How Fatal Car Crashes Happen

A fatal car crash doesn’t just impact those directly involved. The trauma ripples out, leading to grief for loved ones and friends.

To provide insight and awareness, the latest ValuePenguin study explores fatal car crashes, including how and when they occur, as well as the types of drivers they typically involve. There were nearly 36,000 fatal crashes in 2020, according to the latest available data, up from the previous year.

Here’s what else we learned.

Key findings

2020 registers most fatal car crashes since 2007

There were 35,766 fatal crashes in 2020. This represented a 6.8% jump from 2019 and was the highest since 37,435 in 2007.

It’s encouraging to see significant dips in fatal crashes in 2008 and 2009 (about 6,500 fewer crashes over those two years). That shows it’s possible to curb rising trends, even with the concerning increase in 2020.

Number of fatal car crashes (by year)

The increase in fatal crashes comes amid a significant 13.2% decrease in vehicle miles traveled (VMT) at the start of the pandemic between 2019 and 2020, according to preliminary data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Early in the crisis, many areas throughout the U.S. enforced strict lockdowns to stop the spread of COVID-19. And all police-reported car crashes (including nonfatal ones) decreased by 22% from 2019 to 2020.

It would appear there was an increase in dangerous driving practices or conditions rather than an increase in driving that would typically cause an increase in these events.

"Younger drivers going too fast on less-congested roadways contributed to the high number of fatal accidents in 2020," says Nick VinZant, ValuePenguin insurance expert. "During the first year of the pandemic, there were suddenly a lot less people on the road, and drivers developed some bad habits — namely going too fast."

How car crashes happen

Single vehicles, collisions without other moving vehicles

Fatal car crashes in 2020 most commonly involved a single vehicle (58.0%), rather than two or more vehicles, based on our data analysis. (That’s up 2% from 56.9% the previous year.) The percentage of fatal crashes involving two vehicles and more than two vehicles decreased between 2019 and 2020, from 35.7% to 35.1% and 7.4% to 6.9%, respectively.

This would seem to support the idea of drivers developing more bad habits. Speeding is another important factor, as it was more possible because of the decrease in vehicles on the road (more on this later).

This line of reasoning has positive and negative ramifications. On the one hand, it suggests that many of these fatalities (and the subsequent grief of those events) could have been avoided. On the other hand, there’s room for improvement by drivers.

Number of fatal car crashes (by crash type)

Our analysis also found that 61.7% of the fatal wrecks in 2020 didn’t involve a collision with another moving vehicle. That means only about a third of those wrecks involved things more often associated with crashes, like a head-on collision or sideswiping another moving car. This further supports the idea that bad driving habits may be significant here.

Number of fatal car crashes (by collision type)

Weekdays, daylight

A whopping 58.8% of fatal wrecks in 2020 were on weekdays, although this accounts for five of the seven days in a week, so the difference is disproportionate. This is because the weekend accounts for 28.6% of the week, while fatal crashes on those days make up 41.0% of deadly wrecks.

Number of fatal car crashes (by day of week)

Road conditions, such as the amount of daylight present, could also have a significant impact here, compounding the effects of less diligent driving habits.

Nearly half (45.5%) of the crashes in 2020 occurred in daylight — the lowest percentage during the time period from 2006 to 2020. Keep in mind that "daylight," per the NHTSA, excludes times like dawn and dusk, when there’s some light out, and instead refers only to times when daylight is the main source of light available. The data also distinguishes between full darkness (where no natural or artificial light exists) and lighted darkness (which refers to the presence of overhead "man-made" lighting, such as streetlights found on city streets).

The data shows the worse the lighting conditions, the greater the likelihood of fatal car crashes. Factors like a higher likelihood of drowsy drivers could also contribute to this trend.

Number of fatal car crashes (by light condition)

Speeding, hit-and-runs, drinking, distractions

As mentioned earlier, speeding was a significant factor in fatal crashes in 2020. In fact, it was involved in more than a quarter (28.3%) of fatal crashes that year — a 9.7% increase from 2019.

Again, the decrease in drivers on the road due to the pandemic could help explain this. That’s because drivers had more opportunities to speed while stay-at-home orders and similar rules were in effect for many Americans. Whether this trend will decrease when the 2021 and 2022 data is released remains to be seen.

For context, the 2020 speeding figures aren’t the highest they’ve been. The 28.3% figure is 9.3% lower than in 2006 — the earliest year this data set included. And speeding-related fatal crashes haven’t been above 30% since 2011. So there’s still been a historical decline, despite the lowest figures here coming in 2018 and 2019.

