Mortality from road crashes in the individual U.S. states: a comparison with leading causes of death

Abstract

This study compared, for each U.S. state, the fatalities per population from road crashes with fatalities per population from five leading causes of death (heart diseases, cancer, lung diseases, strokes, and Alzheimer’s disease) and from all causes. The raw data, applicable to 2013, came from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The main findings are as follows: (1) In the United States, there were 10.4 fatalities from road crashes per 100,000 population, as compared with 193.3 from heart diseases, 185.0 from cancer, 47.2 from lung diseases, 40.8 from strokes, and 26.8 from Alzheimer’s disease. The highest fatality rate from road crashes was in Montana (22.6) and the lowest in the District of Columbia (3.1). (2) In the United States, fatalities from road crashes represented 1.3% of fatalities from all causes. The highest percentage was in Montana (2.4%) and the lowest in the District of Columbia (0.4%). (3) In the United States, fatalities from road crashes corresponded to 5.4% of fatalities from heart diseases, 5.6% of fatalities from cancer, 21.9% of fatalities from lung diseases, 25.4% of fatalities from strokes, and 38.6% of fatalities from Alzheimer’s disease. (4) Fatalities from road crashes as a percentage of fatalities from other causes of death varied greatly among the states. For example, fatalities from road crashes as a percentage of fatalities from Alzheimer’s disease ranged from 91.4% in New Mexico to 13.3% in Washington.