Early Estimates of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities And Fatality Rate by Sub-Categories in 2021

"NHTSA has released a companion report presenting early estimates of traffic fatalities and fatality rates in 2021 (Early Estimate of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities in 2021, Report No.DOT HS 813 283). That report shows the increased trend in fatalities in 2020 has continued into 2021, and the increased trend in fatality rate per 100 million VMT in 2020 continued into the first quarter of 2021 but decreased during the second, third, and the fourth quarters of 2021. This NHTSA note is being issued after conducting a special analysis of the fatalities and the fatality rates per 100 million VMT by key sub-categories in 2021. The analysis is based on ratio adjusted estimates of 2021 fatal crash data coded thus far into NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), as described in the Data and Methodology section.

For the whole of 2021, a statistical projection of traffic fatalities shows an increase of about 10.5 percent as compared to reported fatalities in 2020. Some categories showed large shifts in fatalities and fatality rates in a given month, compared to the corresponding month in 2020. For instance, the share of fatalities on urban roads went from 57 percent in March 2020 to 62 percent in March 2021, a 5-percentagepoint increase. Correspondingly, the total fatalities (fatality counts) on urban roads increased from 21,940 in 2020 to 25,411 in 2021, a 16-percent increase. In summary, the traffic fatalities (fatality counts) in the following categories showed relatively large increases in 2021 as compared to 2020..."
Traffic fatalities 

NHTSA Launches Interactive, Searchable Recall Dashboard

"The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today unveiled a new cloud-based recall dashboard to make searching for auto safety recall data easy and efficient. The dashboard offers user-friendly and transparent ways to sort, filter, visualize and export recall data. 

“This new dashboard provides unprecedented transparency into the recall process,” said Dr. Steven Cliff, NHTSA’s Acting Administrator. “More than 50 years of recall data are now easily available to the media, researchers, safety advocates, and anyone interested in learning more about vehicle safety. This initiative is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s commitment to safety on our roadways, and it provides increased transparency and accountability to the American people.”

The dashboard will be updated daily and is available here.

The new dashboard allows users to sort and filter data, search by keyword, and export data in CSV, TSV for Excel, XML, and other formats. It also presents data in easy-to-read charts and graphs.

Previously, NHTSA made its recall data available through a bulk download, requiring users to download large data files and import them into a database like Microsoft Access. This has long been available to the public, but this new dashboard makes that information easier to access and analyze. 

NHTSA encourages everyone to search for open recalls by using NHTSA’s VIN Look-Up Tool and to download our SaferCar app to stay informed on current recalls. Make sure to promptly address any open recalls..."

NHTSA Recall database