Fatality Facts 2024Children

Overview

Deaths of children younger than 13 in motor vehicle crashes have declined since 1975, but crashes still cause 1 of every 4 unintentional injury deaths (National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, 2026).

Most crash deaths occur among children traveling as passenger vehicle occupants, and proper restraint use can reduce these fatalities. Restraining children in rear seats instead of front seats reduces fatal injury risk by about three-quarters for children up to age 3, and almost half for children ages 4 to 8 (Durbin et al., 2015).

All 50 states and the District of Columbia have child restraint laws on the books. However, even though more children now ride restrained because of these laws, many children, particularly those 4 and older, still ride unrestrained (NHTSA, 2025).

Twenty-one states have laws requiring children to sit in the rear, but there is considerable variation among the laws based on the child’s age, height, weight and whether the vehicle has frontal airbags. The District of Columbia and all states except Oklahoma require all child occupants younger than 13, including those sitting in the rear, to be restrained.

The following facts are based on analysis of data from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System.

Posted June 2026.

Trends

Sixty-nine percent of child motor vehicle crash deaths in 2024 were passenger vehicle occupants, 17% were pedestrians, and 5% were bicyclists. Child pedestrian and bicyclist deaths both declined by 92% since 1975. Passenger vehicle child occupant deaths in 2024 were 60% lower than in 1975.

Motor vehicle deaths among children younger than 13 by type, 1975-2024

Motor vehicle crash deaths among children younger than 13 by type, 1975-2024
Year	Passenger vehicle occupants		Pedestrians		Bicyclists		Total*
Year	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
1975	1,390	38	1,632	45	446	12	3,643	100
1976	1,338	39	1,522	44	394	12	3,424	100
1977	1,402	42	1,390	42	395	12	3,347	100
1978	1,389	41	1,419	42	387	11	3,367	100
1979	1,333	42	1,291	41	362	11	3,171	100
1980	1,337	44	1,183	39	346	11	3,048	100
1981	1,190	44	1,064	39	332	12	2,733	100
1982	1,154	45	986	38	265	10	2,573	100
1983	1,138	45	944	37	298	12	2,518	100
1984	1,079	45	935	39	253	10	2,422	100
1985	1,126	46	925	37	278	11	2,469	100
1986	1,189	47	913	36	293	12	2,537	100
1987	1,313	49	898	34	297	11	2,654	100
1988	1,359	50	905	34	284	11	2,701	100
1989	1,473	55	786	30	276	10	2,658	100
1990	1,266	54	768	33	185	8	2,332	100
1991	1,234	55	695	31	226	10	2,257	100
1992	1,234	57	635	29	215	10	2,165	100
1993	1,229	57	644	30	203	9	2,164	100
1994	1,345	58	659	29	205	9	2,301	100
1995	1,336	61	597	27	197	9	2,201	100
1996	1,346	62	570	26	164	8	2,186	100
1997	1,335	63	513	24	172	8	2,108	100
1998	1,334	66	464	23	152	7	2,032	100
1999	1,317	66	449	22	141	7	1,997	100
2000	1,265	67	403	21	136	7	1,888	100
2001	1,184	68	363	21	98	6	1,751	100
2002	1,130	70	317	20	92	6	1,617	100
2003	1,118	68	327	20	93	6	1,643	100
2004	1,176	71	293	18	82	5	1,645	100
2005	1,076	70	274	18	79	5	1,529	100
2006	1,014	71	267	19	76	5	1,430	100
2007	905	71	243	19	57	4	1,269	100
2008	698	67	215	21	57	5	1,047	100
2009	756	71	201	19	52	5	1,066	100
2010	653	68	212	22	36	4	962	100
2011	655	72	169	19	39	4	908	100
2012	638	67	208	22	39	4	958	100
2013	638	68	208	22	35	4	940	100
2014	604	69	167	19	39	4	875	100
2015	668	71	187	20	31	3	946	100
2016	728	70	198	19	35	3	1,033	100
2017	682	72	173	18	31	3	949	100
2018	638	72	165	19	26	3	890	100
2019	617	72	141	16	31	4	855	100
2020	613	72	144	17	26	3	850	100
2021	719	77	140	15	23	2	933	100
2022	599	70	140	16	30	3	859	100
2023	560	71	136	17	21	3	785	100
2024	550	69	138	17	37	5	795	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

The rate of motor vehicle crash deaths per million children younger than 13 has decreased 80% overall since 1975. The rate at which children die as passenger vehicle occupants decreased 65%, while the rates at which they were killed as pedestrians and bicyclists declined 92% and 93%, respectively.

