	27,827	14,168
1998	14,975	6,651	5,007	5,047	427	14	38	22	3,558	1,670	658	99	2,088	206	27,608	13,885
1999	15,238	6,658	5,044	4,979	457	13	43	23	3,466	1,472	656	94	2,257	225	28,040	13,667
2000	15,323	6,495	5,381	4,831	443	14	25	30	3,251	1,512	613	76	2,618	277	28,545	13,396
2001	15,396	6,465	5,275	4,705	403	11	48	13	3,421	1,479	657	72	2,902	293	28,986	13,205
2002	15,907	6,629	5,361	4,737	397	12	40	20	3,298	1,552	590	73	2,959	308	29,466	13,529
2003	15,551	6,647	5,209	4,682	420	14	34	21	3,274	1,499	554	71	3,338	372	29,346	13,532
2004	15,390	6,562	5,103	4,638	433	7	43	24	3,237	1,435	626	96	3,591	433	29,443	13,387
2005	15,564	6,386	4,936	4,489	460	19	39	15	3,450	1,441	687	97	4,128	447	30,347	13,155
2006	15,199	6,390	4,707	4,223	455	11	36	19	3,332	1,459	675	94	4,387	423	29,849	12,842
2007	14,648	5,892	4,498	4,038	464	8	27	12	3,288	1,411	616	83	4,710	464	29,173	12,080
2008	13,022	5,239	3,910	3,314	382	10	33	13	3,078	1,331	624	92	4,835	471	26,744	10,665
2009	11,928	4,905	3,410	3,215	272	8	20	8	2,827	1,282	549	79	4,031	436	23,776	10,098
2010	11,103	4,923	3,257	3,022	302	9	24	11	2,961	1,339	537	84	4,079	438	22,988	10,006
2011	10,880	4,677	3,017	2,791	365	8	23	11	3,102	1,354	581	99	4,201	429	22,937	9,534
2012	11,234	4,681	3,029	2,904	371	5	25	14	3,337	1,478	639	89	4,527	457	23,961	9,809
2013	10,957	4,617	2,912	2,811	359	4	27	11	3,277	1,496	647	99	4,274	417	23,243	9,638
2014	10,978	4,514	2,786	2,798	373	6	23	6	3,426	1,477	640	81	3,936	365	23,266	9,463
2015	11,828	4,795	2,980	3,072	376	11	26	8	3,832	1,654	706	121	4,559	466	25,179	10,284
2016	12,504	5,129	3,054	3,204	422	4	28	15	4,245	1,810	714	128	4,872	462	26,773	10,988
2017	12,571	5,173	2,972	3,094	416	6	35	8	4,234	1,812	708	89	4,782	445	26,618	10,806
2018	12,107	5,056	2,743	2,941	396	11	39	16	4,363	1,899	735	114	4,537	446	25,841	10,676
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Seventy-one percent of all motor vehicle crash deaths in 2018 were males. Males accounted for 71 percent of passenger vehicle driver deaths, 48 percent of passenger vehicle passenger deaths, 97 percent of large truck driver deaths, 71 percent of large truck passenger deaths, 69 percent of pedestrian deaths, 86 percent of bicyclist deaths, and 91 percent of motorcyclist deaths.

Number and percent of motor vehicle crash deaths by type and gender, 2018
Gender	Passenger vehicle drivers		Passenger vehicle passengers		Large truck drivers		Large truck passengers		Pedestrians		Bicyclists		Motorcyclists		Total motor vehicle deaths*
Gender	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Male	12,107	71	2,743	48	396	97	39	71	4,363	69	735	86	4,537	91	25,841	71
Female	5,056	29	2,941	52	11	3	16	29	1,899	30	114	13	446	9	10,676	29
Total*	17,168	100	5,688	100	407	100	55	100	6,283	100	854	100	4,985	100	36,560	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Per capita passenger vehicle occupant death rates during 1975 to 2018 have been 1.8 to 2.6 times higher for males than for females. From 1975 to 2018, the rate of passenger vehicle occupant deaths per 100,000 people decreased 56 percent among males and 39 percent among females.

