Canadian Motor Vehicle Traffic Collision Statistics: 2020

Collected in cooperation with the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators

Cette publication est aussi disponible en français sous le titre Statistiques sur les collisions de la route au Canada 2020

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 2020 saw a small decrease in the number of fatalities and serious injuries, and saw a significant decrease in the number of injuries, in fact, these were 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 2020, the number of motor vehicle fatalities was 1,745; down 1% from 2019 (1,762).
The number of serious injuries decreased to 7,868 in 2020; down 12% from 2019 (8,917).
The number of total injuries decreased to 101,572 in 2020; down 28% from 2019 (140,801).
The number of fatalities per 100,000 population decreased to 4.6 in 2020 (from 4.7 in 2019), and is the lowest on record.
The number of fatalities per billion vehicle kilometres travelled increased to 4.7 in 2020 (from 4.4 in 2019); despite significantly less KMs driven, the fatalities only went down slightly
2020 saw a large increase in the percentage of occupants that were killed or seriously injured who were not wearing seatbelts. For example, 33.2% of driver fatalities were not wearing seatbelts, compared to 25.2% in 2019, which equates to a 32% increase.

Collisions and Casualties - 2001-2020
	Collisions		Victims
Year	Fatal^{Footnote 1}	Personal Injury^{Footnote 2}	Fatalities^{Footnote 3}	Serious Injuries^{Footnote 4}	Injuries^{Footnote 5}(Total)
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	122,834	2,075	11,104	166,727
2013	1,772	120,371	1,951	10,662	164,525
2014	1,675	114,617	1,841	10,445	156,557
2015	1,693	117,857	1,887	10,835	160,806
2016	1,738	116,583	1,900	10,573	158,854
2017	1,698	112,714	1,861	10,104	152,773
2018	1,754	109,580	1,939	9,463	149,065
2019	1,623	104,169	1,762	8,917	140,801
2020	1,591	72,917	1,745	7,868	101,572
Footnote 1 "Fatal collisions" include all reported motor vehicle crashes that resulted in at least one death, where death occurred within 30 days of the collision, except in Quebec before 2007 (eight days). Return to footnote 1 referrer Footnote 2 "Personal injury collisions" include all reported motor vehicle crashes which resulted in at least one injury but not death within 30 days of the collision, except in Quebec before 2007 (eight days). Return to footnote 2 referrer Footnote 3 "Fatalities" include all those who died as a result of a reported traffic collision within 30 days of its occurrence, except in Quebec before 2007 (eight days). Return to footnote 3 referrer Footnote 4 "Serious Injuries" include persons admitted to hospital for treatment or observation. Serious injuries were estimated from 2001 to 2020 because several jurisdictions under-reported these numbers. Return to footnote 4 referrer Footnote 5 "Total Injuries" include all reported severities of injuries ranging from minimal to serious. Return to footnote 5 referrer

Fatalities and Injuries by Age Group - 2020
Age Group (yrs)	Fatalities	Serious Injuries	Injuries (Total)
0 - 4	17	61	1,237
5 - 14	30	236	3,548
15 - 19	110	663	8,560
20 - 24	184	851	11,172
25 - 34	315	1,487	19,354
35 - 44	217	1,187	15,672
45 - 54	238	1,116	14,107
55 - 64	269	1,122	12,891
65 +	354	1,016	11,564
Not stated	11	129	3,467
Total	1,745	7,868	101,572

Fatalities by Road User Class 2016-2020
Road User Class		2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
Drivers	#	875	957	954	867	881
Drivers	%	46.1	51.4	49.2	49.2	50.5

Passengers	#	338	317	360	295	265
Passengers	%	17.8	17.0	18.6	16.7	15.2

Pedestrians	#	355	302	323	314	266
Pedestrians	%	18.7	16.2	16.7	17.8	15.2

Bicyclists	#	49	40	41	38	50
Bicyclists	%	2.6	2.1	2.1	2.2	2.9

Motorcyclists^{Footnote *}	#	214	197	185	187	242
Motorcyclists^{Footnote *}	%	11.3	10.6	9.5	10.6	13.9