Motor vehicle crash deaths per million children younger than 13 by type, 1975-2024
Year	Population	Passenger vehicle occupants		Pedestrians		Bicyclists		Total*
Year	Population	Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate
1975	45,851,304	1,390	30.3	1,632	35.6	446	9.7	3,643	79.5
1976	45,000,704	1,338	29.7	1,522	33.8	394	8.8	3,424	76.1
1977	44,337,332	1,402	31.6	1,390	31.4	395	8.9	3,347	75.5
1978	43,907,467	1,389	31.6	1,419	32.3	387	8.8	3,367	76.7
1979	43,778,959	1,333	30.4	1,291	29.5	362	8.3	3,171	72.4
1980	43,914,342	1,337	30.4	1,183	26.9	346	7.9	3,048	69.4
1981	44,049,940	1,190	27.0	1,064	24.2	332	7.5	2,733	62.0
1982	44,131,596	1,154	26.1	986	22.3	265	6.0	2,573	58.3
1983	44,119,297	1,138	25.8	944	21.4	298	6.8	2,518	57.1
1984	43,978,044	1,079	24.5	935	21.3	253	5.8	2,422	55.1
1985	44,260,136	1,126	25.4	925	20.9	278	6.3	2,469	55.8
1986	44,755,454	1,189	26.6	913	20.4	293	6.5	2,537	56.7
1987	45,348,247	1,313	29.0	898	19.8	297	6.5	2,654	58.5
1988	45,942,966	1,359	29.6	905	19.7	284	6.2	2,701	58.8
1989	46,690,604	1,473	31.5	786	16.8	276	5.9	2,658	56.9
1990	47,472,527	1,266	26.7	768	16.2	185	3.9	2,332	49.1
1991	48,240,747	1,234	25.6	695	14.4	226	4.7	2,257	46.8
1992	48,903,668	1,234	25.2	635	13.0	215	4.4	2,165	44.3
1993	49,335,864	1,229	24.9	644	13.1	203	4.1	2,164	43.9
1994	49,692,462	1,345	27.1	659	13.3	205	4.1	2,301	46.3
1995	49,920,484	1,336	26.8	597	12.0	197	3.9	2,201	44.1
1996	50,085,188	1,346	26.9	570	11.4	164	3.3	2,186	43.6
1997	50,364,983	1,335	26.5	513	10.2	172	3.4	2,108	41.9
1998	50,527,476	1,334	26.4	464	9.2	152	3.0	2,032	40.2
1999	50,667,139	1,317	26.0	449	8.9	141	2.8	1,997	39.4
2000	52,219,423	1,265	24.2	403	7.7	136	2.6	1,888	36.2
2001	52,341,395	1,184	22.6	363	6.9	98	1.9	1,751	33.5
2002	52,332,306	1,130	21.6	317	6.1	92	1.8	1,617	30.9
2003	52,187,602	1,118	21.4	327	6.3	93	1.8	1,643	31.5
2004	52,151,406	1,176	22.5	293	5.6	82	1.6	1,645	31.5
2005	52,149,395	1,076	20.6	274	5.3	79	1.5	1,529	29.3
2006	52,306,908	1,014	19.4	267	5.1	76	1.5	1,430	27.3
2007	52,585,809	905	17.2	243	4.6	57	1.1	1,269	24.1
2008	52,929,779	698	13.2	215	4.1	57	1.1	1,047	19.8
2009	53,753,412	756	14.1	201	3.7	52	1.0	1,066	19.8
2010	52,937,278	653	12.3	212	4.0	36	<1	962	18.2
2011	52,921,253	655	12.4	169	3.2	39	<1	908	17.2
2012	52,855,061	638	12.1	208	3.9	39	<1	958	18.1
2013	52,719,631	638	12.1	208	3.9	35	<1	940	17.8
2014	52,676,380	604	11.5	167	3.2	39	<1	875	16.6
2015	52,764,080	668	12.7	187	3.5	31	<1	946	17.9
2016	52,811,215	728	13.8	198	3.7	35	<1	1,033	19.6
2017	52,726,410	682	12.9	173	3.3	31	<1	949	18.0
2018	52,553,599	638	12.1	165	3.1	26	<1	890	16.9
2019	52,266,740	617	11.8	141	2.7	31	<1	855	16.4
2020	51,887,147	613	11.8	144	2.8	26	<1	850	16.4
2021	51,691,096	719	13.9	140	2.7	23	<1	933	18.0
2022	50,793,470	599	11.8	140	2.8	30	<1	859	16.9
2023	50,971,194	560	11.0	136	2.7	21	<1	785	15.4
2024	51,238,687	550	10.7	138	2.7	37	<1	795	15.5
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

It is recommended that children 12 and younger ride in the rear seats of vehicles. Thirteen percent of the passenger vehicle child occupant deaths in 2024 occurred in front seats, down from 46% in 1975, while 76% were in the rear. The rest occurred in cargo or unknown areas.

