About PlainRoadSafety

PlainRoadSafety provides comprehensive US road fatality data sourced from the NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). Our mission is to make this critical public safety data accessible, searchable, and understandable for researchers, policymakers, journalists, and anyone interested in road safety.

Data Source

All data on this site comes from FARS, a nationwide census providing the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Congress, and the American public yearly data regarding fatal injuries suffered in motor vehicle traffic crashes. FARS data is collected from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

Data Coverage

  • Time period: 2015–2023 (9 years)
  • Geographic scope: 51 states (including DC) and 3,137 counties
  • Metrics tracked: Total fatalities, fatality rates (per 100K population and per 100M vehicle miles traveled), cause breakdowns, trend analysis
  • Cause categories: Alcohol-impaired driving, speeding, pedestrian, cyclist, unrestrained occupants, distracted driving, weather-related, nighttime, and more

How We Present the Data

We aggregate FARS data at multiple geographic levels to help users understand road safety patterns:

  • National level: Year-over-year trends, cause breakdowns, and aggregate statistics
  • State level: Fatality rates, cause breakdowns, rural vs. urban splits, yearly trends, and county-level details
  • County level: Total fatalities, annual averages, trend direction, and top contributing causes
  • By cause: Each contributing factor tracked across years with percentage of total fatalities

Important Notes

  • Cause categories are not mutually exclusive. A single fatal crash may involve multiple contributing factors (e.g., a crash caused by both alcohol impairment and speeding). Therefore, cause category percentages may sum to more than 100%.
  • Fatality rates are calculated per 100,000 population using Census population estimates, providing a standardized comparison across states of different sizes.
  • VMT rates (per 100 million vehicle miles traveled) account for differences in driving volume between states.
  • Trend analysis compares the most recent years of data to identify whether fatalities are increasing, decreasing, or stable.

Disclaimer

This site is for informational and research purposes only. PlainRoadSafety is not affiliated with NHTSA or any government agency. While we strive for accuracy, users should consult the official FARS data for critical research, policy decisions, or legal matters.

Data is updated periodically as new FARS releases become available from NHTSA. The most recent data available may lag the current year by 1–2 years due to the time required for NHTSA to compile and verify crash records.

Contact

For questions or feedback about this site, please contact us at [email protected].