Motor vehicle traffic crashes ranked 9th behind heart disease, cancer, and stroke as a leading cause of death in the United States in 1994, accounting for 41,507 lives or 1.8% of all deaths in 1994. Data on the leading causes of death from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) for calendar year 1994, the latest year for which these data are available, were used for this report. Traffic crashes were the 8th ranked cause of death for males, accounting for 1 of every 41 male deaths in 1994, representing 27,882 deaths. Traffic crashes were the 9th ranked cause of death for females, accounting for 1 of every 82 deaths, representing 13,625 deaths. Traffic crashes were the leading cause of death for ages 6 - 27, both males and females; ages 6 - 23 and age 26 for males; and ages 4 - 6 and ages 8 - 28 for females in 1994. Differences between ethnic groups appear to exist for traffic crashes as a cause death: ranking 7th and 10th for white males and females; 10th and 15th for African-American males and females; 3rd and 5th for Native American males and females; 5th and 6th for Hispanic males and females; and 5th and 6th for Asian/Pacific-islander males and females. 77p. Produced under contract DTNH22-94-D-07005. (Author/publisher)
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