Canadian Motor Vehicle Traffic Collision Statistics: 2018

Collected in cooperation with the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators

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© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of Transport, 2019

Cette publication est aussi disponible en français sous le titre Statistiques sur les collisions de la route au Canada 2018

Catalogue No. T45-3E-PDF
ISSN 1701-6223

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Introduction

Transport Canada's National Collision Database (NCDB) contains data on all reportable motor vehicle collisions in Canada that the provinces and territories provide each year.

The federal, provincial, and territorial governments in Canada work to improve road safety to reduce the number of fatalities and serious injuries and to have the safest roads in the world. The year 2018 saw an increase in the number of fatalities and injuries, however serious injuries went down. 2018 marked the sixth consecutive year with a fatality count below 2,000 and remains among the lowest counts for all three of these casualty groups since these data were first collected by Transport Canada in the early 1970's.

  • In 2018, the number of motor vehicle fatalities was 1,922; up 3.6% from 2017 (1,856).
  • The number of serious injuries decreased to 9,494 in 2018; down 6.1% from 2017 (10,107).
  • The number of fatalities per 100,000 population increased slightly to 5.2 in 2018 (from 5.0 in 2017), yet is still the second lowest on record.
  • The number of fatalities per billion vehicle kilometres travelled slightly increased to 4.9 in 2018 (from 4.8 in 2017); also the second lowest recorded
Collisions and Casualties - 1999-2018
Year Collisions Victims
FatalFootnote 1 Personal InjuryFootnote 2 FatalitiesFootnote 3 Serious InjuriesFootnote 4 InjuriesFootnote 5 (Total)

1999

2,632

148,683

2,980

16,187

218,457

2000

2,548

153,290

2,904

15,581

222,848

2001

2,415

149,023

2,758

15,296

216,542

2002

2,583

153,832

2,921

15,894

222,665

2003

2,487

150,493

2,777

15,110

216,123

2004

2,438

145,150

2,735

15,572

206,104

2005

2,551

145,559

2,898

15,792

204,701

2006

2,586

142,517

2,871

16,044

199,976

2007

2,455

138,615

2,753

14,410

192,745

2008

2,193

127,571

2,431

12,851

176,394

2009

2,007

123,449

2,216

11,955

170,770

2010

2,021

123,615

2,238

11,796

172,081

2011

1,849

122,350

2,023

10,940

167,741

2012

1,848

122,834Footnote r

2,075

11,104

166,727Footnote r

2013

1,772

120,371

1,951Footnote r

10,662Footnote r

164,525

2014

1,675Footnote r

114,618Footnote r

1,841Footnote r

10,445Footnote r

156,558Footnote r

2015

1,695Footnote r

117,846Footnote r

1,889Footnote r

10,855Footnote r

161,061Footnote r

2016

1,737Footnote r

116,534Footnote r

1,899Footnote r

10,564Footnote r

158,791Footnote r

2017

1,694Footnote r

112,714Footnote r

1,856Footnote r

10,107Footnote r

152,772Footnote r

2018

1,743

108,371

1,922

9,494

152,847

Fatalities and Injuries by Age Group - 2018
Age Group (yrs) Fatalities Serious Injuries Injuries (Total)

0 - 4

19

141

2,975

5 - 14

36

277

5,952

15 - 19

124

752

12,700

20 - 24

204

1,022

17,064

25 - 34

303

1,667

28,819

35 - 44

250

1,273

23,269

45 - 54

255

1,303

22,159

55 - 64

287

1,184

18,808

65 +

430

1,306

17,378

Not stated

14

101

3,723

Total

1,922

9,026

152,847

Fatalities by Road User Class 2014-2018
Road User Class 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

