OVERVIEW In 1994, 40,676 people lost their lives in motor vehicle crashes, an increase of 1.3 percent from 1993. The fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles of travel in 1994 was 1.7. The fatality rate per 100,000 population was 15.62 in 1994, 0.3 percent higher than 1993 (15.57). An average of 111 persons died each day in motor vehicle crashes in 1994 - one every 13 minutes. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for every age from 6 through 28 years old (based on 1991 data). Vehicle occupants comprised almost 84 percent of fatalities in 1994; the remaining 16 percent were pedestrians, pedalcyclists and other nonoccupants.

OCCUPANT PROTECTION In 1994, 47 states and the District of Columbia had safety belt use laws in effect. Use rates vary widely from state to state, reflecting factors such as differences in public attitudes, enforcement practices, legal provisions and public information and education programs. From 1982 through 1994, it is estimated that safety belts saved 65,290 lives (9,175 in 1994). In 1994, it is estimated that 308 children under age 5 were saved as a result of child restraint use. An estimated 2,655 lives were saved by child restraints from 1982 through 1994. In 1994, 47 percent of occupants of passenger cars and 54 percent of occupants of light trucks involved in fatal crashes were unrestrained. In fatal crashes, 73 percent of passenger car occupants who were totally ejected were killed. Safety belts are very effective in preventing total ejections: only 1 percent of the occupants reported to be using restraints were totally ejected, compared with 20 percent of the unrestrained occupants.

ALCOHOL In 1994 there were 16,589 fatalities in alcohol-related crashes which is the lowest number of alcohol-related fatalities in many years. However, it still represents an average of one alcohol-related fatality every 32 minutes. Motor vehicle fatalities in alcohol related crashes dropped by 5 percent from 1993 to 1994. The 16,589 alcohol related fatalities in 1994 (40.8 percent of total traffic fatalities for the year) represent a 30 percent reduction from the 23,758 alcohol-related fatalities reported in 1984 (53.7 percent of the total). NHTSA estimates that alcohol was involved in 40.9 percent of fatal crashes in 1994. In 1994, 32.2 percent of all traffic fatalities occurred in crashes in which at least one driver or pedestrian had a BAC of .10 or greater. More than 1.5 million drivers were arrested in 1993 for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics; an arrest rate of l for every 117 licensed drivers in the United States (1994 data not yet available). About 2 in every 5 Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related crash at some time in their lives. From 1894 to 1994, intoxication rates (BAC = .10+) decreased from drivers of all age groups involved in fatal crashes. Intoxication rates for drivers involved in fatal crashes in 1994 were 28.9 percent for motorcycles, 22.9 percent for light trucks, 19.4 percent for passenger cars and 1.4 percent for medium and heavy trucks. NHTSA estimates that minimum drinking age laws have saved 14,816 lives since 1975.

MOTORCYCLES The 2,304 motorcyclist fatalities accounted for 6 percent of total fatalities in 1994. The motorcycle fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled is about 20 times that of passenger cars. Motorcycle operator error was identified as a contributing factor in 76 percent of fatal crashes involving motorcycles in 1994. Excessive speed was the contributing factor most often noted. 43 percent of fatally injured operators and 48 percent of fatally injured passengers were not wearing helmets at the time of the crash. Approximately one out of every five motorcycle operators involved in a fatal crash in 1994 was driving with an invalid license at the time of the collision. Motorcycle operators involved in fatal crashes in 1994 had a higher blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level (28.9 percent) than any other type of motor vehicle driver. NHTSA estimates that 518 lives were saved by the use of motorcycle helmets in 1994.

MEDIUM AND HEAVY TRUCKS 11 percent (4,544) of all motor vehicle traffic fatalities reported in 1994 involved heavy trucks (gross vehicle weight rating greater than 26,000 pounds) and 1.5 percent (608) of the fatalities involved medium trucks (gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 to 26,000 pounds). 78 percent of fatalities involving a medium or heavy truck were occupants of another vehicle. 13 percent were occupants of the medium or heavy truck. Medium and heavy trucks accounted for 8 percent of all vehicles involved in fatal crashes in 1994. Three quarters of the medium and heavy trucks in fatal crashes in 1994 collided with another motor vehicle in transport. Only 1.4 percent of the drivers of medium and heavy trucks involved in fatal crashes in 1994 were intoxicated. (Compared with 19.4 percent for passenger cars, 22.9 percent for light trucks and 28.9 percent for motorcycles).

