How Many Car Accidents Per Day?

Name: Number of Car Accidents Per Day in U.S. (2012-2024)
Creator: ConsumerShield Research Team
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

There were 16,900 car accidents per day in the U.S. in 2024. This analysis covers daily trends from 2012-2024 and factors driving changes.

Research Team

ConsumerShield

Reviewed By Bryan Driscoll

Contributor

April 8, 2026 Read in 2 mins

Number of Car Accidents Per Day in U.S. (2012-2024)

www.consumershield.com

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*Daily accidents were calculated by dividing the total annual accidents by the number of days in the year.

Sources: NHTSA Summary 2023, NHTSA Overview 2024

Data Share

Research

Trends in Daily Car Accidents Over a Decade
Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Post-Pandemic Trends of How Many Car Crashes a Day
What Affects the Number of Daily Car Accidents?

How many car accidents per day?

Quick Answer:

There were approximately 16,000-17,000 car accidents per day in the U.S. between 2021-2024, according to the National Center for Statistics and Analysis.

Trends in Daily Car Accidents Over a Decade

Starting in 2012, there were approximately 15,300 car accidents every day. This number slowly rose over the years, reaching its highest point at 18,600 car accidents per day in 2016. The daily crash rate remained relatively high from 2016 to 2019, with slight variations. The increase was likely due to more vehicles on the roads, expanding cities, and more distractions for drivers, like using smartphones.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic

In 2020, the trend completely changed because of the global COVID-19 pandemic. With lockdowns and more people working from home, the daily number of how many car accidents per day fell to 14,300. This drop shows that there were fewer cars on the road as people's travel habits changed significantly during the pandemic.

Post-Pandemic Trends of How Many Car Crashes a Day

However, as restrictions eased in 2021, the number of daily car crashes began to rise again, reaching 16,700. Through 2024, these figures have not changed much, stabilizing at 16,900. This suggests a partial return to pre-pandemic conditions, although crash rates have not reached the highs seen before 2020.

What Affects the Number of Daily Car Accidents?

The changes in daily car accident rates can be linked to several important factors:

Increased Vehicle Usage: Earlier in the decade, economic growth and lower fuel prices likely led to more vehicles on the road, resulting in more accidents.
Technological Distractions: The popularity of smartphones, in-car technologies, and the use of headphones has made it easier for drivers to get distracted, which is a major cause of many road accidents.
Road and Infrastructure Development: In places where roads and infrastructure haven't improved as fast as the number of vehicles has grown, there’s more traffic congestion and accidents.
Safety Initiatives and Regulations: Government safety campaigns and tougher traffic laws usually help lower accident rates, although how well they work can change from year to year.

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