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths per 100,000 people by gender, 1975-2018

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths per 100,000 people by gender, 1975-2018
Year	Male			Female			Total*
Year	Population	Deaths	Rate	Population	Deaths	Rate	Population	Deaths	Rate
1975	105,365,965	21,841	20.7	110,607,234	8,755	7.9	215,973,199	30,601	14.2
1976	106,308,604	22,300	21.0	111,726,560	9,420	8.4	218,035,164	31,724	14.5
1977	107,334,548	22,806	21.2	112,904,877	10,015	8.9	220,239,425	32,823	14.9
1978	108,423,580	24,443	22.5	114,160,965	10,477	9.2	222,584,545	34,923	15.7
1979	109,583,961	24,772	22.6	115,471,526	10,252	8.9	225,055,487	35,026	15.6
1980	110,398,754	24,649	22.3	116,825,965	10,342	8.9	227,224,719	34,996	15.4
1981	111,502,912	23,667	21.2	117,962,696	10,038	8.5	229,465,608	33,711	14.7
1982	112,579,479	20,496	18.2	119,085,017	9,158	7.7	231,664,496	29,656	12.8
1983	113,646,987	19,720	17.4	120,144,916	9,430	7.8	233,791,903	29,154	12.5
1984	114,670,252	20,103	17.5	121,154,531	9,991	8.2	235,824,783	30,094	12.8
1985	115,729,577	19,826	17.1	122,194,155	10,016	8.2	237,923,732	29,848	12.5
1986	116,865,225	21,677	18.5	123,267,616	10,514	8.5	240,132,841	32,224	13.4
1987	117,960,907	21,986	18.6	124,328,116	11,148	9.0	242,289,023	33,145	13.7
1988	119,085,496	22,633	19.0	125,413,340	11,459	9.1	244,498,836	34,105	13.9
1989	120,277,490	21,897	18.2	126,541,629	11,693	9.2	246,819,119	33,599	13.6
1990	121,626,118	21,564	17.7	127,838,278	11,132	8.7	249,464,396	32,711	13.1
1991	122,956,043	20,151	16.4	129,197,049	10,651	8.2	252,153,092	30,810	12.2
1992	124,423,544	19,077	15.3	130,606,155	10,350	7.9	255,029,699	29,457	11.6
1993	125,787,805	19,360	15.4	131,994,803	10,622	8.0	257,782,608	29,994	11.6
1994	127,049,175	19,730	15.5	133,277,846	11,078	8.3	260,327,021	30,820	11.8
1995	128,293,712	20,443	15.9	134,509,564	11,452	8.5	262,803,276	31,914	12.1
1996	129,504,353	20,491	15.8	135,724,219	11,852	8.7	265,228,572	32,354	12.2
1997	130,783,107	20,316	15.5	137,000,500	12,010	8.8	267,783,607	32,343	12.1
1998	132,029,729	20,058	15.2	138,218,274	11,715	8.5	270,248,003	31,781	11.8
1999	133,276,559	20,347	15.3	139,414,254	11,654	8.4	272,690,813	32,008	11.7
2000	138,468,999	20,759	15.0	143,723,163	11,346	7.9	282,192,162	32,109	11.4
2001	140,012,615	20,747	14.8	145,089,460	11,187	7.7	285,102,075	31,938	11.2
2002	141,518,989	21,326	15.1	146,422,231	11,389	7.8	287,941,220	32,724	11.4
2003	143,024,340	20,810	14.5	147,764,636	11,354	7.7	290,788,976	32,166	11.1
2004	144,537,408	20,534	14.2	149,117,996	11,215	7.5	293,655,404	31,750	10.8
2005	145,999,746	20,550	14.1	150,410,658	10,898	7.2	296,410,404	31,455	10.6
2006	147,512,152	19,977	13.5	151,886,332	10,641	7.0	299,398,484	30,628	10.2
2007	148,658,898	19,198	12.9	152,962,259	9,952	6.5	301,621,157	29,155	9.7
2008	149,924,604	16,973	11.3	154,135,120	8,568	5.6	304,059,724	25,547	8.4
2009	151,449,490	15,376	10.2	155,557,060	8,126	5.2	307,006,550	23,507	7.7
2010	151,781,326	14,395	9.5	156,964,212	7,953	5.1	308,745,538	22,351	7.2
2011	153,290,819	13,928	9.1	158,301,098	7,478	4.7	311,591,917	21,413	6.9
2012	154,492,067	14,304	9.3	159,421,973	7,598	4.8	313,914,040	21,906	7.0
2013	155,651,602	13,913	8.9	160,477,237	7,442	4.6	316,128,839	21,361	6.8
2014	156,936,487	13,803	8.8	161,920,569	7,325	4.5	318,857,056	21,131	6.6
2015	158,229,297	14,852	9.4	163,189,523	7,878	4.8	321,418,820	22,741	7.1
2016	159,243,817	15,590	9.8	164,162,118	8,359	5.1	323,405,935	23,957	7.4
2017	160,408,119	15,582	9.7	165,311,059	8,276	5.0	325,719,178	23,866	7.3
2018	161,128,679	14,874	9.2	166,038,755	8,007	4.8	327,167,434	22,891	7.0
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Age differences

