Car accidents fall into several major categories (whose names are self-explanatory):

* Rear-end collisions
* Rollovers
* Head-on collisions
* Single-car accidents
* Pile-ups
* Railroad crossing accidents

Car accidents are unintentional damaging events involving automobiles. Car accidents can damage one or more autos, people, or structures. Car accidents—also called traffic accidents, auto accidents, road accidents, road traffic accidents (RTA in many police forces' terminology) and motor vehicle accidents—cause thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands of disabilities each year.

Worldwide, car accidents kill an estimated one million people each year (a 2002 statistic).