Not stated/Other	#	69	48	76	61	41
Not stated/Other	%	3.6	2.6	3.9	3.5	2.3

Total	#	1,900	1,861	1,939	1,762	1,745
Total	%	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Footnote * Includes moped riders. Return to footnote * referrer

Fatalities 2001-2020
Year	Fatalities
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	1,951
2014	1,841
2015	1,887
2016	1,900
2017	1,861
2018	1,939
2019	1,762
2020	1,745

Fatality Rate (per 10,000 motor vehicles registered)
Year	Fatality Rate
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	0.78
2015	0.79
2016	0.78
2017	0.76
2018	0.77
2019	0.69
2020	0.68

Casualty Rates - 2020
	Per 100,000 Population^{Footnote 1}		Per Billion Vehicle-Kilometres^{Footnote 2}		Per 100,000 Licensed Drivers
	Fatalities	Injuries	Fatalities	Injuries	Fatalities	Injuries
Canada	4.6	267.0	4.7	272.7	6.5	376.6
NL	10.7	413.0	11.8	453.0	14.2	544.9
PE	9.3	287.0	10.6	325.8	12.9	398.4
NS	6.2	519.9	6.0	498.3	8.0	667.4
NB	6.4	342.7	6.3	340.7	9.0	484.3
QC	4.0	281.3	4.8	338.8	6.0	423.0
ON	3.6	213.9	4.0	238.4	5.0	294.6
MB	5.6	524.2	3.8	351.3	8.3	769.2
SK	7.4	298.3	6.6	265.5	10.7	434.3
AB	6.0	269.6	4.0	182.3	8.1	364.7
BC	4.8	243.1	5.6	283.1	6.8	344.0
YT	9.5	441.0	5.6	260.1	14.6	679.6
NT	8.8	154.3	9.2	160.9	15.2	266.1
NU	5.1	63.8	47.6	595.2	18.3	229.2
Footnote 1 Statistics Canada, Annual Demographic Estimates: Canada, Provinces and Territories, 2020, Catalogue No. 91-215-X. Return to footnote 1 referrer Footnote 2 Transport Canada calculations and estimates using an econometric model. Return to footnote 2 referrer Notes: Data for Ontario and Alberta are preliminary for 2020. 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 2020. Newfoundland and Labrador data reflects information contained in the Vehicle Collision Reports received and processed as of June 1, 2021. 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 - 2020
Road User Class	Fatalities	Serious Injuries
Drivers	50.5	47.3
Passengers	15.2	17.3
Pedestrians	15.2	13.4
Bicyclists	2.9	5.0
Motorcyclists^{Footnote *}	13.9	14.0
Not Stated/Other	2.3	3.0
Total	100.0	100.0
Footnote * Includes moped riders. Return to footnote * referrer

Percentage of Driver and Passenger Fatalities and Serious Injuries Where Victims Were Not Using Seat Belts 2016-2020
	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
Drivers
Fatalities	29.6	27.4	29.4	25.6	33.2
Serious Injuries	9.8	10.6	10.8	10.3	13.1
Passengers
Fatalities	25.6	31.1	32.1	29.8	39.2
Serious Injuries	15.4	16.9	18.4	13.3	21.2
Note: "Serious Injuries" include victims admitted to hospital for treatment or observation.

Number of Collisions By Location - 2020
Location	Fatal	Personal Injury
Urban^{Footnote 1}	711	52,073
Rural^{Footnote 2}	852	18,995
Not stated	28	1,849
Total	1,591	72,917
Footnote 1 Urban includes: (a) metropolitan roads and streets and other urban areas, or (b) a speed limit at the collision site of 60 km/h or less. Return to footnote 1 referrer Footnote 2 Rural includes: (a) primary or secondary highways, as well as local roads, or (b) a speed limit at the collision site exceeding 60 km/h. Return to footnote 2 referrer 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 - 2020
	Fatalities		Serious Injuries
Age Group (yrs)	Drivers	Passengers	Drivers	Passengers
0 - 4	0.1	3.3	0.0	3.0
5 - 14	0.1	8.8	0.1	6.4
15 - 19	5.6	15.4	7.0	13.4
20 - 24	10.7	12.4	11.2	15.4
25 - 34	19.5	17.5	20.9	19.4
35 - 44	12.9	10.3	16.1	12.1
45 - 54	14.6	6.8	15.9	9.4
55 - 64	17.5	8.9	14.9	8.9
65 +	18.7	12.8	13.6	8.8
Not Stated	0.4	3.7	0.1	3.4
Total	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0

