Alberta Driving Statistics: Drivers and Collisions

More than 3.4 million Albertans hold a driver's licence, and about 240,000 of them are Class 7 learners.

This page gathers the numbers from two Government of Alberta reports: licensed drivers as of March 31, 2023, and the 2023 collision statistics, published in June 2025.

Both reports cover 2023, so the figures fit together. Where we calculate a share ourselves, we say so.

Licensed drivers

13,423,462 licensed drivers (March 2023)

Alberta had 3,423,462 licensed drivers on March 31, 2023, up from 3,320,290 in 2022 and 3,229,821 in 2019.¹

2240,761 Class 7 drivers

That is about 7 percent of all licensed drivers (our calculation). The Class 7 count was 196,150 in 2019, a rise of about 23 percent over four years (our calculation).¹

342,725 Class 7 drivers aged 14 and 15

By age, Class 7 licences were held by 42,725 people aged 14 to 15, 35,499 aged 16 to 17, 32,759 aged 18 to 20, 27,361 aged 21 to 24, and 49,131 aged 25 to 34. Older age groups are smaller: 29,368 aged 35 to 44 and 13,516 aged 45 to 54.¹

Collisions

4119,070 collisions in 2023

Alberta recorded 119,070 reportable collisions in 2023. Collisions with $2,000 or more in damage must be reported.²

5297 deaths in 2023, up 10.8 percent

Fatalities rose from 268 in 2022 to 297 in 2023. There were 272 fatal collisions, 0.2 percent of the total.²

62,164 major injury collisions, up 8.0 percent

Major injuries rose from 2,030 to 2,164.²

7Fridays and the afternoon rush hour

Friday was the most collision-prone day and 3:00 to 6:59 p.m. the most collision-prone time. October had the most fatal and major injury collisions.²

Young drivers

883 drivers aged 18 to 19 in fatal or major injury collisions

The rate for drivers aged 18 to 19 was 0.9 per 1,000 licensed drivers, against 0.6 for all ages. Among males aged 18 to 19 the rate was 1.2, the highest of any group. Males under 16 were next.²

90.7 per 1,000 for drivers aged 16 to 17

There were 54 drivers aged 16 to 17 involved in fatal or major injury collisions, a rate of 0.7 per 1,000 licensed drivers.²

Causes and safety

10Ran off road: 43.9 percent

The top improper driver actions in fatal or major injury collisions were running off the road (43.9%), driving left of centre (9.2%) and stop sign violations (9.1%).²

11Rural roads: 65.4 percent of fatal collisions

65.4 percent of fatal collisions were rural, while 61.1 percent of major injury collisions were urban.²

127.3 percent of drivers in fatal collisions impaired

The share for major injury collisions was 6.8 percent.²

13Seat belts: 2.3 vs 5.7 percent major injury rate

Restraint users had a 2.3 percent major injury rate, against 5.7 percent for the unrestrained.²

Many of these risks are tested on the knowledge exam. Start a free practice test.

Common questions

How many licensed drivers are in Alberta?

3,423,462 as of March 31, 2023.¹

How many collisions happen in Alberta each year?

119,070 in 2023.²

Which age group is most at risk?

Males aged 18 to 19 had the highest rate of fatal or major injury collision involvement.²

Sources

Licence counts include learner classes and only active licences. Newer licence data was not available to us.

1. Government of Alberta: Licensed Drivers by Licence Class, Gender and Age (March 31, 2023) (open.alberta.ca)
2. Government of Alberta: Alberta Traffic Collision Statistics 2023 (open.alberta.ca)