# Drivers

907Footnote r

908Footnote r

875Footnote r

957Footnote r

960

% Drivers

49.3Footnote r

48.1Footnote r

46.1Footnote r

51.6Footnote r

49.9

# Passengers

342Footnote r

356Footnote r

338Footnote r

317Footnote r

340

% Passengers

18.6Footnote r

18.8Footnote r

17.8Footnote r

17.1Footnote r

17.7

# Pedestrians

304Footnote r

299Footnote r

355Footnote r

302Footnote r

332

% Pedestrians

16.5Footnote r

15.8

18.7Footnote r

16.3Footnote r

17.3

# Bicyclists

42

49

49Footnote r

40Footnote r

44

% Bicyclists

2.3

2.6

2.6Footnote r

2.2Footnote r

2.3

# MotorcyclistsFootnote *

191Footnote r

211Footnote r

214Footnote r

197Footnote r

200

% Motorcyclists

10.4Footnote r

11.2Footnote r

11.3Footnote r

10.6Footnote r

10.4

# Not stated/Other

55Footnote r

66Footnote r

68Footnote r

43Footnote r

46

% Not stated/Other

3.0Footnote r

3.5Footnote r

3.6Footnote r

2.3Footnote r

2.4

# Total

1,841Footnote r

1,889Footnote r

1,899Footnote r

1,856Footnote r

1,922

% Total

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

Fatalities 1999-2018
Year Fatalities

1999

2,980

2000

2,904

2001

2,758

2002

2,921

2003

2,777

2004

2,735

2005

2,898

2006

2,871

2007

2,753

2008

2,431

2009

2,216

2010

2,238

2011

2,023

2012

2,075

2013

1,951Footnote r

2014

1,841Footnote r

2015

1,889Footnote r

2016

1,899Footnote r

2017

1,856Footnote r

2018

1,922

Fatality Rate (per 10,000 motor vehicles registered)
Year Fatality Rate

1999

1.70

2000

1.62

2001

1.52

2002

1.57

2003

1.47

2004

1.43

2005

1.50

2006

1.43

2007

1.34

2008

1.15

2009

1.04

2010

1.02

2011

0.91

2012

0.93

2013

0.85

2014

0.78Footnote r

2015

0.79

2016

0.78

2017

0.76Footnote r

2018

0.77

 
Casualty Rates - 2018
  Per 100,000
PopulationFootnote 1
Per Billion
Vehicle-KilometresFootnote 2
Per 100,000
Licensed Drivers
Fatalities Injuries Fatalities Injuries Fatalities Injuries

Canada

5.2

412.4

4.9

391.1

7.2

575.0

NL

7.4

517.0

7.2

498.9

6.6

460.8

PE

9.8

424.2

9.6

415.6

13.2

573.8

NS

7.8

747.8

6.3

603.5

10.2

978.9

NB

6.5

348.3

5.6

301.1

9.0

484.3

QC

4.3

418.9

4.5

444.1

6.4

622.1

ON

4.2

356.9

4.1

347.4

5.8

491.3

MB

5.2

891.7

4.6

791.6

7.6

1,310.0

SK

11.0

361.9

8.6

284.0

15.8

517.5

AB

6.8

396.9

4.5

265.8

9.0

530.0

BC

5.6

393.4

6.9

477.5

8.0

555.7

YT

15.7

444.5

10.1

284.5

24.1

681.1

NT

4.5

224.5

4.7

235.8

7.6

382.5

NU

5.2

65.1

48.8

609.8

74.2

928.0

Notes: Vehicle kilometres travelled data were not available for 2018 so they were estimated using average yearly change for the years 2015-2017

Data for Ontario and Alberta are preliminary for 2018. Data for New Brunswick were estimated.

Changes in how traffic collision reports are collected in Manitoba resulted in an increased number of injuries of a minimal nature being captured in 2018.

Newfoundland and Labrador data reflects information contained in the Vehicle Collision Reports received and processed as of June 1, 2019.

Rate-based data in smaller jurisdictions have a high level of fluctuation due to their small sample size.

Percentage of Fatalities and Serious Injuries by Road User Class - 2018
Road User Class Fatalities Serious Injuries

Drivers

49.9

46.9

Passengers

17.7

19.0

Pedestrians

17.3

15.5

Bicyclists

2.3

4.0

MotorcyclistsFootnote *

10.4

12.1

Not Stated/Other

2.4

2.5

Total

100.0

100.0

Percentage of Driver and Passenger Fatalities and Serious Injuries Where Victims Were Not Using Seat Belts 2014-2018

Drivers
  2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Fatalities

26.2

28.7

29.6

27.4

29.4

Serious Injuries

11.8

10.4

9.8

10.6

10.8

Passengers
  2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Fatalities

33.2

27.6

25.6

31.1

32.1

Serious Injuries

17.7

17.4

15.4

16.9

18.4

Note: "Serious Injuries" include victims admitted to hospital for treatment or observation.