The number of driver fatal crash involvements per 100 million miles driven in 2016-17 was 63 percent higher for males (2.1 per 100 million miles traveled) than for females (1.3 per 100 million miles traveled). Rates were substantially higher for males than for females ages 16-29, but were only slightly higher for ages 30 and older. The gender difference was largest among drivers ages 20-29. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. 2020. [Unpublished analysis of April 1, 2016 - March 31, 2017 data from the US Department of Transportation's Fatality Analysis Reporting System and the National Household Travel Survey]. Arlington, VA.

Passenger vehicle fatal crash rates per 100 million miles traveled, by driver gender, April 1, 2016 - March 31, 2017
Age	Male			Female			Total*
Age	Crash involvements	Miles	Rate	Crash involvements	Miles	Rate	Crash involvements	Miles	Rate
16-19	2,019	31,732,691,896	6.4	1,003	30,677,731,652	3.3	3,023	62,410,423,548	4.8
20-29	7,327	187,497,565,846	3.9	3,246	198,148,511,278	1.6	10,578	385,646,077,124	2.7
30-59	12,875	785,270,175,131	1.6	6,011	558,224,868,022	1.1	18,888	1,343,495,043,154	1.4
60-69	3,019	207,918,951,320	1.5	1,380	136,711,746,704	1.0	4,400	344,630,698,024	1.3
≥70	2,924	104,684,593,355	2.8	1,377	66,739,614,422	2.1	4,302	171,424,207,778	2.5
Total*	28,182	1,317,103,977,548	2.1	13,020	990,502,472,079	1.3	41,234	2,307,606,449,627	1.8
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

In 2018, the rates of passenger vehicle occupant deaths per 100,000 people were much higher among males than among females for every age group except 0-15 years. Male passenger vehicle occupants 85 and older had the highest fatality rate, followed by males ages 80-84 and 20-24. Fatality rates were lowest among occupants 0-15 years old for both males and females.

