TRAFFIC SAFETY FACTS
Crash • Stats
DOT HS 811 851
A Brief Statistical Summary
November 2013
Lives Saved in 2012 by Restraint Use and
Minimum Drinking Age Laws
air bags (occupants 13 and older), 1,699 lives were saved
by motorcycle helmets, 525 lives were saved by 21-yearold-minimum-drinking-age laws, and 284 lives (4 and
younger) were saved by child restraints (child safety seats
and lap/shoulder belts). An additional 3,031 lives would
have been saved in 2012 if all unrestrained passenger
vehicle occupants 5 and older involved in fatal crashes
had worn their seat belts; and if all motorcyclists had
been helmeted, then an additional 781 lives would have
been saved.
In 2012, the use of seat belts in passenger vehicles saved
an estimated 12,174 lives. Seat belts have saved nearly
63,000 lives during the 5-year-period from 2008 to 2012.
These annual estimates of lives saved, shown in Table
1, have been produced by NHTSA’s National Center for
Statistics and Analysis since 1975. The estimates are calculated using the effectiveness of each device or law that
is mentioned. More information on the methodology of
lives-saved estimates is available in two NHTSA publications, Lives Saved FAQs (NHTSA, 2009, DOT HS 811 105),
which answers 30 common questions about lives saved
and includes references to many other reports on lives
saved; and Lives Saved Calculations for Seat Belts and Frontal
Air Bags (Glassbrenner & Starnes, 2009, DOT HS 811 206,
NHTSA), which describes in detail the methodology of
estimating lives saved by seat belts and frontal air bags.
Table 1 shows that the number of lives saved by seat belts
among occupants 5 and older increased from 11,983 in
2011 to 12,174 in 2012. The number of lives saved by child
restraints, frontal air bags, and motorcycle helmets also
increased from 2011 to 2012. The number of lives saved
by the minimum-drinking-age law decreased from 535 in
2011 to 525 in 2012.
In addition to the 12,174 lives saved in 2012 by seat belts
(occupants 5 and older), 2,213 lives were saved by frontal
Table 1: Lives Saved by Restraint Use, and 21-Year-Old-Minimum-Drinking-Age Laws, and Additional Lives That Would
Have Been Saved at 100-Percent Seat Belt and Motorcycle Helmet Use, 2008–2012
Lives Saved,
Age 4 & Younger
Lives Saved,
Age 5 & Older
Lives Saved,
Age 13 & Older
Lives Saved,
All Ages
Lives
Saved
Additional Lives That Would Have
Been Saved at 100 Percent Use
Year
Child Restraints
Seat Belts
Frontal Air Bags
Motorcycle
Helmets
Minimum
Drinking Age Law
Seat Belts
Motorcycle
Helmets
2008
286
13,312
2,557
1,836
716
4,171
827
2009
307
12,763
2,387
1.486
626
3,700
733
2010
303
12,582
2,315
1,556
552
3,353
708
2011
262
11,983
2,210
1,622
535
3,394
706
2012
284
12,174
2,213
1,699
525
3,031
781
Source: 2008–2011 FARS Final Files and FARS 2012 Annual Report File
Table 2 shows lives-saved totals in 2012 for all 50 States, the
District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The far left column
is the lives saved by child restraints, and the next three
columns refer respectively to lives saved by seat belts,
lives saved by frontal air bags, and lives saved by motorPublished by NHTSA’s National Center for Statistics and Analysis
cycle helmets. The numbers in the two far right columns
represent the additional lives savable at 100-percent seat
belt use and 100-percent helmet use, respectively. Due to
rounding, the sum of the State totals may not equal the
national total.
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590
2
Table 2: Lives Saved in 2012 by Child Restraints, Seat Belts, Frontal Air Bags, and Motorcycle Helmets
State
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
National*
Puerto Rico
Lives Saved by
Child Restraints,
Age 4 and Younger
11
0
4
3
26
2
0
1
0
12
15
0
0
12
13
5
5
6
1
1
3
1
11
3
9
5
0
2
2
0
1
2
7
10
1
9
1
0
10
1
4
2
7
50
4
2
2
2
2
4
1
284
0
Lives Saved by
Seat Belts,
Age 5 and Older
304
21
231
189
1,194
149
90
35
0
752
486
27
73
346
316
161
143
272
246
55
209
95
417
173
203
195
48
62
90
25
181
132
460
507
55
379
263
146
328
32
278
40
373
1,479
68
19
276
176
91
230
55
12,174
61
Lives Saved by
Frontal Air Bags,
Age 13 and Older
69
3
45
42
140
30
16
7
0
129
85
4
12
63
53
26
31
57
48
15
33
23
66
28
50
67
16
18
15
8
32
20
61
79
13
89
53
16
102
5
61
9
77
214
15
6
57
23
28
45
9
2,213
15
Lives Saved by
Motorcycle Helmets,
All Ages
52
3
41
15
239
15
7
8
2
135
74
7
7
17
18
7
7
23
45
6
41
29
42
8
20
56
6
12
21
6
40
14
91
105
2
22
12
28
62
1
25
2
79
107
12
5
46
46
10
16
1
1,699
10
Additional Lives Savable At
100-Percent Restraint Use
Seat
Belts
75
5
90
108
96
58
22
7
0
190
85
4
31
47
40
26
61
97
101
20
35
50
50
21
82
111
34
31
17
19
43
26
79
119
26
148
95
10
136
13
61
31
133
185
27
7
120
12
39
83
24
3,031
15
Motorcycle
Helmets
3
2
27
17
10
20
10
2
0
98
3
11
4
45
46
18
13
26
1
5
3
1
25
16
2
4
8
0
2
7
3
15
6
7
4
47
24
2
39
2
39
8
2
101
4
1
2
2
5
34
4
781
13
*Estimates for States may not add up to national total due to independent rounding.
Published by NHTSA’s National Center for Statistics and Analysis
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590
10050-103113-v2