Number of Collisions By Location - 2018
Location Fatal Personal Injury

UrbanFootnote 1

767

79,349

RuralFootnote 2

952

26,458

Not stated

24

2,564

Total

1,743

108,371

Note: In Alberta, New Brunswick, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan, "urban" includes any area within the corporate boundaries of a city, town, village or hamlet. "Rural" includes any area outside of what is defined as “Urban”.

Percentage of Driver and Passenger Fatalities and Serious Injuries by Age Group - 2018
  Fatalities Serious Injuries
Age Group (yrs) Drivers Passengers Drivers Passengers

0 - 4

0.0

3.5

0.1

4.3

5 - 14

0.0

6.7

0.1

7.8

15 - 19

5.3

11.1

6.9

14.0

20 - 24

11.2

13.5

10.9

13.6

25 - 34

17.8

17.8

20.5

16.8

35 - 44

14.8

8.5

16.9

9.3

45 - 54

14.8

9.1

16.4

9.2

55 - 64

15.5

10.5

13.9

9.4

65 +

20.6

17.8

14.2

12.5

Not Stated

0.0

1.5

0.1

3.1

Total

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

Number of Licensed Drivers by Gender and by Age - 2018
Age Group (yrs) Males Females Total

< 16

27,978

24,400

52,378

16 - 19

595,997

550,424

1,146,421

20 - 24

1,038,827

939,866

1,978,693

25 - 34

2,355,211

2,244,570

4,599,781

35 - 44

2,310,446

2,260,037

4,570,483

45 - 54

2,337,348

2,242,405

4,579,752

55 - 64

2,408,462

2,290,010

4,698,472

65 +

2,596,983

2,359,949

4,956,932

Not Stated

81

81

162

Total

13,671,332

12,911,741

26,583,073

Licensed Drivers and Motor Vehicle Registrations by Type of Vehicle 1999-2018 (in thousands)
  Licensed DriversFootnote 1 Light-Duty VehiclesFootnote 2 Commercial VehiclesFootnote 3 MotorcyclesFootnote 4

1999

20,934

16,538

722

274

2000

20,593

16,832

739

311

2001

20,879

17,055

729

318

2002

21,163

17,543

724

350

2003

21,436

17,755

740

373

2004

21,673

17,920

752

409

2005

21,937

18,124

786

443

2006

22,278

18,739

841

485

2007

22,606

19,199

872

522

2008

22,972

19,613

907

567

2009

23,198

19,877

915

595

2010

23,541

20,268

964

616

2011

23,831

20,608

1,008

631

2012

24,147

20,652

1,053

661

2013

24,630

21,262

1,072

672

2014

24,914

21,730

1,121

688

2015

25,273

22,068

1,147

709

2016

25,580

22,410

1,144

716

2017

26,004

22,678

1,168

721

2018

26,583

23,137

1,194

730

 

Source: the motor vehicle registration data are from Statistics Canada, CANSIM, Table 405-0004. From 1999 the licensed driver data were provided by each jurisdiction.

Note: A reduced level of police reporting in British Columbia since 2008 has affected the British Columbia totals and, to a lesser extent, national totals reported in this publication.

To find out more about national road safety programs or initiatives, call Transport Canada toll free at 1-800-333-0371 or e-mail us at mvs-sa@tc.gc.ca.

You can also visit our web site at https://tc.canada.ca/en/road-transportation or the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators' web site at www.ccmta.ca.

More detailed motor vehicle collision data can be queried using the National Collision Database (NCDB) On-Line tool located at https://wwwapps2.tc.gc.ca/Saf-Sec-Sur/7/NCDB-BNDC/p.aspx?l=en.