A service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine 
National Institutes of Health
Motor Vehicle Safety
Also called: Automobile safety, Car safety, Vehicle safety
About every twelve minutes, someone in the U.S. dies from a motor vehicle crash. Trying to prevent these crashes is one part of motor vehicle safety. Here are some things you can do to be safer on the road.
- Make sure your vehicle is safe and in working order
- Use car seats for children
- Wear your seat belt
- Don't speed or drive aggressively
- Don't drive impaired
Safety also involves being aware of others. Share the road with bicycles and motorcycles, and watch for pedestrians.
The top row in the table of contents box contains the following groups:
Basics
,
Learn More
, and
Multimedia & Cool Tools
.
For group Basics
For group Learn More
For group Multimedia & Cool Tools
The bottom row in the table of contents box contains the following groups:
Research
,
Reference Shelf
, and
For You
.
For group Research
For group Reference Shelf
For group For You
-
Overviews
- safercar.gov(National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)
-
Latest News
- Drinking, Driving Drops by Half Among Teens: CDC(10/02/2012, HealthDay)
- Many Pedestrians Hit by Cars Are Distracted by Mobile Devices(10/02/2012, HealthDay)
- Telling Patients When They're Unfit to Drive Cuts Crashes(09/26/2012, HealthDay)
- Don't Wreck Your Vacation!(08/13/2012, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- More News on Motor Vehicle Safety
-
Coping
- Post-Traumatic Stress After a Traffic Accident(American Academy of Family Physicians)
- Also available in Spanish
-
Specific Conditions
- Air Bag Safety(American College of Emergency Physicians)
- Air Bag Safety(Dept. of Transportation)
- Motorcycle Safety Guide(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Return to top
-
Related Issues
- Aggressive Driving(American College of Emergency Physicians)
- Auto Battery Safety Facts(Prevent Blindness America) - PDF
- How to Avoid Headlight Glare(AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety) - PDF
- Motorcycle Safety: Cruisin' without Bruisin'(National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)
- Motorcycle Safety: Helmets Save Lives(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Off-Road Motorcycling and ATV Safety(American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine) - PDF
- Over the Edge and Back: What to Do If You Drive Off the Pavement Edge(AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety) - PDF
- Pedestrian Safety(American College of Emergency Physicians)
- Pedestrian Safety Tips(Safe Kids Worldwide) - PDF
- Preventing Backovers in America's Driveways(National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)
- Reduce Your Risk of Becoming a Carjacking Victim(National Safety Council) - PDF
- Riding Lawnmowers(Consumer Product Safety Commission) - PDF
- Rollovers(AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety)
- Turn Around, Don't Drown(National Weather Service)
- What To Do If You Have a Blowout on the Highway(National Safety Council) - PDF
- Winter, Your Car, and You(National Safety Council) - PDF
- Return to top
-
Health Check Tools
- Are You an Aggressive Driver?(AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety)
- Drivers 55 Plus: Self-Rating Form(AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety)
- Return to top
-
Tutorials
-
Older Drivers
(National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)
- Return to top
-
Older Drivers
-
Videos
- Car Seat Safety(Healthy Roads Media)
- Also available in Spanish
- Children in Hot Cars Result in Fatal Consequences(American College of Emergency Physicians)
- Return to top
-
Research
- 5-Star Safety Ratings: 2011-Newer Vehicles(Dept. of Transportation)
- CDC Study Finds Annual Cost of Motor Vehicle Crashes Exceeds $99 Billion(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Return to top
-
Journal Articles
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Assessing contextual factors that influence acceptance of pedestrian alerts by...
- Article: Wheeled mobility device transportation safety in fixed route and demand-responsive...
- Article: Investigation on occupant ejection in high severity rear impact based...
- Motor Vehicle Safety -- see more articles
- Return to top
-
Directories
- Defects and Recalls Database(National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)
- National Safety Council Training Center Directory(National Safety Council)
- Search for a Driving Specialist or Program(American Occupational Therapy Association)
- Return to top
-
Organizations
-
Law and Policy
- State Highway Safety Laws(Governors Highway Safety Association)
- Return to top
-
Statistics
- CDC Vital Signs: Adult Seat Belt Use in the US(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- CDC Vital Signs: Drinking and Driving(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Cost of Deaths from Crashes(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Crash Death Rates in 50 Largest US Metropolitan Areas(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Early Estimate of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities for January - June 2010(National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) - PDF
- Motorcycle Crash-Related Data(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Motorcycle Helmet Use in 2009 - Overall Results(National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) - PDF
- Motorcyclists Injured in Motor Vehicle Traffic Crashes(National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) - PDF
- Number of Teen Drivers Involved in Fatal Crashes Drops(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Seat Belt Use in 2008 - Demographic Results(National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) - PDF
- Seat Belt Use in 2010 - Overall Results(National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) - PDF
- Seat Belt Use in Rear Seats in 2008(National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) - PDF
- Teen Drivers(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Traffic Safety Facts: Older Population(National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) - PDF
- Walk This Way! Taking Steps for Pedestrian Safety(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Also available in Spanish
- Return to top
-
Children
- AAP Updates Recommendations on Car Seats(American Academy of Pediatrics)
- All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) Safety(National Children's Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety) - PDF
- Car Safety for You and Your Baby(American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) - PDF
- Car Seat Safety(Nemours Foundation)
- Car Seat Safety: Avoid 10 Common Mistakes(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Child Passenger Safety(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Child Passenger Safety: A Parent's Primer(National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) - PDF
- Lawn Mower Safety(American Academy of Pediatrics) - PDF
- National Weather Service: Owlie Skywarn's Weather Book(National Weather Service) - PDF
- Need for Speed: Motorized Vehicle Safety for Children(American Academy of Pediatrics)
- Safe for Life: Heat Stroke(National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)
- Staying Safe in the Car and on the Bus(Nemours Foundation)
- Also available in Spanish
- Return to top
-
Teenagers
- Bad-Weather Driving(Nemours Foundation)
- Car Surfing: CDC's Findings on a Dangerous, Thrill-Seeking Activity(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
-
CDC Vital Signs: Teen Drinking and Driving - A Dangerous Mix(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Graduated Driver Licensing(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Keys to Defensive Driving(Nemours Foundation)
- Parents Are the Key to Safe Teen Drivers(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Rules of the Road for Teen Drivers(Nemours Foundation)
- What to Do After a Car Accident(Nemours Foundation)
- Return to top
-
Women
- Pregnancy: Should I Use a Seat Belt?(American Academy of Family Physicians)
- Also available in Spanish
- Return to top
-
Seniors
- Drivers 55 Plus: Self-Rating Form(AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety)
- Older Adult Drivers(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
-
Older Drivers(National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)
-
Older Drivers(National Institute on Aging)
- Also available in Spanish
- Return to top
-
Patient Handouts
- Child Passenger Safety: A Parent's Primer(National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) - PDF
- Child safety seats
- Also available in Spanish
- Return to top
-
You may also be interested in these related encyclopedia pages:
MEDICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA
Languages
- Arabic (العربية)
- Bosnian (Bosanski)
- Chinese - Simplified (简体中文)
- Chinese - Traditional (繁體中文)
- French (français)
- Hindi (हिन्दी)
- Japanese (日本語)
- Korean (한국어)
- Marshallese (kajin Majöl)
- Portuguese (português)
- Russian (Русский)
- Somali (af Soomaali)
- Spanish (español)
- Ukrainian (Українська)
- Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt)
Motor Vehicle Safety - Multiple Languages
