Rural Fatalities

According to the latest data from NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), the fatality rate for rural crashes is more than twice the fatality rate in urban crashes. In 2007, 23,260 people were killed in rural motor vehicle crashes, accounting for 57 percent of all motor vehicle fatalities. Table 1 shows fatalities (number and percent) and the fatality rate by year from 1997 to 2007.

Table 1: Fatalities and Fatality Rate by Rural/Urban Roadway by Year
Year	Rural Roadway			Urban Roadway			Total*
Year	Fatalities	%	Rate**	Fatalities	%	Rate**	Fatalities	Rate**
1997	25,135	60%	2.52	16,829	40%	1.08	42,013	1.64
1998	25,185	61%	2.44	16,219	39%	1.02	41,501	1.58
1999	25,548	61%	2.40	16,058	38%	0.99	41,717	1.55
2000	24,838	59%	2.29	16,113	38%	0.97	41,945	1.53
2001	25,150	60%	2.27	16,988	40%	1.01	42,196	1.51
2002	25,896	60%	2.30	17,013	40%	0.98	43,005	1.51
2003	24,957	58%	2.30	17,783	41%	0.98	42,884	1.48
2004	25,179	59%	2.36	17,581	41%	0.93	42,836	1.44
2005	24,587	57%	2.38	18,627	43%	0.95	43,510	1.46
2006	23,339	55%	2.25	18,359	43%	0.93	42,642	1.41
2007	23,260	57%	2.25	17,799	43%	0.89	41,059	1.37
Source: NCSA, FARS 1997-2005 (Final), 2006 (ARF), FHWA
* Total includes fatalities on unknown roadway
** Fatality rate per 100M VMT

Characteristics of Rural Crashes

By nearly every quantifiable measure, rural highway fatalities exceed the national average.

A Disproportionate Number of Fatalities: Although 23 percent of the U.S. population lived in rural areas in 2007, rural fatal crashes accounted for 57 percent of all traffic fatalities.

Less Exposure, Yet More Fatalities: While the majority of deaths occur on rural roads, fewer miles are driven there. In 2007, just over 1 trillion miles were driven on rural roads verses approximately 2 trillion miles on urban roads.
A Higher Fatality Rate: The fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled was more than double in rural areas than it was in urban areas (2.25 and 0.89 respectively).

**FATALITIES IN MOTOR VEHICLE TRAFFIC CRASHES OCCURRING IN RURAL AREAS**
5-YEAR AVERAGE FOR 2002 TO 2006
RURAL VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED (VMT), AND FATALITY RATES PER 100 MILLION RURAL VMT, BY STATE {SORTED BY FATALITY RATE}
Rank/State		Rural VMT (Millions) 5-Year Average	Fatalities in Rural Crashes 5-Year Average	Fatality Rate per 100 Million Rural VMT 5-Year Average
1	Florida	41,372	1,466	3.54
2	Arizona	17,869	597	3.34
3	South Carolina	28,515	912	3.20
4	Mississippi	24,442	747	3.06
5	Nevada	5,542	158	2.85
6	Montana	8,445	232	2.75
7	Louisiana	21,731	588	2.71
8	Missouri	31,069	840	2.70
9	Kentucky	27,187	721	2.65
10	California	63,977	1,678	2.62
11	South Dakota	6,550	171	2.60
12	North Carolina	43,229	1,124	2.60
13	Arkansas	19,809	513	2.59
14	Delaware	3,178	82	2.57
15	Utah	8,161	209	2.56
16	New Mexico	13,743	351	2.55
17	Texas	81,418	2,064	2.53
18	Alabama	29,671	747	2.52
19	Idaho	8,950	218	2.44
20	Kansas	14,793	360	2.43
21	Oklahoma	22,658	551	2.43
22	Tennessee	29,896	709	2.37
23	West Virginia	13,907	329	2.37
24	Colorado	15,314	361	2.36
25	Washington	16,873	384	2.27
26	Wyoming	6,654	148	2.23
27	Alaska	2,463	54	2.21
28	Pennsylvania	40,852	880	2.15
29	Hawaii	2,619	56	2.15
30	Ohio	38,374	810	2.11
31	Oregon	16,760	348	2.08
32	Michigan	33,167	678	2.04
33	Nebraska	11,434	223	1.95
34	Wisconsin	29,375	561	1.91
35	Illinois	30,668	576	1.88
36	Georgia	45,561	851	1.87
37	Maryland	14,727	268	1.82
38	Virginia	31,342	567	1.81
39	Iowa	19,124	337	1.76
40	North Dakota	5,561	94	1.70
41	New York	36,769	602	1.64
42	Maine	10,951	179	1.64
43	Rhode Island	900	15	1.62
44	Indiana	36,997	587	1.59
45	Minnesota	27,223	420	1.54
46	New Jersey	8,475	130	1.53
47	New Hampshire	6,679	101	1.52
48	Connecticut	3,934	57	1.44
49	Massachusetts	5,177	66	1.28
50	Vermont	5,923	72	1.21
.	National	1,070,010	24,792	2.32
.	Puerto Rico	2,003	238	11.87

The fatality rate and total number of rural deaths by state can be found at the end of this document.

Last updated: Saturday, April 14, 2012

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Rural Fatalities

Characteristics of Rural Crashes