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths among children younger than 13 by seating position, 1975-2024
Year	Front seat		Rear seat		Cargo/unknown area		Total
Year	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
1975	639	46	368	26	383	28	1,390	100
1976	564	42	418	31	356	27	1,338	100
1977	654	47	381	27	367	26	1,402	100
1978	678	49	392	28	319	23	1,389	100
1979	643	48	392	29	298	22	1,333	100
1980	674	50	374	28	289	22	1,337	100
1981	555	47	406	34	229	19	1,190	100
1982	569	49	418	36	167	14	1,154	100
1983	551	48	420	37	167	15	1,138	100
1984	527	49	393	36	159	15	1,079	100
1985	513	46	427	38	186	17	1,126	100
1986	552	46	485	41	152	13	1,189	100
1987	583	44	571	43	159	12	1,313	100
1988	605	45	574	42	180	13	1,359	100
1989	640	43	653	44	180	12	1,473	100
1990	542	43	546	43	178	14	1,266	100
1991	539	44	558	45	137	11	1,234	100
1992	515	42	599	49	120	10	1,234	100
1993	513	42	613	50	103	8	1,229	100
1994	545	41	630	47	170	13	1,345	100
1995	558	42	627	47	151	11	1,336	100
1996	559	42	653	49	134	10	1,346	100
1997	497	37	692	52	146	11	1,335	100
1998	463	35	730	55	141	11	1,334	100
1999	440	33	746	57	131	10	1,317	100
2000	383	30	752	59	130	10	1,265	100
2001	370	31	710	60	104	9	1,184	100
2002	326	29	692	61	112	10	1,130	100
2003	301	27	719	64	98	9	1,118	100
2004	295	25	792	67	89	8	1,176	100
2005	272	25	709	66	95	9	1,076	100
2006	215	21	731	72	68	7	1,014	100
2007	171	19	673	74	61	7	905	100
2008	131	19	511	73	56	8	698	100
2009	138	18	546	72	72	10	756	100
2010	110	17	494	76	49	8	653	100
2011	117	18	486	74	52	8	655	100
2012	89	14	500	78	49	8	638	100
2013	97	15	483	76	58	9	638	100
2014	92	15	465	77	47	8	604	100
2015	86	13	532	80	50	7	668	100
2016	99	14	553	76	76	10	728	100
2017	80	12	551	81	51	7	682	100
2018	84	13	512	80	42	7	638	100
2019	88	14	488	79	41	7	617	100
2020	96	16	460	75	57	9	613	100
2021	109	15	539	75	71	10	719	100
2022	82	14	453	76	64	11	599	100
2023	74	13	437	78	49	9	560	100
2024	72	13	417	76	61	11	550	100

Age and sex

In 1975, infants (younger than 1) had a much higher passenger vehicle occupant fatality rate per capita than children of other ages, but this gap has narrowed over the years. Since 1975, fatality rates have dropped 67% for infants, 76% for children ages 1-3, 59% for children ages 4-8 and 58% for children ages 9-12.

