Bituminous Insurance Companies

UMTRI Fatal Motor Vehicle Accident Analysis

Release Date: June 7, 2010

The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) released the results of a new study entitled "Toward Understanding the Recent Large Reductions in U.S. Road Fatalities." As reported in the study, from 2005 to 2009, U.S. road fatalities dropped by 22% (from 43,510 to 33,963). A reduction of such magnitude, over such a short time, has not occurred since road-safety statistics were first kept (starting in 1913), except for the reductions during World War II.

UMTRI's study was "performed to contribute to our understanding about the mechanisms that could be responsible for this unprecedented drop in road fatalities by analyzing the detailed information from FARS (Fatality Analysis Reporting System)—a census of all U.S. crashes that involve a fatality." The focus was on identifying those conditions that showed the largest reductions and those that showed the smallest reductions (or increases of any magnitude). The analysis involved an examination of all 269 variables in the FARS database, which is divided into accident, vehicle, driver, occupant, and non-motorist subsets. The report highlights the most interesting patterns of changes for 19 variables, including changes in fatal accidents:

by time of day
by roadway type
for selected manners of collision
by posted speed limit
by crash avoidance maneuvers
by selected categories of weights for vehicles
by selected categories of previous accidents
by driver-related factors

In conclusion, a table summarizes the data and provides a "possible explanation" for the observed decrease/increase in fatal accidents. Some examples include:

Heavy truck involvement was down as a result of reduced freight shipments.
Rush hour fatalities were down as a result of decreased commuter travel.
Inattentive driver fatalities increased as a result of increased complexity of daily lives; increased distractions; and increased coder sensitivity to the issue of distractions.

The UMTRI study can be accessed at http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/71390/1/102304.pdf.

The information contained in this publication was obtained from sources believed to be reliable. ISO Services Properties, Inc., its companies and employees make no guarantee of results and assume no liability in connection with either the information herein contained or the safety suggestions herein made. Moreover, it cannot be assumed that every acceptable safety procedure is contained herein or that abnormal or unusual circumstances may not warrant or require further or additional procedure.