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths per 100,000 people by age and gender, 2018
Age	Male			Female			Total*
Age	Population	Deaths	Rate	Population	Deaths	Rate	Population	Deaths	Rate
0-15	33,218,658	431	1.3	31,808,004	416	1.3	65,026,662	847	1.3
16-19	8,663,282	1,041	12.0	8,292,721	681	8.2	16,956,003	1,723	10.2
20-24	11,201,547	1,910	17.1	10,672,032	854	8.0	21,873,579	2,765	12.6
25-29	12,018,838	1,681	14.0	11,542,918	739	6.4	23,561,756	2,420	10.3
30-34	11,191,871	1,303	11.6	10,944,147	578	5.3	22,136,018	1,882	8.5
35-39	10,790,190	1,066	9.9	10,773,397	523	4.9	21,563,587	1,589	7.4
40-44	9,797,410	891	9.1	9,916,891	416	4.2	19,714,301	1,307	6.6
45-49	10,263,995	937	9.1	10,483,140	455	4.3	20,747,135	1,392	6.7
50-54	10,277,207	900	8.8	10,607,357	419	4.0	20,884,564	1,319	6.3
55-59	10,669,327	1,013	9.5	11,271,658	512	4.5	21,940,985	1,525	7.0
60-64	9,729,536	841	8.6	10,602,115	471	4.4	20,331,651	1,313	6.5
65-69	8,034,813	720	9.0	9,052,080	429	4.7	17,086,893	1,149	6.7
70-74	6,211,272	645	10.4	7,194,151	413	5.7	13,405,423	1,058	7.9
75-79	4,144,674	556	13.4	5,122,392	388	7.6	9,267,066	944	10.2
80-84	2,590,366	450	17.4	3,536,942	319	9.0	6,127,308	769	12.6
≥85	2,325,693	474	20.4	4,218,810	386	9.1	6,544,503	860	13.1
Total	161,128,679	14,874	9.2	166,038,755	8,007	4.8	327,167,434	22,891	7.0
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Alcohol involvement

Each year from 1982 to 2018, the proportion of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers with blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) at or above 0.08 percent has been substantially higher for males than for females.

Estimated number and percent of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers with BACs ≥ 0.08 percent, 1982-2018
Year	Male			Female			Total*
	Drivers killed	Estimated deaths with BACs ≥ 0.08		Drivers killed	Estimated deaths with BACs ≥ 0.08		Drivers killed	Estimated deaths with BACs ≥ 0.08
	Number	Number	%	Number	Number	%	Number	Number	%
1982	15,129	8,529	56	4,534	1,495	33	19,664	10,024	51
1983	14,620	8,070	55	4,716	1,458	31	19,338	9,529	49
1984	14,934	7,856	53	5,366	1,523	28	20,300	9,379	46
1985	14,768	7,325	50	5,288	1,348	25	20,058	8,674	43
1986	15,935	7,950	50	5,564	1,444	26	21,503	9,396	44
1987	16,133	7,787	48	6,022	1,554	26	22,157	9,343	42
1988	16,744	8,080	48	6,140	1,500	24	22,884	9,581	42
1989	16,284	7,710	47	6,269	1,491	24	22,554	9,201	41
1990	15,901	7,591	48	6,049	1,380	23	21,953	8,973	41
1991	14,824	6,916	47	5,727	1,326	23	20,551	8,242	40
1992	14,021	6,216	44	5,550	1,217	22	19,573	7,434	38
1993	14,298	6,114	43	5,737	1,213	21	20,036	7,328	37
1994	14,612	5,898	40	6,034	1,184	20	20,647	7,083	34
1995	15,164	6,216	41	6,293	1,272	20	21,457	7,488	35
1996	15,066	6,063	40	6,563	1,272	19	21,631	7,336	34
1997	15,023	5,819	39	6,683	1,248	19	21,711	7,069	33
1998	14,975	5,712	38	6,651	1,232	19	21,627	6,945	32
1999	15,238	5,832	38	6,658	1,161	17	21,899	6,994	32
2000	15,323	5,844	38	6,495	1,283	20	21,819	7,127	33
2001	15,396	5,954	39	6,465	1,250	19	21,862	7,205	33
2002	15,907	6,182	39	6,629	1,199	18	22,537	7,381	33
2003	15,551	5,938	38	6,647	1,182	18	22,200	7,120	32
2004	15,390	5,804	38	6,562	1,148	17	21,952	6,952	32
2005	15,564	5,897	38	6,386	1,205	19	21,953	7,104	32
2006	15,199	5,776	38	6,390	1,387	22	21,592	7,164	33
2007	14,648	5,841	40	5,892	1,216	21	20,542	7,057	34
2008	13,022	5,211	40	5,239	1,067	20	18,266	6,280	34
2009	11,928	4,743	40	4,905	1,048	21	16,834	5,791	34
2010	11,103	4,114	37	4,923	1,062	22	16,029	5,177	32
2011	10,880	4,112	38	4,677	951	20	15,561	5,065	33
2012	11,234	4,263	38	4,681	941	20	15,915	5,205	33
2013	10,957	4,121	38	4,617	985	21	15,577	5,109	33
2014	10,978	3,937	36	4,514	967	21	15,495	4,906	32
2015	11,828	3,916	33	4,795	998	21	16,629	4,916	30
2016	12,504	4,118	33	5,129	1,027	20	17,641	5,149	29
2017	12,571	4,101	33	5,173	1,013	20	17,751	5,116	29
2018	12,107	3,896	32	5,056	1,049	21	17,168	4,946	29
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Speeding