Passenger vehicle child occupant deaths per million children by age, 1975-2024

Passenger vehicle child occupant deaths per million children by age, 1975-2024
Year	<1 year			1-3 years			4-8 years			9-12 years
Year	Population	Deaths	Rate	Population	Deaths	Rate	Population	Deaths	Rate	Population	Deaths	Rate
1975	3,152,345	190	60.3	9,333,943	397	42.5	17,579,867	452	25.7	15,785,149	351	22.2
1976	3,115,391	172	55.2	9,166,175	391	42.7	17,444,438	435	24.9	15,274,700	340	22.3
1977	3,278,804	189	57.6	9,129,735	410	44.9	17,194,329	458	26.6	14,734,464	345	23.4
1978	3,326,388	192	57.7	9,317,815	406	43.6	16,838,903	448	26.6	14,424,361	343	23.8
1979	3,426,309	171	49.9	9,461,992	382	40.4	16,465,482	474	28.8	14,425,176	306	21.2
1980	3,559,861	190	53.4	9,763,803	395	40.5	15,994,363	404	25.3	14,596,315	348	23.8
1981	3,607,455	172	47.7	10,011,438	329	32.9	15,894,690	402	25.3	14,536,357	287	19.7
1982	3,643,586	165	45.3	10,287,129	351	34.1	15,997,832	363	22.7	14,203,049	275	19.4
1983	3,649,198	157	43.0	10,499,379	356	33.9	16,268,975	372	22.9	13,701,745	253	18.5
1984	3,571,921	132	37.0	10,605,208	299	28.2	16,592,564	378	22.8	13,208,351	270	20.4
1985	3,678,657	130	35.3	10,594,540	325	30.7	17,015,987	382	22.4	12,970,952	289	22.3
1986	3,699,568	131	35.4	10,653,722	358	33.6	17,338,168	411	23.7	13,063,996	289	22.1
1987	3,703,294	158	42.7	10,725,924	388	36.2	17,651,459	469	26.6	13,267,570	298	22.5
1988	3,756,541	183	48.7	10,882,631	385	35.4	17,801,235	484	27.2	13,502,559	307	22.7
1989	3,858,435	183	47.4	10,981,085	402	36.6	17,938,226	528	29.4	13,912,858	360	25.9
1990	3,987,662	162	40.6	11,168,053	343	30.7	18,082,010	446	24.7	14,234,802	315	22.1
1991	4,009,515	143	35.7	11,468,844	340	29.6	18,154,546	440	24.2	14,607,842	311	21.3
1992	3,982,857	127	31.9	11,739,325	349	29.7	18,296,744	443	24.2	14,884,742	315	21.2
1993	3,908,335	152	38.9	11,898,416	361	30.3	18,612,278	435	23.4	14,916,835	281	18.8
1994	3,854,882	160	41.5	11,821,298	381	32.2	18,958,858	487	25.7	15,057,424	317	21.1
1995	3,813,169	153	40.1	11,668,778	347	29.7	19,309,487	483	25.0	15,129,050	353	23.3
1996	3,769,544	178	47.2	11,499,426	347	30.2	19,610,009	485	24.7	15,206,209	336	22.1
1997	3,779,543	133	35.2	11,371,094	329	28.9	19,788,553	505	25.5	15,425,793	368	23.9
1998	3,790,645	138	36.4	11,301,476	305	27.0	19,814,280	512	25.8	15,621,075	379	24.3
1999	3,819,903	142	37.2	11,269,665	311	27.6	19,629,729	499	25.4	15,947,842	365	22.9
2000	3,867,754	131	33.9	11,425,866	312	27.3	20,146,324	457	22.7	16,779,479	365	21.8
2001	4,025,873	108	26.8	11,497,211	292	25.4	19,875,164	451	22.7	16,943,147	333	19.7
2002	3,984,989	107	26.9	11,733,679	270	23.0	19,662,203	406	20.6	16,951,435	347	20.5
2003	4,033,482	120	29.8	11,922,039	266	22.3	19,522,343	403	20.6	16,709,738	329	19.7
2004	4,077,188	120	29.4	12,086,916	303	25.1	19,473,829	406	20.8	16,513,473	347	21.0
2005	4,106,627	119	29.0	12,135,517	247	20.4	19,614,024	416	21.2	16,293,227	294	18.0
2006	4,130,153	115	27.8	12,265,881	247	20.1	19,809,458	376	19.0	16,101,416	276	17.1
2007	4,257,020	96	22.6	12,403,983	225	18.1	20,011,375	335	16.7	15,913,431	249	15.6
2008	4,313,132	78	18.1	12,568,765	163	13.0	20,289,522	269	13.3	15,758,360	188	11.9
2009	4,261,494	69	16.2	12,857,476	180	14.0	20,780,673	288	13.9	15,853,769	219	13.8
2010	3,951,495	59	14.9	12,160,572	178	14.6	20,283,919	256	12.6	16,541,292	160	9.7
2011	3,963,264	59	14.9	12,040,695	156	13.0	20,421,887	252	12.3	16,495,407	188	11.4
2012	3,926,731	54	13.8	11,941,356	190	15.9	20,521,866	237	11.5	16,465,108	157	9.5
2013	3,931,411	49	12.5	11,929,234	162	13.6	20,465,693	248	12.1	16,393,293	179	10.9
2014	3,954,973	47	11.9	11,917,426	135	11.3	20,424,691	249	12.2	16,379,290	173	10.6
2015	3,984,144	50	12.5	11,917,777	173	14.5	20,380,178	256	12.6	16,481,981	189	11.5
2016	3,963,268	63	15.9	11,981,228	178	14.9	20,261,729	284	14.0	16,604,990	203	12.2
2017	3,882,437	76	19.6	12,012,185	173	14.4	20,155,615	247	12.3	16,676,173	186	11.2
2018	3,826,908	61	15.9	11,929,712	160	13.4	20,176,658	237	11.7	16,620,321	180	10.8
2019	3,762,227	53	14.1	11,763,116	127	10.8	20,200,429	251	12.4	16,540,968	186	11.2
2020	3,735,010	53	14.2	11,548,435	130	11.3	20,176,890	243	12.0	16,426,812	187	11.4
2021	3,564,493	85	23.8	11,327,107	141	12.4	20,168,671	306	15.2	16,630,825	187	11.2
2022	3,683,113	65	17.6	11,025,015	137	12.4	19,821,491	221	11.1	16,263,851	176	10.8
2023	3,648,654	55	15.1	11,053,912	142	12.8	19,863,724	198	10.0	16,404,904	165	10.1
2024	3,615,598	71	19.6	11,159,965	116	10.4	19,848,459	207	10.4	16,614,665	156	9.4

