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Canadian Motor Vehicle Traffic Collision Statistics: 2009

Transport Canada
Road Safety and Motor Vehicle Regulation
Collected in co-operation with the
Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators
TP 3322
Cat. T45-3/2009
2011


Table of Contents



   Collisions and Casualties 1990–2009
Year Collisions Victims
Fatal1 Personal Injury2 Fatalities3 Serious Injuries4 Injuries5 (Total)
1990 3,445 178,515 3,963 25,183 262,680
1991 3,225 170,693 3,690 26,035 249,217
1992 3,073 169,640 3,501 25,521 249,823
1993 3,121 168,106 3,615 23,902 247,593
1994 2,837 164,642 3,230 22,830 241,899
1995 2,817 161,950 3,313 21,494 238,458
1996 2,740 153,944 3,129 18,734 227,283
1997 2,660 147,549 3,076 17,294 217,401
1998 2,583 145,615 2,919 16,197 213,319
1999 2,632 148,683 2,980 16,187 218,457
2000 2,547 153,300 2,903 15,583 222,869
2001 2,413 148,996 2,756 15,285 216,489
2002* 2,583 153,859 2,921 15,907 222,707
2003 2,489 150,545 2,779 15,125 216,210
2004 2,436 145,248 2,731 15,591 206,229
2005 2,551 145,603 2,898 15,814 204,764
2006 2,599 142,531 2,884 15,885 199,994
2007 2,462 138,632 2,761 14,236 192,762
2008 2,182r 127,634r 2,419 12,591r 176,433r
2009 2,011 123,192 2,209 11,451 172,883

A car crash.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 (eight days).

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 (eight days).

3. "Fatalities" include all those who died as a result of a reported traffi c collision within 30 days of its occurrence, except in Quebec (eight days).

4. "Serious Injuries" include persons admitted to hospital for treatment or observation. Serious injuries were estimated from 1990 to 2009 because several jurisdictions under-reported these numbers.

5. "Total Injuries" include all reported severities of injuries ranging from minimal to serious.

* Data for Nunavut are not reported for 2001, except for fatalities.

r Revised.



   Fatalities and Injuries by Age Group 2009
Age Group (Years) Fatalities Serious Injuries Injuries (Total)
0–4 19 87 2,142
5–14 35 392 7,445
15–19 240 1,400 20,632
20–24 283 1,547 21,625
25–34 364 1,946 30,738
35–44 244 1,704 26,148
45–54 355 1,856 26,205
55–64 252 1,089 16,418
65 + 389 1,116 13,922
Not stated 28 314 7,608
Total 2,209 11,451 172,883


   Fatalities by Road User Class 2005–2009
Road User Class   2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Drivers # 1,498 1,513 1,409 1275r 1,173
  % 51.7 52.5 51.0 52.7 53.1
Passengers # 682 612 614 499r 432
  % 23.5 21.2 22.2 20.6 19.5
Pedestrians # 342 376 376 299 307
  % 11.8 13.0 13.6 12.4 13.9
Bicyclists # 52 73 65 42 41
  % 1.8 2.5 2.4 1.7 1.9
Motorcyclists* # 233 212 225 216r 195
  % 8.0 7.4 8.1 8.9 8.8
Not Stated/Other # 91 98 72 88r 61
  % 3.1 3.4 2.6 3.6 2.8
Total # 2,898 2,884 2,761 2,419 2,209
  % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

* Includes moped riders.

r Revised.



Fatalities 1990–2009
Fatalities 1990-2009



   Casualty Rates 2009
  Per 100,000 Population1 Per Billion Vehicle-Kilometres2 Per 100,000 Licensed Drivers
Fatalities Injuries Fatalities Injuries Fatalities Injuries
Canada 6.6 512.7 6.6 518.7 9.5 745.3
N.L. 6.3 464.0 6.9 508.9 8.8 647.3
P.E.I. 8.5 540.8 9.4 596.2 12.4 787.5
N.S. 7.7 804.4 7.2 751.5 10.6 1,109.2
N.B. 8.8 510.9 8.3 480.7 12.1 700.2
Que. 6.6 550.1 7.1 592.2 10.2 856.6
Ont. 4.1 472.5 4.2 490.7 5.9 678.3
Man. 7.1 591.7 7.3 615.9 11.1 929.6
Sask. 14.7 652.2 11.8 526.0 21.2 943.5
Alta. 9.6 522.2 7.1 385.6 12.8 701.7
B.C. 8.4 451.4 10.5 562.6 12.1 648.4
Y.T. 20.8 517.1 13.7 341.1 27.6 685.6
N.W.T. 11.4 302.2 15.9 419.8 20.5 539.9
Nvt. 6.2 130.5 65.1 1,368.1 44.7 937.7

1. Statistics Canada, Annual Demographic Estimates: Canada, Provinces and Territories, 2010, Catalogue No. 91-215-X.

2. Statistics Canada, Canadian Vehicle Survey, Catalogue No. 53-223-XIE.

Note: Data for Ontario are preliminary for 2009.



