A famous American poet once wrote, “It’s not the destination; it’s the journey.” For centuries, this mindset has inspired Americans to dream bigger and seek adventure independently.
In that spirit of adventure, twentieth-century inventors like Henry Ford soared to new technological heights. With his invention of the Model T in 1908, the open road became accessible to just about anybody and their neighbor, and “the journey” took on a whole new meaning.
Convenient transportation and personal ownership continue to be defining characteristics of the American dream. According to a recent report done by Policy Advice, approximately 284.5 million registered vehicles exist in the U.S., and in 2015, 88% of Americans reported owning a car.
This level of independence is unprecedented, but it comes with a cost. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, 38,824 highway incidents involving a fatality occurred in 2020. In the same year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported 2,880 deaths caused by distracted driving.
Impactful News scraped the most comprehensive 2020 data from the NHTSA, IIHS, and available crash reports from nearly every state. We looked at state populations from the US Census Bureau to calculate the chance of involvement in a car accident in each state and the percentage of all fatal accidents.
These are the most accurate numbers we have for the year 2020. Any missing information was either not given by the state transportation department or was not made available.
Massachusetts
- Total crash fatalities: 4,216
- Total accidents: 1,566,775
- 22.4% chance of involvement in a car accident
- 0.26% of all accidents are fatal
Nevada
- Total crash fatalities: 317
- Total accidents: 237,338
- 7.47% chance of involvement in a car accident
- 0.13% of all accidents are fatal
Alabama
- Total crash fatalities: 934
- Total accidents: 159,102
- 3.14% chance of involvement in a car accident
- 0.58% of all accidents are fatal
Louisiana
- Total crash fatalities: 828
- Total accidents: 138,899
- 3.02% chance of involvement in a car accident
- 0.59% of all accidents are fatal
Georgia
- Total crash fatalities: 1,664
- Total accidents: 330,000
- 3.02% chance of involvement in a car accident
- 0.5% of all accidents are fatal
South Dakota
- Total crash fatalities: 141
- Total accidents: 26,342
- 2.89% chance of involvement in a car accident
- 0.53% of all accidents are fatal
Indiana
- Total crash fatalities: 897
- Total accidents: 175,816
- 2.57% chance of involvement in a car accident
- 0.51% of all accidents are fatal
Missouri
- Total crash fatalities: 987
- Total accidents: 157,038
- 2.54% chance of involvement in a car accident
- 0.62% of all accidents are fatal
Tennessee
- Total crash fatalities: 1,217
- Total accidents: 175,281
- 2.48% chance of involvement in a car accident
- 0.69% of all accidents are fatal
Michigan
- Total crash fatalities: 1,084
- Total accidents: 245,432
- 2.44% chance of involvement in a car accident
- 0.44% of all accidents are fatal
Delaware
- Total crash fatalities: 116
- Total accidents: 24,162
- 2.37% chance of involvement in a car accident
- 0.48% of all accidents are fatal
Connecticut
- Total crash fatalities: 295
- Total accidents: 83,791
- 2.31% chance of involvement in a car accident
- 0.35% of all accidents are fatal
North Carolina
- Total crash fatalities: 1,538
- Total accidents: 247,214
- 2.31% chance of involvement in a car accident
- 0.62% of all accidents are fatal
South Carolina
- Total crash fatalities: 1,064
- Total accidents: 121,235
- 2.29% chance of involvement in a car accident
- 0.87% of all accidents are fatal
Wyoming
- Total crash fatalities: 127
- Total accidents: 13,161
- 2.26% chance of involvement in a car accident
- 0.96% of all accidents are fatal
Kentucky
- Total crash fatalities: 780
- Total accidents: 100,787
- 2.23% chance of involvement in a car accident
- 0.77% of all accidents are fatal
Ohio
- Total crash fatalities: 1,230
- Total accidents: 246,286
- 2.09% chance of involvement in a car accident
- 0.49% of all accidents are fatal
New Jersey
- Total crash fatalities: 584
- Total accidents: 246,286
- 2.06% chance of involvement in a car accident
- 0.3% of all accidents are fatal
Kansas
