U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
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202-366-4000
Conditions and Performance Report Executive Summary |
Executive Summary Chapter Listing Conditions and Performance Home Page
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Through a variety of measures including educa-tion programs, aggressive law enforcement, and infrastructure-related safety improvements, significant improvements in highway safety have been achieved. While much remains to be done, the progress to date is one of the most important transportation success stories of the past 20 years. Fatalities have fallen from 50,331 in 1978 to 42,013 in 1997. The fatality rate has plunged over a longer period. In 1966, the fatality rate was 5.5 per 100 million VMT; it had dropped to 1.6 by 1997. This plummeting fatality rate occurred even as the number of licensed drivers grew by nearly 80 percent. The injury rate has also declined, dropping from 169 per 100 million VMT in 1988 to 133 in 1997. Four types of crashes have been identified for emphasis in future programs:
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The reduced fatality rates can be attributed to several factors, including increased safety belt use, air bags, road safety devices, and a sharp decline in alcohol-related crashes. Surveys showed that 69 percent of vehicle occupants used seat belts by 1997. Seat belt usage in conjunction with vehicular air bag systems provide additional protection in potentially fatal crashes. The proportion of fatalities attributable to alcohol dropped from about 57 percent in 1982 to 39 percent in 1997. Transit safety incidents involving injuries and deaths had noticeable decreases from 1990 to 1997. Over this seven-year period, safety incidents involving transit fell from 251 per 100 million PMT (persons-miles-traveled) to 165, and fatality rates declined considerably, from 0.89 per 100 million PMT to 0.73. |