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TABLE B-1 Transportation Fatalities by Mode: 1995-2006

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  1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Air 964 1,093 724 671 681 764 1,166 616 699 637 603 766
U.S. air carrier 168 380 8 1 12 92 531 0 22 14 22 50
Commuter carrier 9 14 46 0 12 5 13 0 2 0 0 2
On-demand air taxi 52 63 39 45 38 71 60 35 42 64 18 16
General aviation 735 636 631 625 619 596 562 581 633 559 563 698
Highway 41,817 42,065 42,013 41,501 41,717 41,945 42,196 43,005 42,884 42,836 43,510 42,642
Passenger car occupants 22,423 22,505 22,199 21,194 20,862 20,699 20,320 20,569 19,725 19,192 18,512 17,800
Motorcyclists 2,227 2,161 2,116 2,294 2,483 2,897 3,197 3,270 3,714 4,028 4,576 4,810
Truck occupants, light 9,568 9,932 10,249 10,705 11,265 11,526 11,723 12,274 12,546 12,674 13,037 12,721
Truck occupants, large 648 621 723 742 759 754 708 689 726 766 804 805
Bus occupants 33 21 18 38 59 22 34 45 41 42 58 27
Pedestrians 5,584 5,449 5,321 5,228 4,939 4,763 4,901 4,851 4,774 4,675 4,892 4,784
Pedalcyclists 833 765 814 760 754 693 732 665 629 727 786 773
Other 501 609 573 540 596 591 581 642 729 732 845 922
Pipeline 21 53 10 21 22 38 7 12 12 23 16 19
Hazardous liquid pipeline 3 5 0 2 4 1 0 1 0 5 2 0
Gas pipeline 18 48 10 19 18 37 7 11 12 18 14 19
Railroad 1,146 1,039 1,063 1,008 932 937 971 951 868 895 887 909
Highway-rail grade crossing 579 488 461 431 402 425 421 357 334 372 358 369
Railroad* 567 551 602 577 530 512 550 594 534 523 529 540
Transit 274 264 275 286 299 295 267 280 234 248 236 213
Highway-rail grade crossing 17 7 12 26 21 20 13 24 21 29 23 21
Transit 257 257 263 260 278 275 254 256 213 219 213 192
Waterborne 1,016 906 989 1,033 928 888 828 886 830 769 777 797
Commercial vessel-related 53 55 48 69 58 53 53 62 53 36 45 48
Not related to vessel 134 142 120 149 136 134 94 74 74 57 35 39
Recreational boating 829 709 821 815 734 701 681 750 703 676 697 710

* Mainly trespassor related.

NOTES: The actual number of deaths for passengers on trains from 1996-2006 was: 1996 (12), 1997 (6), 1998 (4), 1999 (14), 2000 (4), 2001 (3), 2002 (7), 2003 (3), 2004 (3), 2005 (16), 2006 (2).

Caution is needed in comparing fatalities across modes because of different definitions. For example, rail and transit fatalities include incident-related (not just moving-vehicle related) fatalities, such as fatalities from falls in transit stations or railroad employee fatalities from a fire in a workshed, while fatalities at airports not caused by moving aircraft or fatalities from accidents in automobile repair shops are not counted.

The Federal Railroad Administration defines a grade crossing as a location where a public highway, road, street, or private roadway, including associated sidewalks and pathways, crosses one or more railroad tracks at grade. The Federal Transit Administration defines two types of grade crossings: (1) At grade, mixed, and cross traffic crossings, meaning railway right-of-way over which other traffic moving in the same direction or other cross directions may pass. This includes city street right-of-way; (2) At grade with cross traffic crossings, meaning railway right-of-way over which no other traffic may pass, except to cross at grade-level crossings. This can include median strip rights-of-way with grade level crossings at intersecting streets.

SOURCES: Various sources, as cited in U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, National Transportation Statistics, table 2-1 and table 2-35, available at http://www.bts.gov/ as of September 2007.
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