Chapter 2. Crashes
This chapter presents statistics about police-reported motor vehicle crashes
according to the most severe injury in the crash: Fatal, Nonfatal Injury
(Injury), and Property Damage. The tables and figures are presented in
four groups: Time, Location, Circumstances, and Alcohol. Below are some
of the crash statistics you will find in this section:
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More than 6.3 million police-reported motor vehicle crashes occurred in
the United States in 2003. Almost one-third of these crashes resulted in
an injury, with less than 1 percent of total crashes (38,252) resulting
in a death.
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Midnight to 3 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays proved to be the deadliest
3-hour periods throughout 2003, with 1,228 and 1,208 fatal crashes, respectively.
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Fifty-seven percent of fatal crashes involved only one vehicle, compared
to 30 percent of injury crashes and 31 percent of property-damage-only
crashes.
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More than half of fatal crashes occurred on roads with posted speed limits
of 55 mph or more, while only 25 percent of property-damage-only crashes
occurred on these roads.
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Collision with another motor vehicle in transport was the most common first
harmful event for fatal, injury, and property-damage-only crashes. Collisions
with fixed objects and noncollisions accounted for only 19 percent of all
crashes, but they accounted for 44 percent of fatal crashes.
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Forty percent of fatal crashes involved alcohol. For fatal crashes occurring
from midnight to 3 a.m., 77 percent involved alcohol.