Occupants killed with no restraint used, by state
FARS records 111,853 vehicle occupants killed with no restraint used in the United States from 2015 to 2024.
That is 49.0 percent of the occupants killed whose restraint use FARS records.
To qualify as a FARS case, the crash had to involve a motor vehicle traveling on a trafficway customarily open to the public and must have resulted in the death of a motorist or a non-motorist within 30 days of the crash.
The set of first files, known as the Annual Report File (ARF), is released following the crash year. The ARF is replaced about a year later with a final file, which contains additional cases or updates to cases that had become available after the ARF was released.
NHTSA's words. Source: NHTSA, Fatality Analysis Reporting System Analytical User's Manual, 1975-2024 (DOT HS 813 794, April 2026), copied on .
This page rests on the FARS 2024 annual file. NHTSA released it on . NHTSA can revise the counts in the final file. Release dates
Table 1 has the numbers.
What the count is
The share of vehicle occupants killed with no restraint in use, among the occupants killed whose restraint use FARS records. Motorcycle riders are not in the count. It is the field REST_USE.
This data element records the restraint equipment in use by this occupant at the time of the crash.
The United States by year
| Year | Share, in percent |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 49.8 |
| 2023 | 50.5 |
| 2022 | 51.2 |
| 2021 | 51.1 |
| 2020 | 52.3 |
| 2019 | 47.7 |
| 2018 | 46.7 |
| 2017 | 46.4 |
| 2016 | 47.1 |
| 2015 | 47.0 |
Note: the share is the share of vehicle-occupant deaths where no restraint was used, among those with restraint use known.
Each state
| State | Count | All deaths in the state | Share, in percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 3,926 | 9,605 | 57.6 |
| Alaska | 199 | 722 | 47.7 |
| Arizona | 2,831 | 10,939 | 54.7 |
| Arkansas | 2,087 | 5,846 | 54.2 |
| California | 7,452 | 39,702 | 38.0 |
| Colorado | 2,126 | 6,518 | 54.5 |
| Connecticut | 701 | 2,983 | 49.8 |
| Delaware | 339 | 1,287 | 47.4 |
| District of Columbia | 50 | 335 | 53.8 |
| Florida | 7,583 | 32,681 | 45.3 |
| Georgia | 4,909 | 15,801 | 49.9 |
| Hawaii | 174 | 1,035 | 51.8 |
| Idaho | 986 | 2,387 | 58.3 |
| Illinois | 2,935 | 11,423 | 46.8 |
| Indiana | 2,367 | 8,773 | 45.9 |
| Iowa | 1,122 | 3,477 | 48.1 |
| Kansas | 1,481 | 4,045 | 52.4 |
| Kentucky | 2,974 | 7,684 | 52.5 |
| Louisiana | 2,777 | 8,045 | 57.5 |
| Maine | 598 | 1,593 | 52.4 |
| Maryland | 1,247 | 5,548 | 43.4 |
| Massachusetts | 1,127 | 3,665 | 61.7 |
| Michigan | 2,257 | 10,567 | 39.4 |
| Minnesota | 972 | 4,111 | 39.8 |
| Mississippi | 2,721 | 7,057 | 53.0 |
| Missouri | 4,022 | 9,557 | 63.5 |
| Montana | 968 | 2,046 | 63.3 |
| Nebraska | 1,008 | 2,346 | 63.2 |
| Nevada | 740 | 3,557 | 44.8 |
| New Hampshire | 510 | 1,228 | 69.2 |
| New Jersey | 1,396 | 6,150 | 45.5 |
| New Mexico | 1,297 | 4,096 | 54.3 |
| New York | 1,910 | 10,682 | 38.5 |
| North Carolina | 4,703 | 15,192 | 46.8 |
| North Dakota | 454 | 1,060 | 62.9 |
| Ohio | 4,035 | 11,899 | 55.4 |
| Oklahoma | 2,387 | 6,765 | 53.7 |
| Oregon | 1,010 | 5,211 | 35.0 |
| Pennsylvania | 3,782 | 11,650 | 57.8 |
| Rhode Island | 173 | 601 | 53.4 |
| South Carolina | 3,494 | 10,473 | 53.2 |
| South Dakota | 601 | 1,323 | 65.8 |
| Tennessee | 3,692 | 11,576 | 48.7 |
| Texas | 10,704 | 39,616 | 45.1 |
| Utah | 770 | 2,824 | 45.6 |
| Vermont | 246 | 643 | 56.8 |
| Virginia | 3,349 | 8,664 | 54.3 |
| Washington | 1,340 | 6,257 | 40.8 |
| West Virginia | 946 | 2,726 | 53.2 |
| Wisconsin | 1,808 | 5,959 | 49.1 |
| Wyoming | 567 | 1,260 | 60.6 |
Note: "Count" is occupant deaths. The share shows the kind of crash that a state has. It does not show how many crashes the state has.
The other factors
Cite this page
Fatal Roads. Occupants killed with no restraint used, by state. https://fatalroads.com/factor/unrestrained/. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatality Analysis Reporting System, FARS 2024 annual file. Data to .
The address of this page does not change.
Source of the figures
Counts: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatality Analysis Reporting System, vehicle and person files of 2015 to 2024. Data to . How the figures are made.