Chart assignment

Charts to read and discuss

Read each chart, then answer its questions. Every chart shows its source and date; open it for a table of the numbers and the data to download.

  1. How many people die in traffic crashes in the U.S. each year?

Chart 1 of 1 · Road safety

How many people die in traffic crashes in the U.S. each year?

The interactive chart needs JavaScript. The numbers are on the chart's page.

39,254 people died in traffic crashes in the U.S. in 2024, against a recent high of 43,230 in 2021 and the 1979 peak of 51,093. The lowest year since 1975 was 2011, with 32,479 deaths. FARS counts people who died within 30 days of a crash on a public road; the 2024 number comes from NHTSA's annual report file and may be revised slightly.

Questions to discuss

  1. In one sentence of your own, what does this chart show?
  2. Find the biggest change or difference in the chart. What might explain it?
  3. Who collected these numbers, and how recent are they? What else would you want to know before drawing a conclusion?

Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) (Public domain (U.S. government work)) · Data as of Dec 31, 2024

Open the chart and its numbers

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