FATAL ACCIDENT REPORTING SYSTEM 1984. A REVIEW OF INFORMATION ON FATAL TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS IN THE U.S. IN 1984

This is a report on the fatal accidents and fatalities in the United States reported in the Fatal Accident Reporting System (FARS) for 1984. Information on fatal accidents from 1979 through 1983 is included for comparison purposes where appropriate. In 1984, there were 44,241 fatalities in 39,622 traffic accidents. The fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled remained approximately the same as 1983 at 2.58. Although there was a slight increase (2.8%) in the number of passenger car fatalities between 1983 and 1984, this increase was not uniform for all car types. Deaths of compact car occupants rose dramatically (38.8%), while deaths of occupants in the largest size passenger cars decreased by 7%. The largest increases from 1983 to 1984 were in heavy truck driver fatalities (20%), female driver fatalities (14%), and motorcycle driver fatalities (8%). Of the fatally injured drivers in 1984, 43% were intoxicated at the time of the crash. This is down from 46% in 1983. Only 4% of the fatally injured drivers and 5.4% of the fatally injured passengers were wearing safety belts. Two out of five motorcycle riders involved in fatal accidents wore helmets in 1984, a statistic that has remained essentially constant since 1980. More fatal accidents involving pedestrians occurred on weekend nights than at any other time. The most frequent type of fatal multi-vehicle accident was the angle impact, followed by the head-on collision. Most deaths (86.1%) resulted from accidents that occurred during normal weather conditions.

• Corporate Authors:

  National Center for Statistics and Analysis

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Publication Date: 1986-2

Media Info

• Features: Appendices; Figures; Tables;
• Pagination: v.p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automobiles by type; Drivers; Drunk driving; Fatalities; Helmets; Manual safety belts; Motorcyclists; Passengers; Pedestrian vehicle crashes; Statistics; Truck drivers; Utilization; Weather; Weekends
• Identifier Terms: Fatal Accident Reporting System
• Uncontrolled Terms: Vehicle type
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Highways; Passenger Transportation; Research; Safety and Human Factors; I81: Accident Statistics;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00491239
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: HS-806 919
• Files: HSL, TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Feb 28 1990 12:00AM