Percentage of Fatally Injured Drivers Tested and Found to Have Been Drinking 1990–2009 (Blood Alcohol Concentration > 0 mg%*)
Percentage of Fatally Injured Drivers Tested and Found to Have Been Drinking 1990–2009 (BAC >0 mg%)

* mg%: Weight of alcohol in the bloodstream stated as milligrams in 100 millilitres of blood.

1 Before 2001, BAC categories were reported as 81-150 mg% and >150 mg%.

Note: 2008 data are preliminary.

Source: The alcohol-crash problem in Canada, 2008.



   Percentage of Driver and Passenger Fatalities and Serious Injuries Where Victims Were Not Using Seat Belts 2005–2009
  2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Drivers          
Fatalitites 34.9 36.9 35.3 34.9 33.6
Serious Injuries 14.3 16.2 16.0 15.6 14.5
Passengers          
Fatalities 35.4 38.7 39.1 38.3 36.3
Serious Injuries 19.9 24.6 24.8 21.6 23.3

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



   Number of Collisions by Location 2009
Location Fatal Personal Injury
Urban1 821 90,248
Rural2 1,154 30,232
Not Stated 36 2,712
Total 2,011 123,192

Three cars on the road.1. Urban includes:

>
  • metropolitan roads and streets, and other urban areas; or
  • a speed limit at the collision site of 60 km/h or less.

  • 2. Rural includes:

    >
  • primary or secondary highways, as well as local roads; or
  • a speed limit at the collision site above 60 km/h.

  • 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 Fatalities and Serious Injuries by Road User Class 2009
    Road User Class Fatalities Serious Injuries
    Drivers 53.1 47.1
    Passengers 19.5 22.7
    Pedestrians 13.9 12.5
    Bicyclists 1.9 3.8
    Motorcyclists 8.8 11.1
    Not Stated/Other 2.8 2.8
    Total 100.0 100.0


       Percentage of Driver and Passenger Fatalities and Serious Injuries by Age Group 2009
    Age Group (Years) Fatalities Serious Injuries
    Drivers Passengers Drivers Passengers
    0–4 0.0 3.2 0.0 2.0
    5–14 0.2 4.5 0.3 7.3
    15–19 9.6 18.5 9.9 19.5
    20–24 13.8 13.7 13.5 15.9
    25–34 17.1 14.2 19.1 15.1
    35–44 13.2 9.2 17.9 10.0
    45–54 18.4 10.4 18.2 10.1
    55–64 12.4 7.0 10.2 6.6
    65+ 14.8 17.3 10.4 8.0
    Not Stated 0.5 2.0 0.5 5.5
    Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0


       Number of Licensed Drivers by Gender and by Age 2009
    Age Group (Years) Male Female Total
    <16* 26,511 18,006 44,517
    16–19 582,294 514,143 1,096,437
    20–24 989,160 919,822 1,908,982
    25–34 2,037,437 1,962,119 3,999,556
    35–44 2,226,806 2,124,253 4,351,059
    45–54 2,517,435 2,372,877 4,890,312
    55–64 1,901,900 1,750,694 3,652,594
    65+ 1,766,478 1,487,632 3,254,110
    Not Stated 3 2 5
    Total 12,048,024 11,149,548 23,197,572

    * Learner's licence



       Licensed Drivers and Motor Vehicle Registrations by Type of Vehicle (in thousands) 1990–2009
    Year Licensed Drivers1 Light-Duty Vehicles2 Commercial Vehicles3 Motorcycles4
    1990 17,718 12,622 4,000 359
    1991 18,090 12,578 3,516 350
    1992 18,465 12,781 3,461 339
    1993 18,843 12,925 3,455 337
    1994 19,243 13,131 3,510 330
    1995 19,327 13,192 3,535 320
    1996 19,964 13,251 3,620 312
    1997 20,148 13,515 3,684 319
    1998 20,744 13,887 3,767 334
    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

    1. Excludes temporary permits prior to 1999.

    2. Pre-1999, these registrations include passenger automobiles. From 1999, light-duty vehicles include passenger vehicles (automobiles, passenger vans), light trucks and vans (less than 4,500 kg).

    3. Pre-1999, these registrations include trucks, buses and other commercial vehicles, such as vans. From 1999, these registrations include commercial vehicles (trucks and buses) greater than 4,500 kg.

    4. Includes mopeds.

    Source: 1989 to 1998: Statistics Canada Road Motor Vehicles, Catalogue No. 53-219. From 1999, the motor vehicle registration data are from Statistics Canada, CANSIM, Table 405-0004. From 1999 the licensed driver data were provided by each jurisdiction.

    The decline in police reporting in British Columbia in years 1996 through 2004 has affected the British Columbia totals and, to a lesser extent, national totals reported in this publication.



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    Road Safety and Motor Vehicle
    Regulation Directorate
    Transport Canada
    Tower C, Place de Ville
    330 Sparks Street
    Ottawa, Ontario
    K1A 0N5

Date modified:
2012-02-21