- Total crash fatalities: 426
- Total accidents: 60,473
- 2.05% chance of involvement in a car accident
- 0.7% of all accidents are fatal
Arkansas
- Total crash fatalities: 638
- Total accidents: 60,947
- 2% chance of involvement in a car accident
- 1.04% of all accidents are fatal
Wisconsin
- Total crash fatalities: 614
- Total accidents: 115,694
- 1.96% chance of involvement in a car accident
- 0.5% of all accidents are fatal
North Dakota
- Total crash fatalities: 1,194
- Total accidents: 246,752
- 1.96% chance of involvement in a car accident
- 0.48% of all accidents are fatal
Utah
- Total crash fatalities: 276
- Total accidents: 61,406
- 1.81% chance of involvement in a car accident
- 0.45% of all accidents are fatal
New Mexico
- Total crash fatalities: 398
- Total accidents: 36,555
- 1.73% chance of involvement in a car accident
- 1.09% of all accidents are fatal
Alaska
- Total crash fatalities: 64
- Total accidents: 12,576
- 1.71% chance of involvement in a car accident
- 0.5% of all accidents are fatal
Maryland
- Total crash fatalities: 567
- Total accidents: 95,596
- 1.55% chance of involvement in a car accident
- 0.6% of all accidents are fatal
Oklahoma
- Total crash fatalities: 652
- Total accidents: 61,739
- 1.53% chance of involvement in a car accident
- 1.05% of all accidents are fatal
Florida
- Total crash fatalities: 3,331
- Total accidents: 341,399
- 1.53% chance of involvement in a car accident
- 0.97% of all accidents are fatal
Iowa
- Total crash fatalities: 337
- Total accidents: 341,399
- 1.49% chance of involvement in a car accident
- 1.05% of all accidents are fatal
Colorado
- Total crash fatalities: 622
- Total accidents: 86,790
- 1.48% chance of involvement in a car accident
- 0.71% of all accidents are fatal
Arizona
- Total crash fatalities: 1,054
- Total accidents: 98,778
- 1.34% chance of involvement in a car accident
- 1.06% of all accidents are fatal
Virginia
- Total crash fatalities: 850
- Total accidents: 105,600
- 1.21% chance of involvement in a car accident
- 0.8% of all accidents are fatal
Idaho
- Total crash fatalities: 214
- Total accidents: 22,528
- 1.16% chance of involvement in a car accident
- 0.94% of all accidents are fatal
North Dakota
- Total crash fatalities: 100
- Total accidents: 8,847
- 1.13% chance of involvement in a car accident
- 1.13% of all accidents are fatal
Washington
- Total crash fatalities: 560
- Total accidents: 86,333
- 1.12% chance of involvement in a car accident
- 0.65% of all accidents are fatal
Minnesota
- Total crash fatalities: 394
- Total accidents: 57,127
- 0.99% chance of involvement in a car accident
- 0.69% of all accidents are fatal
Nebraska
- Total crash fatalities: 233
- Total accidents: 19,354
- 0.98% chance of involvement in a car accident
- 1.2% of all accidents are fatal
Mississippi
- Total crash fatalities: 752
- Total accidents: 27,911
- 0.94% chance of involvement in a car accident
- 2.7% of all accidents are fatal
Oregon
- Total crash fatalities: 508
- Total accidents: 38,141
- 0.9% chance of involvement in a car accident
- 1.33% of all accidents are fatal
Pennsylvania
- Total crash fatalities: 1,129
- Total accidents: 104,475
- 0.8% chance of involvement in a car accident
- 1.08% of all accidents are fatal
Maine
- Total crash fatalities: 164
- Total accidents: 10,739
- 0.68% chance of involvement in a car accident
- 0.77% of all accidents are fatal
New York
- Total crash fatalities: 1,046
- Total accidents: 134,224
- 0.68% chance of involvement in a car accident
- 0.78% of all accidents are fatal
District of Colombia
- Total crash fatalities: 36
- Total accidents: 3,800
- 0.56% chance of involvement in a car accident
- 0.95% of all accidents are fatal
California
- Total crash fatalities: 3,847
- Total accidents: 141,148
- 0.36% chance of involvement in a car accident
- 2.72% of all accidents are fatal
Vermont
- Total crash fatalities: 62
- Total accidents: 2,133
- 0.32% chance of involvement in a car accident
- 2.9% of all accidents are fatal
Texas
- Total crash fatalities: 3,874
West Virginia
- Total crash fatalities: 267
Montana
- Total crash fatalities: 213
New Hampshire
- Total crash fatalities: 104
Hawaii
- Total crash fatalities: 85
Rhode Island
- Total crash fatalities: 67
