Chapter 1. Trends

The tables in this chapter present statistics about police-reported motor vehicle crashes over time. Trends for fatal crashes and fatalities generally are presented from 1975 (when FARS began operation) to 2003; however, tables with alcohol data from FARS show data only for the years these data are available—1982 to 2003. Trends for nonfatal crashes and injured are presented from 1988 (when GES began operation) to 2003. Care should be taken when comparing nonfatal crash and injury statistics from one year to the next. Since the statistics derived from GES data are estimates, year-to-year differences may be the result of the sampling process, not the result of an actual trend. The variability or sampling errors associated with the estimates must be considered when making any year-to-year comparisons using GES data. (For more information on sampling error, see Appendix C.) Below are some of the statistics you will find in this chapter:

• Fatal crashes decreased slightly (0.6 percent) from 2002 to 2003, and the fatality rate dropped to a new historic low of 1.48 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles of travel in 2003.
• The injury rate per 100 million vehicle miles of travel decreased by 2.0 percent from
  2002 to 2003.
• The occupant fatality rate (including motorcycle riders) per 100,000 population, which declined by 22.7 percent from 1975 to 1992, decreased by 0.9 percent from 1992 to 2003.
• The occupant injury rate (including motorcycle riders) per 100,000 population, which declined by 13.6 percent from 1988 to 1992, decreased by 16.6 percent from 1992 to 2003.
• The nonmotorist fatality rate per 100,000 population has declined by 52.4 percent from 1975 to 2003.
• The nonmotorist injury rate per 100,000 population has declined by 45.6 percent from 1988 to 2003.
• The percent of alcohol-related fatalities has declined from 60 percent in 1982 to 40 percent in 2003.