The per capita fatality rate is similar for males and females younger than 13. For older ages, the per capita fatality rate is higher for males compared with females.

Motor vehicle crash deaths per million people by age and sex, 2024
Sex and age	Population	Deaths	Rate
Males 12 & under	26,186,557	397	15.2
Females 12 & under	25,052,130	396	15.8
Males over 12	142,151,325	27,879	196.1
Females over 12	146,720,976	10,333	70.4
Total*	340,110,988	39,254	115.4
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Half of children younger than 13 who were killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2024 were male. The sex difference in fatalities was greater among child bicyclists (81% males, 19% females) than among child pedestrians (59% males, 41% females). More females (56%) than males (44%) were killed as occupants of passenger vehicles.

Motor vehicle crash deaths among children younger than 13 by type and sex, 2024
	Male		Female		Total*
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Passenger vehicle occupants	240	44	308	56	550	100
Pedestrians	81	59	57	41	138	100
Bicyclists	30	81	7	19	37	100
Total*	397	50	396	50	795	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Restraint use

The proportion of fatally injured children who are restrained has risen greatly during the past 35 years, from 15% in 1985 to 56% in 2024. According to a national observational survey, restraint use among children younger than 13 years was 88% in 2023 (NHTSA, 2025). Unrestrained vehicle occupants are more likely than restrained occupants to be fatally injured in a crash, so restraint use is much lower among fatally injured occupants.

Restraint use among fatally injured children in passenger vehicles by age, 1985
Age	Unrestrained		Seat belt		Child safety seat		Total restrained		Unknown		Total
Age	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
<1	85	65	2	2	29	22	31	24	14	11	130	100
1-3	230	71	18	6	54	17	72	22	23	7	325	100
4-8	264	69	41	11	7	2	48	13	70	18	382	100
9-12	222	77	21	7	0	0	21	7	46	16	289	100
Total	801	71	82	7	90	8	172	15	153	14	1,126	100

Restraint use among fatally injured children in passenger vehicles by age, 2024
Age	Unrestrained		Seat belt		Child safety seat		Total restrained		Unknown		Total
Age	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
<1	18	25	0	0	46	65	46	65	7	10	71	100
1-3	44	38	1	1	60	52	61	53	11	9	116	100
4-8	58	28	51	25	69	33	120	58	29	14	207	100
9-12	47	30	78	50	1	1	79	51	30	19	156	100
Total	167	30	130	24	176	32	306	56	77	14	550	100

When they died

More children were killed in motor vehicle crashes on Saturdays (18%) and Sundays (17%) in 2024 than on any other day of the week.

Motor vehicle crash deaths among children younger than 13 by day of week, 2024
Day of week	Deaths	%
Sunday	137	17
Monday	116	15
Tuesday	86	11
Wednesday	96	12
Thursday	106	13
Friday	112	14
Saturday	142	18
Total	795	100

Twenty-five percent of the deaths of children in motor vehicle crashes in 2024 occurred between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., and 21% occurred between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.

Motor vehicle crash deaths among children younger than 13 by time of day, 2024
Time of day	Number	%
Midnight - 3 a.m.	44	6
3 a.m. - 6 a.m.	38	5
6 a.m. - 9 a.m.	73	9
9 a.m. - noon	66	8
Noon - 3 p.m.	115	14
3 p.m. - 6 p.m.	199	25
6 p.m. - 9 p.m.	163	21
9 p.m. - midnight	94	12
Total*	795	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

The proportion of children killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2024 was highest during the month of July (11%) compared with other months of the year.

Motor vehicle crash deaths among children younger than 13 by month, 2024
Month	Number	%
January	53	7
February	54	7
March	66	8
April	66	8
May	79	10
June	61	8
July	91	11
August	74	9
September	60	8
October	69	9
November	64	8
December	58	7
Total	795	100