NHTSA 2012 Traffic Safety Fact Sheets
NHTSA has released a number of Traffic Safety Fact Sheets for 2012. Topics include: young drivers, bicylists & other cyclists, pedestrians, teens and distracted driving, State alcohol-impaired driving estimates, and a 2012 overview.
2012 “Overview” Traffic Safety Fact Sheet (DOT HS 812 016): In 2012, 33,561 people were killed in the estimated 5,615,000 police-reported motor vehicle traffic crashes; 2,362,000 people were injured; and 3,950,000 crashes resulted in property damage only. Compared to 2011, this is a 3.3-percent increase in the number of fatalities, and a 5.2-percent increase in the number of police-reported motor vehicle traffic crashes, a 6.5-percent increase in the number of people injured, and a 4.6-percent increase in crashes resulting in property damage. An average of 92 people died each day in motor vehicle crashes in 2012—one every 16 minutes.
2012 Young Drivers Traffic Safety Fact Sheet (DOT HS 812 019): In 2012, there were 1,875 young drivers (15 to 20 years old) who died in motor vehicle crashes, a decrease of 6 percent from 1,993 in 2011. Additionally 184,000 young drivers were injured in motor vehicle crashes in 2012, an increase of 2 percent from 180,000 in 2011. The two-year comparison of total driver involvement in fatal crashes showed a 3-percent increase from 43,840 in 2011 to 45,337 in 2012. During this same period, young driver involvement decreased 2 percent from 4,362 in 2011 to 4,283 in 2012.
2012 Bicyclists & Other Cyclists Traffic Safety Fact Sheet (DOT HS 812 018): In 2012, 726 pedalcyclists were killed and an additional 49,000 were injured in motor vehicle traffic crashes. Pedalcyclist deaths accounted for 2 percent of all motor vehicle traffic fatalities, and made up 2 percent of the people injured in traffic crashes during the year. For the purpose of this Traffic Safety Fact Sheet, bicyclists and other cyclists include riders of two-wheel, nonmotorized vehicles, tricycles, and unicycles powered solely by pedals. The term pedalcyclist will be used to identify these cyclists. The number of pedalcyclists killed in 2012 is 6 percent higher than the 682 pedalcyclists killed in 2011.
2012 “Pedestrians” Traffic Safety Fact Sheet (DOT HS 811 888): In 2012, 4,743 pedestrians were killed and an estimated 76,000 were injured in traffic crashes in the United States. On average, a pedestrian was killed every 2 hours and injured every 7 minutes in traffic crashes.
2012 “State Alcohol-Impaired Driving Estimates” Traffic Safety Fact Sheet (DOT HS 812 017): This fact sheet contains estimates of driver alcohol involvement in fatal crashes for the United States and individually for the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico in 2012. For comparison, data from 10 years ago (2003) is also presented. These estimates are based on data from NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). Unfortunately, blood alcohol concentration (BAC) test results are not known for all drivers involved in fatal crashes. Missing data can result for a number of reasons, the most frequent of which is that people are not always tested for alcohol.
Teens and Distracted Driving 2012 Data Sheet (DOT HS 812 015): The Teens and Distracted Driving 2012 data sheet contains information on 15-19 year olds killed and involved in distracted affected driving. In 2012, there were a total of 2,607 15-19 year olds killed in all crashes. A total of 273 15-19 year olds were killed in distraction-affected crashes in 2012.