Canadian Motor Vehicle Traffic Collision Statistics: 2015

Collected in cooperation with the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators

 

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 2015 saw a decrease in the number of serious injuries, yet showed a slight increase in fatalities and total injuries.

  • In 2015, the number of motor vehicle fatalities was 1,858; up 0.3% from 2014 (1,852).
  • The downward trend for serious injuries continued, dropping to 10,280 in 2015; down 1.1% from 2014 (10,397).
  • The number of fatalities per 100,000 population was 5.2 in 2015; unchanged from the rate seen in 2014.
  • The number of fatalities per billion vehicle kilometres travelled was 5.1 in 2015, the lowest on record.

Collisions and Casualties 1996-2015

Year Collisions Victims
FatalFootnote 1 Personal InjuryFootnote 2 FatalitiesFootnote 3 Serious InjuriesFootnote 4 InjuriesFootnote 5 (Total)
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 16,410 213,319
1999 2,632 148,683 2,980 16,187 218,457
2000 2,548 153,290 2,904 15,581 222,848
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 1,837 122,663 2,079 11,087 166,479
2013 1,731 120,370 1,954Footnote r 10,663 164,493
2014 1,709Footnote r 113,782Footnote r 1,852Footnote r 10,397Footnote r 155,312Footnote r
2015 1,669 116,735 1,858 10,280 161,902

Fatalities and Injuries by Age Group 2015

Age Group (yrs) Fatalities Serious Injuries Injuries (Total)
0 - 4  21 98 2,198
5 - 14  30 320 6,463
15 - 19  139 959 14,836
20 - 24  204 1,269 19,086
25 - 34  282 1,823 29,991
35 - 44  216 1,472 24,200
45 - 54  263 1,539 24,686
55 - 64  275 1,287 18,648
65 + 418 1,333 16,861
Not stated 10 180 4,933
Total 1,858 10,280 161,902

Fatalities by Road User Class 2011-2015

Road User Class 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
# Drivers 1,023Footnote r 1,025Footnote r 964Footnote r 924Footnote r 925
% Drivers 50.6Footnote r 49.3Footnote r 49.3 49.9Footnote r 49.8
# Passengers 401 457 369Footnote r 352Footnote r 360
% Passengers 19.8 22.0 18.9 19.0Footnote r 19.4
# Pedestrians 321 326 306Footnote r 301Footnote r 283
% Pedestrians 15.9 15.7 15.7 16.3Footnote r 15.2
# Bicyclists 57 63 69 42Footnote r 47
% Bicyclists 2.8 3.0 3.5 2.3Footnote r 2.5
# MotorcyclistsFootnote * 175Footnote r 175 198 190Footnote r 200
% Motorcyclists 8.7Footnote r 8.4 10.1 10.3 10.8
# Not stated/Other 46Footnote r 33Footnote r 48 43Footnote r 43
% Not stated/Other 2.3Footnote r 1.6Footnote r 2.5 2.3 2.3
# Total 2,023 2,079 1,954Footnote r 1,852Footnote r 1,858
% Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Fatalities 1996-2015

 

Text description of chart
Fatalities (thousands of persons)
Year Fatalities
1996 3,129
1997 3,076
1998 2,919
1999 2,980
2000 2,904
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 2,079
2013 1,954Footnote r
2014 1,852Footnote r
2015 1,858
Fatality Rate (per 10,000 motor vehicles registered)
Year Fatality Rate
1996 1.82
1997 1.76
1998 1.62
1999 1.70
2000 1.62
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 0.79Footnote r
2015 0.78
 

Casualty Rates 2015

  Per 100,000
PopulationFootnote 1
Per Billion
Vehicle-KilometresFootnote 2
 Per 100,000
Licensed Drivers
Fatalities Injuries Fatalities Injuries Fatalities Injuries
Canada 5.2 451.6 5.1 442.5 7.4 640.6
NL 7.9 624.4 8.2 647.8 11.5 906.2
PE 12.3 353.7 12.3 354.5 17.0 488.9
NS 5.6 511.5 4.8 433.4 7.5 686.2
NB 6.6 355.8 6.0 321.6 9.0 484.3
QC 4.4 447.9 4.9 499.3 6.6 673.1
ON 3.6 401.1 3.7 401.9 5.1 562.5
MB 6.0 921.2 5.5 837.4 8.9 1,354.6
SK 10.7 489.4 8.7 396.3 15.4 707.0
AB 7.9 429.4 5.5 298.2 10.5 574.0
BC 6.3 478.9 7.7 583.7 8.8 669.5
YT 10.7 556.3 6.1 319.5 14.2 736.6
NT 6.8 183.1 7.6 204.0 11.5 310.4
NU 2.7 134.1 26.3 1,289.5 13.6 668.3
 