CARS LIGHT TRUCKS AND VANS There were 30,780 occupant fatalities in passenger vehicles in 1994. This is approximately 90 percent of total occupant fatalities (passenger cars 64 percent, light trucks 26 percent). Single-vehicle crashes accounted for 41 percent of all fatal crashes, multi-vehicle crashes 42 percent and the remaining 17 percent were nonoccupant crashes. Frontal impacts accounted for 62 percent of passenger vehicle occupant fatalities where the impact of the vehicle is known. Ejection accounted from 27 percent of occupant fatalities in passenger vehicle. Occupant of light trucks experienced almost twice the ejection rate of passenger cars. Utility vehicles experienced the highest rollover involvement rate of any vehicle type in fatal crashes (37 percent) compared to 25 percent for pickups, 18 percent for vans and 15 percent for passenger cars. 66 percent of passenger vehicle occupant fatalities were unrestrained. Drivers of light trucks have a higher intoxication rate (22.9 percent) than that of passenger car drivers (19.4 percent).

DRIVER AGE There are over 23 million people ages 70 years and older in the United States. In 1994, this age group comprised 8.9 percent of the total U.S. resident population, compared with 6.8 percent in 1975. From 1975 to 1994, this older segment of the population grew 3 times as fast as the total population. In 1994, 13 percent of all motor vehicle traffic fatalities and 18 percent of all pedestrian fatalities were older people. Older drivers involved in fatal crashes in 1993 had the lowest proportion of intoxication (5.5 percent) of any age group. In two-vehicle crashes involving an older driver and a younger driver, the vehicle driven by the older person was 3 times as likely to be the one that was struck (56 percent vs. 16 percent). In 44 percent of these crashes, both vehicles were proceeding straight at the time of the collision. In 28 percent the older drivers was turning left - 9 times as often as the younger driver.

YOUTH 16-24 year olds represent 24 percent of total fatalities compared to 8 percent from ages 1-15, 43 percent for ages 25-54, and 24 percent for ages 55 and over. On a per population basis, drivers under the age of 25 had the highest rate of involvement in fatal crashes among all age groups. The intoxication rate for 16-20 year old drivers in fatal crashes in 1994 was 14.1 percent. The highest intoxication rates were for drivers 21 to 24 and 25 to 34 years old (28.1 percent and 26.8 percent, respectively).

MALE/FEMALE FATAL CRASH INVOLVEMENT The male fatal crash involvement rate per 100,000 population was 3 times as high as for female drivers in 1994. Female drivers continue to exhibit safer driving statistics than male drivers. Males accounted for 67 percent of total fatalities, 68 percent of all pedestrian fatalities, and 86 percent of all pedalcyclist fatalities in 1994. 22 percent of male drivers involved in fatal crashes were intoxicated compared to 11 percent of female drivers. 37 percent of female drivers involved in fatal crashes were unrestrained at the time of the crash compared to 47 percent for male drivers involved in fatal crashes.

PEDESTRIANS In 1994, there were 5,472 pedestrian fatalities which represented 13 percent of total fatalities. On average, a pedestrian is killed in a motor vehicle crash every 96 minutes. More than one-third of children between 5 and 9 years old killed in motor vehicle crashes were pedestrians. Nearly one-third of all fatally injured pedestrians in motor vehicle crashes has blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels .10 or greater in 1994. In 6 percent of the crashes, both the driver and the pedestrian were intoxicated.

PEDALCYCLISTS 802 pedalcyclists were killed in motor vehicle crashes in 1994. Pedalcyclist fatalities represent 2 percent of total fatalities. Most pedalcyclist fatalities in 1994 were males (86 percent), and most were between the ages of 6 and 39 (66 percent). Over one-third of the pedalcyclists killed in motor vehicle crashes in 1994 were between 5 and 15 years old. For 72 percent of the pedalcyclists killed in motor vehicle crashes in 1994, police reported one or more errors or other factors related to the cyclist's behavior. The factor most often noted was "failure to yield right-of-way", followed by "walking with or against traffic" and improper crossing of the roadway or intersection." Fewer than half the drivers involved were cited by police for driving errors or other factors related to driver behavior. The factors most often noted for drivers were "driving too fast for conditions or exceeding the speed limit" (17 percent), "vision obscured" (14 percent) and "driver inattentiveness (talking, eating, etc.)"