Each year from 1982 to 2018, speeding was identified as a contributing factor for a greater proportion of male drivers killed in motor vehicle crashes than for female drivers killed in crashes.

Percentage of fatally injured male and female drivers who were coded as speeding, 1982-2018
Year	Male			Female			Total*
	Drivers killed	Speeding related		Drivers killed	Speeding related		Drivers killed	Speeding related
	Number	Number	%	Number	Number	%	Number	Number	%
1982	15,129	5,682	38	4,534	1,068	24	19,664	6,750	34
1983	14,620	5,250	36	4,716	1,060	22	19,338	6,310	33
1984	14,934	5,384	36	5,366	1,197	22	20,300	6,581	32
1985	14,768	5,515	37	5,288	1,256	24	20,058	6,771	34
1986	15,935	6,110	38	5,564	1,302	23	21,503	7,413	34
1987	16,133	5,977	37	6,022	1,414	23	22,157	7,392	33
1988	16,744	6,294	38	6,140	1,399	23	22,884	7,693	34
1989	16,284	5,905	36	6,269	1,453	23	22,554	7,358	33
1990	15,901	5,573	35	6,049	1,275	21	21,953	6,850	31
1991	14,824	5,206	35	5,727	1,284	22	20,551	6,490	32
1992	14,021	4,782	34	5,550	1,205	22	19,573	5,988	31
1993	14,298	4,732	33	5,737	1,197	21	20,036	5,930	30
1994	14,612	4,688	32	6,034	1,276	21	20,647	5,965	29
1995	15,164	5,040	33	6,293	1,353	22	21,457	6,393	30
1996	15,066	4,942	33	6,563	1,439	22	21,631	6,383	30
1997	15,023	4,852	32	6,683	1,449	22	21,711	6,303	29
1998	14,975	4,802	32	6,651	1,361	20	21,627	6,163	28
1999	15,238	4,779	31	6,658	1,353	20	21,899	6,134	28
2000	15,323	4,659	30	6,495	1,398	22	21,819	6,057	28
2001	15,396	4,792	31	6,465	1,309	20	21,862	6,102	28
2002	15,907	5,348	34	6,629	1,461	22	22,537	6,809	30
2003	15,551	5,041	32	6,647	1,451	22	22,200	6,492	29
2004	15,390	4,948	32	6,562	1,399	21	21,952	6,347	29
2005	15,564	5,149	33	6,386	1,392	22	21,953	6,542	30
2006	15,199	5,141	34	6,390	1,448	23	21,592	6,590	31
2007	14,648	4,939	34	5,892	1,291	22	20,542	6,231	30
2008	13,022	4,368	34	5,239	1,211	23	18,266	5,579	31
2009	11,928	3,964	33	4,905	1,099	22	16,834	5,063	30
2010	11,103	3,704	33	4,923	1,172	24	16,029	4,878	30
2011	10,880	3,609	33	4,677	1,013	22	15,561	4,624	30
2012	11,234	3,681	33	4,681	1,056	23	15,915	4,737	30
2013	10,957	3,433	31	4,617	1,020	22	15,577	4,455	29
2014	10,978	3,329	30	4,514	920	20	15,495	4,250	27
2015	11,828	3,363	28	4,795	956	20	16,629	4,320	26
2016	12,504	3,511	28	5,129	1,035	20	17,641	4,549	26
2017	12,571	3,420	27	5,173	927	18	17,751	4,350	25
2018	12,107	3,307	27	5,056	882	17	17,168	4,190	24
*Total includes other and/or unknowns