Number of fatal car crashes (by speeding involved)

Another factor we analyzed was hit-and-run fatal crashes. About 1 in 13 (7.0%) fatal crashes involved hit-and-runs in 2020. Notably, this was the highest percentage across the 2006-to-2020 period.

Hit-and-runs can come with a number of contributing factors, such as road conditions, but the decision to flee an accident suggests a level of carelessness, regardless of the motivations. Therefore, the data suggests an increase in reckless — or at the very least, less vigilant — driving habits.

Number of fatal car crashes (by hit-and-run involved)

Another important factor is that drunken driving — which includes those with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 or higher — was present in 30% of fatal crashes in 2020, up 2 percentage points from 2019 (but down from 31% in 2006).

Bucking the trend, however, is distracted driving-related fatal crashes at 8.1% in 2020, down from 8.6% the previous year.

August, October, July, September

The time of year also seems to significantly impact fatal crashes. For example, August, October, July and September had the highest percentages of fatal car crashes in 2020, and that’s not a pandemic-era trend. If you total fatal car crashes from 2006 through 2020, those same four months are still at the top, though in a different order.

Part of this could be due to the impact of rising temperatures in July and August (as well as some of September), which studies have long linked to increases in violence and aggression. Combined with the effects of climate change, it makes sense that the summer would see higher instances of fatal crashes due to drivers’ aggressive behaviors.

Over the 2006-to-2020 period, fatal car crashes were least common during the winter and spring months, where bad weather is more of an expectation.

Number of fatal car crashes (by month)

Older drivers, pedestrians

Overall, older drivers (those 65 and older) were involved in a larger share of fatal car crashes in 2020 than younger drivers. In fact, older drivers were involved in 18.2% of fatal car crashes in 2020, though that’s down from 21.2% in 2019. Aging can come with things that make driving more difficult, such as vision changes and slower reflexes. So this makes sense, despite the longer driving history this group has over younger drivers.

By contrast, younger drivers (defined here as those ages 15 to 20) were involved in 12.3% of fatal car crashes in 2020 — up from 11.5% in 2019 but still lower than the average (14.1%) from 2006 through 2020.

It’s worth noting the limitations of this comparison. The younger driver category spans six years (including the time when those drivers may be learning how to drive), while older drivers can span a much longer age frame, as there’s no upper age-related restriction on driver’s licenses — though there can be additional requirements to qualify, like passing a vision exam.

Number of fatal car crashes (by older/younger involvement)

Another factor we examined was the involvement of pedestrians in fatal car crashes. According to the data, they were involved in 18.1% of fatal car crashes in 2020 — the third-highest rate from 2006 to 2020. In fact, there’s been a fairly consistent uptick in pedestrian-involved fatal crashes based on the available data. Again, this suggests a potential decrease in driver attention or carefulness (though 2020's rate was slightly lower than 2019's rate).

Number of fatal car crashes (by pedestrians involved)

What to know about fatal car crash compensation

When a fatal car crash happens, car insurance is often the last thing you want to consider. But it can be incredibly important.

"What happens after a fatal crash is going to depend on state laws, your insurance policy and who’s at fault," VinZant says. "In general … the insurance company of the person at fault is then responsible for paying the 'full value' of the life lost in the crash."

If the at-fault driver is uninsured, however, it may be up to that individual to pay the determined amount, or your insurance company may pay if you have uninsured motorist (UIM) coverage, though this can depend on where you live. However, remember that UIM coverage isn’t required in most states.

Another vital thing to keep in mind is that there can be exceptions when insurers won’t pay for fatal crashes.

"This usually happens when the insurer disputes who is responsible for the crash," VinZant says. "If an insurance company refuses to pay, the best thing to do is to hire an experienced attorney and prepare to take your battle to court. Drivers should also make sure they have enough liability coverage. That way, they’re protected if it’s ruled that they’re responsible for the accident."

Does life insurance cover fatal car crashes?

The short answer: Yes.

As long as your life insurance policy is considered "all cause" (meaning it generally covers all deaths, with few exceptions), you may not need an AD&D policy. But AD&D would give you coverage for nonfatal injuries, which a life policy may not cover. So you’d have to weigh those pros and cons, as well as shop around for rates, to see if that would be worth it for you and your family.

There is one key exception. There can be cases where all-cause life and AD&D policies exclude the same causes, which would mean neither would pay out in those circumstances. For example, both may exclude things like suicide (including those facilitated by a vehicle), though that may be limited to a certain period, like the first two years.

But, in general, in the case of a fatal crash where the life policyholder dies, the insurance company would pay out the death benefit (assuming it’s covered), minus any cash-value loans or withdrawals. That money would go, tax-free, to the beneficiaries listed on the policy in the form of a lump-sum payment. (So it’s important to keep that information up to date.)