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Passenger vehicle car accident data in this entry describe deaths among occupants of passenger cars and light trucks in the United States. The figures come from NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System, or FARS, and cover fatal crashes only. National passenger vehicle occupant deaths numbered 22,713 in 2024, including 10,675 passenger car occupant deaths and 12,038 light truck occupant deaths. These counts select fatally injured drivers and passengers in the specified vehicle classes. They do not represent all people killed in crashes involving a passenger vehicle or the number of vehicles involved.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

Contents

Official definition and data selection

The official classification groups passenger cars with light trucks, including pickups, utility vehicles, vans and the other light-truck category. NHTSA's classification documentation describes manufacturer-based vehicle information obtained through vPIC, using vehicle identification numbers. Operationally, this calculation selects the passenger-car, pickup, utility, van and other-light-truck classes in the auxiliary vehicle file's A_BODY field. Linked person and vehicle records then identify fatally injured drivers and passengers in those classes. The vehicle classification defines which vehicles qualify; the person selection determines whose deaths enter the illustrative national occupant figures.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

National figures

Across the supplied national rows, passenger vehicle occupant deaths were 23,914 in 2020, 26,466 in 2021, 25,500 in 2022 and 24,017 in 2023. Among these rows and the 2024 row, 2021 had the highest count of passenger vehicle occupant deaths. The geographic coverage is the United States, including the 50 states and District of Columbia and excluding Puerto Rico. The 2024 figures use the Annual Report File; the earlier years use saved FARS Final Files.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

National figures[1][2][3][4][5]
YearPassenger vehicle occupant deathsPassenger car occupant deathsLight truck occupant deaths
202023,91412,62811,286
202126,46613,61912,847
202225,50012,73712,763
202324,01711,82812,189
202422,71310,67512,038

United States, 50 states and District of Columbia, excluding Puerto Rico. 2024 uses the Annual Report File; earlier FARS years use saved Final Files.

Limits of the term and figures

These are death counts, with no population rate or exposure denominator supplied. They cannot establish the likelihood of death for occupants of either vehicle class. People outside the selected vehicle classes are excluded even when they die in the same crash. Nonfatal injuries are outside this measure, and deaths must not be read as vehicle or crash counts.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

NHTSA states that vehicle classifications beginning with 2020 use vPIC and are not comparable with classifications for 2019 and earlier years. The passenger vehicle label identifies a statistical class; it does not establish responsibility for a crash.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

On related publications

References

  1. abcdef "Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2020 national data files (Final File)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record
  2. abcdef "Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2021 national data files (Final File)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record
  3. abcdef "Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2022 national data files (Final File)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record
  4. abcdef "Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2023 national data files (Final File)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record
  5. abcdef "Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2024 national data files (Annual Report File)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record
  6. abcde "Fatality Analysis Reporting System Auxiliary Data Manual, 1982-2019 (DOT HS 813 071)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record
  7. abcde "Fatality Analysis Reporting System Analytical User's Manual, 1975-2024 (DOT HS 813 794)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record
  8. abcde "Overview of motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2024 (DOT HS 813 791, April 2026)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record