Law Enforcement Officer Motor Vehicle Safety

Key points

Law enforcement officers are at risk of motor vehicle-related incidents from many preventable factors. Officers can prevent on-the-job crashes and injuries so they can drive to arrive alive at a scene.

Law enforcement officer uniform

Why it's important

Motor vehicle-related incidents are a leading cause of line-of-duty deaths for law enforcement officers in the United States – they are also preventable.1 It is important to promote motor vehicle safety among officers so they can stay safe while working to make communities safer.

Line-of-duty deaths‎

From 2014-2023, 496 officers died due to motor vehicle related incidents (struck by and crashes) – 29% of all line-of-duty deaths (excluding COVID-19 deaths).2

Job hazards

There are more than 750,000 state and local (excluding federal) law enforcement officers.3 These officers face many job hazards, including: physical exertion, psychological and organizational stressors, and health issues. Some behavior-related hazards that put officers at risk of a crash or crash-related injury on the job are:

  • Not wearing a seat belt
  • Speeding, particularly through intersections
  • Being distracted while using in-car electronics
  • Experiencing tunnel vision from increased stress

What we know

In the last 10 years, on average, an officer per week has been killed on our nation's roads (2014-2023 = 50 deaths per year).1

Motor vehicle-related incidents are a leading cause of death for officers. These include crashes and being struck by moving vehicles while on foot.

From 2014-2023, excluding COVID-19 deaths:1

  • 1,716 officer line-of-duty deaths
  • 342 officer line-of-duty deaths due to vehicle crashes (20% of total)
  • 154 officer line-of-duty deaths due to struck-by (9% of total)

Resources

View our free resources related to law enforcement motor vehicle safety.

Officer Road Code Toolkit‎

The Officer Road Code Toolkit is designed to promote safe driving practices within an agency so that patrol officers operate by a unified code behind the wheel: Drive to Arrive Alive.