52 Road Traffic Statistics: Global Safety, Travel and Vehicle Use

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Road traffic connects people, goods and services at enormous scale, but its measurement depends on the population, geography and denominator used. The figures below combine a 2023 World Health Organization global synthesis with U.S. Federal Highway Administration, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and National Household Travel Survey measures from 2022–2024.

Key Road Traffic Statistics

The most important road traffic figures span safety, travel volume, participation and vehicle characteristics:

  • In the 2023 report estimate, about 1.19 million people died in road traffic crashes worldwide each year.
  • In the 2023 WHO report, road traffic injuries were the leading cause of death worldwide for people aged 5–29.
  • Between 2010 and the 2023 report baseline, annual global road deaths fell an estimated 5%.
  • Between 2010 and 2021, 108 UN Member States reported fewer road deaths.
  • In 2023, U.S. public-road travel totaled an estimated 3.247 trillion vehicle-miles.
  • In 2024, U.S. public-road travel totaled an estimated 3.309 trillion vehicle-miles.
  • In 2024, U.S. road travel included an estimated 5.184 trillion person-miles.
  • In 2024, 297.5 million motor vehicles were registered in the United States.
  • In 2023, an estimated 40,990 people died in U.S. motor-vehicle crashes.
  • In 2023, the estimated U.S. fatality rate was 1.26 deaths per 100 million vehicle-miles.
  • In 2022, distracted-driver crashes killed 3,308 people in the United States.
  • In 2022, nearly 290,000 people were injured in U.S. distracted-driver crashes.
  • In 2022, 38% of U.S. households had two vehicles.
  • In 2022, the median U.S. household vehicle was eight years old.
  • In 2022, 30% of U.S. household vehicles were 5–9 years old.
  • In 2020, average miles per registered U.S. vehicle fell to 10,523 miles.

Contents

Global Road Traffic Statistics and the Worldwide Safety Burden

The WHO’s Global status report on road safety 2023 gives the broadest geographic frame here. Its annual death figure is a global estimate rather than a direct count for one calendar year, and its age ranking is specific to people aged 5–29.

The global road-safety target is at least a 50% reduction in deaths and injuries by 2030. That is a policy target for the 2021–2030 period, not an achieved outcome or a certainty about future results (Global status report on road safety 2023).

U.S. Road Traffic Volume, Person-Miles and Fuel Use

U.S. road traffic statistics use several different denominators. Vehicle-miles measure vehicle movement, while person-miles count travel by occupants and are not a count of unique people; the FHWA figures below cover the 50 states and District of Columbia.

Measure 2023 2024
Public-road vehicle-miles 3.247 trillion 3.309 trillion
Person-miles 5.104 trillion 5.184 trillion
Registered motor vehicles 284.6 million 297.5 million
Fuel consumed 176.8 billion gallons 171.8 billion gallons
Miles per registered vehicle 11,408 11,071
Aggregate fuel economy 18.4 mpg 19.2 mpg

Source: Highway Statistics 2024, Table VM-1: Vehicle Miles of Travel and Related Data. FHWA identifies these as national estimates, observed registration totals or derived aggregate ratios depending on the measure; miles per registered vehicle is not a typical-driver median, and fuel economy is not a consumer vehicle test-cycle rating.

The FHWA Table VM-1 separately reports 3.247 trillion vehicle-miles in 2023 and 3.309 trillion in 2024. It also reports 5.104 trillion person-miles in 2023 and 5.184 trillion in 2024, emphasizing why the two measures should not be presented as interchangeable (Highway Statistics 2024, Table VM-1: Vehicle Miles of Travel and Related Data).

NHTSA’s 2023 figures combine an early estimate of deaths with a reported 2022 comparison and an aggregate vehicle-miles denominator. The rate describes deaths per 100 million vehicle-miles, not the probability that a particular driver will crash.

The fourth quarter of 2023 was the seventh consecutive quarter with declining traffic fatalities, beginning in the second quarter of 2022. This quarterly sequence does not mean every state declined in every quarter (NHTSA Releases 2022 Traffic Deaths, 2023 Early Estimates).

Safety investment is an activity measure rather than a measured crash outcome: the Safe Streets and Roads for All program awarded $1.7 billion in 2023, and more than 1,000 communities received funding (NHTSA Releases 2022 Traffic Deaths, 2023 Early Estimates).

Distracted Driving Statistics and Crash Outcomes

NHTSA’s distracted-driving statistics describe recorded crash involvement, not the full prevalence of distraction during everyday driving. The agency notes that distraction is likely underreported because drivers may not disclose phone use and distraction can be difficult to detect.

2022 U.S. outcome Recorded figure
Deaths in distracted-driver crashes 3,308
Injuries in distracted-driver crashes Nearly 290,000
People killed who were outside vehicles Almost 20%
Estimated societal cost, 2019 $98 billion

Source: Distracted Driving Event; Traffic Fatality Data Release. The cost figure is a 2019 estimate, not 2022 cost data, and the outside-vehicle category is broader than pedestrians alone.

NHTSA identified drivers aged 15–34 and drivers aged 75 and older as having larger proportions of distraction in fatal crashes. This describes proportions in fatal-crash records, not distraction prevalence among all drivers (Distracted Driving Event; Traffic Fatality Data Release).

Road Traffic Participation by Household Vehicle Access

Household access shows who has vehicles available for road travel, but it is not a census of trips. The 2022 National Household Travel Survey estimates show a wide range of household vehicle availability in the United States.

Vehicles available in household Share of U.S. households, 2022
None 8%
One 33%
Two 38%
Three 13%
Four or more 7%

Source: Our Nation’s Highways 2026: Vehicles. Two vehicles was also the median household level in 2022; these are household survey estimates rather than counts of all journeys.

The distribution places 38% of households at two vehicles, while 8% had none available. Vehicle availability is therefore a participation measure, not a direct measure of how often each vehicle was driven (Our Nation’s Highways 2026: Vehicles).

Vehicle Age, Fleet Composition and Road-Travel Patterns

Vehicle age helps describe the stock using the road system, while miles per registered vehicle describes an aggregate travel ratio. Neither measure alone identifies the typical vehicle’s annual mileage or the condition of a particular car.

Household vehicle age Share in 2022
0–4 years 26%
5–9 years 30%
10–14 years 18%
15–19 years 14%
20–24 years 7%
25 years or more 5%

Source: Our Nation’s Highways 2026: Vehicles. The median U.S. household vehicle age was eight years in 2022; 10% were one year old or less and 3% were 30 years old or older.

Historical travel averages show a long-term change in use intensity:

The 2024 FHWA vehicle table lists 205,550,881 light-duty short-wheelbase vehicles, 16,082,510 motorcycles and 329,600 buses. These are registration categories, not counts of active vehicles, passenger trips or miles ridden (Highway Statistics 2024, Table VM-1: Vehicle Miles of Travel and Related Data).

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