NEWEST DATA + UPDATES

  • NHTSA DATA BONUS – ROADWAY OWNERSHIP DATA SHOWS STATE OWNED ROADS HAVE INCREASING SHARE OF TRAFFIC DEATHS
    This is bonus part four in a series on new National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data. Parts one, two, and three looked at driver-related, vehicle-related, and speed limit-related data elements. Roadway ownership data is not new in the NHTSA Fatality and Injury Reporting System Tool (FIRST), but it is worthy of being featured. Roadway ownership data is only available since 2015, which limits its value for analysis over time. For pedestrian and bicyclist deaths, the trend of increased fatalities started around 2009. For general analysis, 5-year periods which are typically used on data.bikeleague.org cannot be used for comparison purposes […]
  • NEW NHTSA DATA – SPEED DATA SHOWS LETHAL LEGAL SPEED LIMITS INVOLVED IN MOST PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLIST DEATHS
    This is part three in a series on new National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data. Parts one and two looked at driver-related and vehicle-related data elements. In total, 17 data elements were added to the query fields available in the Fatality and Injury Reporting System Tool (FIRST). This post looks at two data elements that provide speed-related data on pedestrian and bicyclist deaths. In the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT)’s National Roadway Safety Strategy, Safer Speeds is one of five objectives and a core concept of that objective is that the rate of survival in a crash decreases […]
  • NEW NHTSA DATA – VEHICLE DATA SHOWS POPULAR PICKUP TRUCKS ARE MOST COMMON VEHICLES IN PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLIST DEATHS
    This is part two in a series on new National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data. Part one looked at driver-related data elements. In total, 17 data elements were added to the query fields available in the Fatality and Injury Reporting System Tool (FIRST). This post looks at five data elements that provided data on pedestrian and bicyclist deaths. One data element provides “Striking Vehicle Body Type” and shows that passenger cars are the most common striking vehicle body type in pedestrian and bicyclist deaths, accounting for more than 28% of pedestrian deaths and more than 26% of bicyclist deaths. […]
  • NEW NHTSA DATA – DRIVER DATA SHOWS THREAT OF HIT AND RUN TO PEOPLE WALKING AND BIKING
    Last month, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released new data for 2021 in its Fatality and Injury Reporting System Tool (FIRST). Data.bikeleague.org has previously covered overall updates for bicyclist and pedestrian deaths, with both groups of people experiencing the highest levels of traffic deaths in forty or more years. This post digs into some of the new data fields that NHTSA added to FIRST in its release of 2021 data, providing the potential for insights not previously possible without hardcore statistical analysis skills. The ability to access data through the FIRST query system allows more people the ability […]
  • UPDATED NHTSA DATA ON PEOPLE KILLED WHILE WALKING SHOWS 40 YEAR HIGH
    The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has updated its Fatality and Injury Reporting System Tool (FIRST) with 2021 allowing detailed analysis of traffic fatalities for the years 2007-2021. Looking back further involves compiling data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), but all of the data comes from NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) which became operational in 1975. The total number of pedestrian fatalities in 2021 is reported as 7,388, the highest number since 1981 when 7,837 people were reportedly killed while walking. This is a nearly 80% increase from […]