Personal Safety by the Numbers: Where the Data Comes From

Good safety decisions start with good data. This reference collects real, publicly reported U.S. safety statistics from federal agencies and national standards organizations. We do not invent numbers, and every figure below links to its primary source so you can verify it yourself. Use these trends to decide where to focus your time and budget — then confirm the details with the original agency or a qualified professional.

Home Fire & Smoke Alarms — NFPA

According to the National Fire Protection Association's report Smoke Alarms in U.S. Home Fires (based on 2018–2022 data), nearly three out of five (59%) home fire deaths occurred in properties with no smoke alarms (43%) or smoke alarms that failed to operate (16%). NFPA also reports that the risk of dying in a home fire is substantially lower in homes with working smoke alarms. These are the numbers behind our emphasis on alarm placement, testing, and replacement.

• Fires in homes with no alarms or non-operating alarms carried the highest death rate per 1,000 reported fires.
• The most common reason alarms failed to operate was missing, disconnected, or dead batteries.

Road Safety — NHTSA

The U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that 40,901 people were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2023, with an estimated 2.44 million people injured across about 6.14 million police-reported crashes. Two preventable factors stood out:

• 12,429 fatalities in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes (a 7.6% decrease from 2022).
• 11,775 speeding-related fatalities (about 29% of all traffic fatalities).

These figures are the basis for our travel-safety and bike-safety guidance: impairment, speed, and visibility are consistently among the largest, most preventable contributors to serious harm.

Fraud & Identity Theft — FTC

The Federal Trade Commission's Consumer Sentinel Network received 5.4 million reports in 2023. Of these, more than 1 million were reports of identity theft filed through IdentityTheft.gov, and total reported fraud losses topped $10 billion for the first time. Common contact methods scammers used in 2023 were email, phone calls, and text messages.

• Credit card fraud was the most frequently reported type of identity theft.
• People aged 80 and older reported the highest median loss of any age group.

This is why our cyber-security guides prioritize password managers, two-factor authentication, and recognizing phishing — the cheapest, highest-leverage protections against the most common reported harms.

Older-Adult Falls — CDC

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that about 1 in 4 adults aged 65 and older falls each year, and falls are the leading cause of both fatal and nonfatal injuries among older adults. This is the data behind our senior fall-prevention guidance: grab bars, improved lighting, removing trip hazards, and strength/balance exercise are repeatedly shown to reduce fall risk.

Why we cite sources

Anyone can repeat a statistic. Far fewer can show where it came from. Linking to the original agency lets you check whether a number still holds, see the methodology, and understand its limits. When you see a claim on SecurFig, you should be able to trace it back to a named, authoritative body.

Primary sources

• NFPA — Smoke Alarms in U.S. Home Fires (2024)
• NHTSA — 2023 Traffic Safety Facts / Fatality Analysis Reporting System
• FTC — 2023 Consumer Sentinel Network & IdentityTheft.gov
• CDC — Older Adult Falls Data & STEADI

Frequently Asked Questions