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Roadway departure crash

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A roadway departure crash in these figures is a fatal crash selected by the FARS auxiliary field for involvement of a roadway departure, with its affirmative category used as the operational selection. The Fatality Analysis Reporting System auxiliary documentation labels this field as roadway departure involvement, and the current analytical manual identifies it with the Federal Highway Administration definition. The table separates everyone killed in the selected events from the portion killed in car accidents involving a passenger vehicle, rather than assuming that the car subset equals the overall category.[1][2][3]

Contents

Official definition and data selection

The roadway departure crash selection uses the affirmative auxiliary category rather than a model inference from the road name, the manner-of-collision label or a description of the final vehicle position. The passenger-vehicle portion requires a linked vehicle in the passenger-car, pickup, utility, van or other-light-truck classes, and then counts the deaths in the selected crash rather than only those occupants. The roadway departure crash figures are calculated from the recorded fatalities field for the selected accident records, while the comparison column applies the additional passenger-vehicle involvement condition.[1][2][3]

National figures

In the 2020 roadway departure crash records, the national total was 19,831 deaths, of which 16,903 occurred in crashes involving a passenger vehicle, a subset rather than an additional death category. In the 2021 roadway departure crash records, the national total was 21,418 deaths, of which 18,335 occurred in crashes involving a passenger vehicle, a subset rather than an additional death category. In the 2022 roadway departure crash records, the national total was 20,572 deaths, of which 17,493 occurred in crashes involving a passenger vehicle, a subset rather than an additional death category.[4][5][6]

In the 2023 roadway departure crash records, the national total was 19,362 deaths, of which 16,375 occurred in crashes involving a passenger vehicle, a subset rather than an additional death category. In the 2024 roadway departure crash records, the national total was 18,348 deaths, of which 15,404 occurred in crashes involving a passenger vehicle, a subset rather than an additional death category.[7][8]

National figures[4][5][6][7][8]
YearDeaths in roadway departure crashesOf those, deaths in passenger-vehicle crashes
202019,83116,903
202121,41818,335
202220,57217,493
202319,36216,375
202418,34815,404

United States, 50 states and District of Columbia, excluding Puerto Rico. 2024 uses the Annual Report File; earlier FARS years use saved Final Files.

Limits of the term and figures

A roadway departure crash count would measure events, but the columns shown measure people killed, including anyone killed in a selected car accident rather than just the selected vehicle occupants. The auxiliary involvement category is not itself a finding of legal responsibility, and the table does not estimate how often vehicles depart a roadway without a fatal outcome. The roadway departure crash and passenger-vehicle conditions can occur together, so their figures are nested selections rather than unrelated categories that should be added into a larger death total.[1][2][3]

On related publications

References

  1. abc "Fatality Analysis Reporting System Auxiliary Data Manual, 1982-2019 (DOT HS 813 071)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record
  2. abc "Fatality Analysis Reporting System Analytical User's Manual, 1975-2024 (DOT HS 813 794)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record
  3. abc "Overview of motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2024 (DOT HS 813 791, April 2026)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record
  4. ab "Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2020 national data files (Final File)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record
  5. ab "Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2021 national data files (Final File)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record
  6. ab "Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2022 national data files (Final File)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record
  7. ab "Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2023 national data files (Final File)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record
  8. ab "Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2024 national data files (Annual Report File)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record