Number of vehicle accidents

1996 represented a record number of vehicle accidents, with 6.77 million reported that year. Since then, however, the number of crashes has fallen steadily until reaching a low point in 2011. The 5.34 million vehicle accidents recorded in 2011 currently represent the lowest recorded number of accidents in the US since 1949. The decline in motor vehicle accidents during this period is the result of many factors, including roadway improvements, campaigns against driving under the influence and vehicle safety improvements.

Over the majority of the last decade, however, this trend has remained largely volatile. In 2016, the number of motor vehicle accidents reached a high of 6.82 million, an elevated number of crashes not seen since 1996 when 6.77 million accidents occurred. The number of vehicle accidents has experienced significant growth since 2011. However, a 5.4% decline in accidents was reported in 2017. The COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic led to a sharp decrease in vehicle accidents as many consumers drove much less in the year because of mandates imposed at the time. As more consumers re-enter the road to commute and travel more, accidents have compounded again, growing 16.2% in 2021. With various factors like this happening in the year, crashes have remained elevated from certain years since of this unique event that was very unprecedented being the pandemic and the shuttering of many daily activities because of it. However, as more people have driven again, the number of crashes is set to be more regulated as more people driving on a more frequent basis is set to help build up experience for more people than in the pandemic years when a lot more people were not driving as much than before. In turn, automobile crashes have fallen in 2023 which is helped by these factors alike. While many causes of automobile crashes from bad driving practices to abysmal weather conditions are set to pose a challenge for efforts taken by communities to prevent such crashes from happening, developments undertaken in the past like the installation of cameras on roadways and more investments for various infrastructure projects from local and national government bodies are set to better regulate the number of crashes occurring more frequently.