Safe Drive 2000 - tips and statistics for young drivers
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The figures below are
taken from preliminary estimates of 1999 traffic statistics
compiled by the National Automotive Sampling System (NASS)
General Estimates System (GES) and the Fatality Analysis
Reporting System (FARS), sponsored by the National Center
for Statistics and Analysis, an office of the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). They are
given here to help drivers see the extent of the damage,
injuries, and deaths that occur, whether attributed to
aggressive driving, road and weather conditions, driver
inattention (drowsy driving), alcohol use, or a combination
of these factors. An estimated 6,28,000
police-reported crashes occurred in 1999. Total vehicle
miles (VMT) were an estimated 2,678,748 million miles (up 2
percent from 1998). The crash rate of 235 crashes per 100
million VMT represents a decline of 2 percent from
1998. There were an estimated
3,192,000 injured persons in 1999. The estimated injury rate
per 100 million VMT in 1999 was 119 compared to 122 in
1998. There were an estimated
41,345 fatalities in traffic crashes in 1999, a decrease of
3 percent from 1998. Total Vehicle Miles
Travelled 2,679,000 Injury Crashes
2,026,000 Fatal Crashes
36,886 There were an estimated
15,794 fatalities attributed to the presence of alcohol. The
estimated rate of alcohol involvement among fatalities as
38%, the lowest rate since record keeping began in
1975. Traffic deaths of children
aged 0-4 was 543 in 1999 (a 4% drop from 566 in 1998).
One-hundred and seventy 0-4 non-occupants were killed in
traffic crashes in 1999, for a total of 713. In 1999, 4,695 pedestrians
were killed in traffic crashes in the U.S., a decrease of
10% from 5,220 in 1998. The number of fatalities
on roads with posted speed limits of 55 or greater was
estimated at 23,559 in 1999, a two percent increase from
1998. The number of fatalities on roads with posted speed
limits less than 55 was estimated at 17,786. In 1999, an estimated
394,000 large trucks (gross vehicle weight of more than
10,000 pounds) were involved in traffic crashes in the U.S.
An estimated total of 5,203 people died (13 percent of all
traffic fatalities reported in 1999) and an additional
127,000 were injured in those crashes. The total number of
fatalities decreased by three percent from 1998. The
breakdown is as follows: Total Large Truck Crashes
394,000 Fatal Crashes
4,463 Injury Crashes
90,000 PDO (property damage only)
Crashes 304,000 Large Truck Fatalities
5,203 Large Truck Injuries
127,000 Large Truck Occupant
Fatalities 742 Large Truck Other
Fatalities 4,461 Large Truck Occupant
Injuries 31,000 Large Truck Other Injuries
6,000 It may interest the reader
to know that most of the fatal crashes involving large
trucks involved multiple vehicles and that in these multiple
vehicle crashes, the driver of the other vehicle was cited
by police 80 percent of the time compared to 28% for the
truck driver (the overlap in percentages may indicate that
both drivers were cited in some cases). An estimated 2,537
motorcycle occupants lost their lives in motorcycle crashes
in 1999, an increase of 11 percent from 1998.