Number of Licensed Drivers by Gender and by Age - 2020
Age Group (yrs)	Males	Females	Other Gender^{Footnote *}	Total
< 16	27,420	24,646	5	52,071
16 - 19	571,303	532,611	39	1,103,953
20 - 24	1,028,552	919,665	131	1,948,349
25 - 34	2,403,235	2,268,400	329	4,671,963
35 - 44	2,366,528	2,305,821	118	4,672,468
45 - 54	2,257,052	2,177,589	39	4,434,680
55 - 64	2,432,012	2,321,047	26	4,753,085
65 +	2,763,127	2,571,498	9	5,334,634
Not Stated	0	18	0	18
Total	13,849,229	13,121,295	696	26,971,220
Footnote * Three jurisdictions reported this category. Return to footnote * referrer

Licensed Drivers and Motor Vehicle Registrations by Type of Vehicle 2001-2020 (in thousands)
Year	Licensed Drivers	Light-Duty Vehicles	Commercial Vehicles	Motorcycles
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
2019	26,746	23,472	1,214	736
2020	26,971	23,839	1,233	748
Source: the motor vehicle registration data are from Statistics Canada, CANSIM, Table 405-0004. The licensed driver data were provided by each jurisdiction. Note: The registration data for 2020 were estimated. 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.

Fatalities In Commercial Vehicle Collisions by User Type - 2016 to 2020
Road User Class	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
Straight Truck (> 4,536 kg) Occupants	16	20	20	16	17
Tractor-Trailer Occupants	36	43	32	36	37
School Bus Occupants	2	1	2	0	0
Urban Transit Bus (City/Local) Occupants	0	0	1	0	0
Inter-City Bus (Motorcoach) Occupants	2	4	17	0	0
Passenger Vehicles	189	187	159	165	140
Pedestrians	50	48	43	59	56
Bicyclists	13	11	8	10	10
Motorcyclists^{Footnote **}	13	13	11	16	18
Other	56	86	71	68	79
Total Fatalities in CMV^{Footnote *} Collisions	377	413	364	370	357
Fatalities In All Other Collisions	1,523	1,448	1,575	1,392	1,388
Total Fatalities in All Collisions	1,900	1,861	1,939	1,762	1,745
Footnote * Commercial Vehicles (CMV) include heavy trucks and all bus types Return to footnote * referrer Footnote Includes moped riders Return to footnote referrer Note: These data were estimated using submissions from a subset of Canada's provinces and territories.

Contributing Factors in Fatal Collisions - 2016 to 2020
Contributing Factor^{Footnote *}	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
Distraction	23.3%	22.3%	21.6%	20.3%	22.3%
Speed / Driving too Fast	26.2%	23.9%	25.4%	22.1%	25.3%
Impaired / Under the Influence	26.3%	26.2%	27.1%	15.4%	17.6%
Fatigue	3.8%	4.0%	3.3%	3.5%	2.5%
Other Human Factor	39.9%	39.1%	40.1%	38.5%	41.5%
Environmental Factor	20.5%	22.6%	23.9%	20.8%	21.4%
Vehicle Factor	5.3%	4.6%	3.6%	4.2%	4.3%
No Contributing Factors	31.8%	26.2%	26.4%	24.0%	25.9%
Footnote * There will be double counting because there are multiple contributing factors reported for most collisions Return to footnote * referrer Note: These data were estimated using submissions from a subset of Canada's provinces and territories.

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://tc.canada.ca/vehicleCollisions.

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Canadian Motor Vehicle Traffic Collision Statistics: 2020

Introduction