2006 Statewide Traffic Action Response (STAR) Campaign

“Driving Safety Fact Sheets Available On-Line”

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), motor vehicle travel is the primary means of transportation in the United States, providing “an unprecedented degree of mobility.” Yet for all its advantages, deaths and injuries resulting from motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for persons of every age from 3 through 33 years old (based on 2002 data). Traffic fatalities accounted for more than 90 percent of transportation-related fatalities.

Fortunately, much progress has been made in reducing the number of deaths and serious injuries on our highways. In 2004, the fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles of travel fell to a new historic low of 1.46. The 1994 rate was 1.73 per 100 million vehicle miles traveled. An 80 percent safety belt use rate nationwide and a reduction in the rate of alcohol involvement in fatal crashes — to 39 percent in 2004 from 43 percent in 1994 — were significant contributions to maintaining this consistently low fatality rate. However, much remains to be done. The economic cost alone of motor vehicle crashes in 2000 was $230.6 billion.

In 2004, 42,636 people were killed in the estimated 6,181,000 police-reported motor vehicle traffic crashes. 2,788,000 people were injured, and 4,281,000 crashes involved property damage only.

This information and additional details are provided in an annual online overview fact sheet, provided by the NHTSA. In fact, there are of fact sheets, dealing with Alcohol, Children, Speeding, Motorcycles, Trucks, Young Drivers and a myriad of other topics dating back to 1993.

Detailed data reports on motor vehicle traffic crashes are published annually along with these informative Fact Sheets.  Simply go to the NHTSA’s web site, under their Center for Statistics and Analysis, or better yet, just click on the link below:

http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/departments/nrd-30/ncsa/AvailInf.html

CHP:

Driver Safety Brochures  -  www.chp.ca.gov/html/brochures.html
Sobriety Checkpoints -  www.chp.ca.gov/html/dui-en.html
Impaired Driving-Public Awareness Campaign -  www.chp.ca.gov/html/dui_awareness.html
Seat Belts/Safety Seats - www.chp.ca.gov/html/buckleup.html

CalTrans:

Slow for the Cone Zone: www.dot.ca.gov/hq/conezone/