Notes: Vehicle kilometres travelled data were not available for 2015 so they were estimated using average yearly change for the years 2012-2014

Data for Ontario are preliminary for 2015. Data for New Brunswick were estimated.

Recent changes in how traffic accident reports are collected in Manitoba resulted in an increased number of injuries of a minimal nature being captured in 2015.

 

Percentage of Driver and Passenger Fatalities and Serious Injuries by Age Group 2015

  Fatalities Serious Injuries
Age Group (yrs) Drivers Passengers Drivers Passengers
0 - 4  0.0 4.7 0.0 3.1
5 - 14 0.0 5.6 0.0 7.5
15 - 19  7.1 10.6 7.7 15.3
20 - 24 11.5 15.6 12.5 14.5
25 - 34 18.2 10.3 19.9 15.7
35 - 44 10.7 10.3 17.0 9.5
45 - 54 16.1 8.4 16.3 8.4
55 - 64 14.6 13.9 13.3 8.3
65 + 21.8 20.1 13.2 12.6
Not Stated 0.0 0.5 0.1 5.1
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Number of Licensed Drivers by Gender and by Age 2015

Age Group (yrs) Males Females Total
< 16 24,908  20,751  45,659 
16 - 19 595,129  550,280  1,145,409 
20 - 24 1,016,626  941,479  1,958,105 
25 - 34 2,215,484  2,132,603  4,348,087 
35 - 44 2,196,382  2,142,334  4,338,716 
45 - 54 2,431,975  2,321,870  4,753,845 
55 - 64 2,251,820  2,131,493  4,383,313 
65 + 2,183,981  2,115,800  4,299,781 
Not Stated
Total 12,916,305 12,356,610 25,272,915

Licensed Drivers and Motor Vehicle Registrations by Type of Vehicle (in thousands) 1996-2015

  Licensed DriversFootnote 1 Light-Duty VehiclesFootnote 2 Commercial VehiclesFootnote 3 MotorcyclesFootnote 4
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
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 1,121Footnote r 688
2015 25,273 22,068 1,147 709
 

Source: 1996 to 1998: Statistics Canada, Catalogue No. 53-219, "Road Motor Vehicles - Registrations".
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.

Note: A reduced level of 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.

 

Percentage of Driver and Passenger Fatalities and Serious Injuries Where Victims Were Not Using Seat Belts 2011-2015

Drivers
  2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Fatalities 31.4 31.8 32.0 26.2 28.7
Serious Injuries 12.9 12.6 11.7 11.8 10.4
Passengers
  2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Fatalities 34.1 36.6 30.7 33.2 27.6
Serious Injuries 20.9 20.0 18.5 17.7 17.4

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

Percentage of Fatalities and Serious Injuries by Road User Class 2015

Road User Class Fatalities Serious Injuries
Drivers 49.8 46.4
Passengers 19.4 20.2
Pedestrians 15.2 14.3
Bicyclists 2.5 4.7
MotorcyclistsFootnote * 10.8 12.1
Not Stated/Other 2.3 2.3
Total 100.0 100.0

Number of Collisions By Location 2015

Location Fatal Personal Injury
UrbanFootnote 1 688  86,508 
RuralFootnote 2 953  27,860 
Not stated 28 2,367
Total 1,669 116,735

 

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".

© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of Transport, 2017

Cette publication est aussi disponible en français sous le titre Statistiques sur les collisions de la route au Canada 2015

Catalogue No. T45-3E-PDF
ISBN 1701-6223

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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 www.tc.gc.ca/motor-vehicle-safety 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://wwwapps2.tc.gc.ca/Saf-Sec-Sur/7/NCDB-BNDC/p.aspx?l=en.