The Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) contains data derived from a census of fatal traffic crashes within the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. To be included in FARS, a crash must involve a motor vehicle traveling on a trafficway customarily open to the public and result in the death of a person (occupant of a vehicle or a non-motorist) within 30 days of the crash.
FARS was conceived, designed, and developed by the National Center for Statistics and Analysis (NCSA) of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in 1975 to provide an overall measure of highway safety, to help identify traffic safety problems, to suggest solutions, and to help provide an objective basis to evaluate the effectiveness of motor vehicle safety standards and highway safety programs.
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How Does FARS Work?
NHTSA/NCSA has a cooperative agreement with an agency in each State government to provide specific information in a standard format on fatal crashes occurring in the State. The agreements are managed by NCSA's FARS program manager, FARS Regional Operations Managers (ROMs), FARS IT program manager, and Regional Contracting Officer’s Technical Representatives (RCOTRs) located in each of the 10 NHTSA Regional Offices. The State employees who gather, translate, and transmit the data are called FARS analysts. The number of analysts in each State varies according to the State. Each FARS analyst attends formal training and is also trained on-the-job by other FARS analysts.
All FARS data on fatal motor vehicle traffic crashes is gathered from the State’s own source documents and is coded on standard FARS forms.
What Uses Can be Made of FARS Data?
NCSA is responsible for managing and operating FARS. FARS data is used extensively throughout NHTSA, and information requests are received from State and local governments, research organizations, members of the public, the auto and insurance industries, Congress, and the media. NCSA responds to more than 20,000 information requests and sends out hundreds of CDs of FARS data each year.
Examples of specific FARS data uses include the evaluation of:
- Alcohol-Related Legislation
- Motorcycle Helmet Legislation
- Repeat Offenders
- Police Accident Reports
- State Vehicle Registration Files
- State Driver Licensing Files
- State Highway Department Data
- Vital Statistics
- Death Certificates
- Coroner/Medical Examiner Reports
- Hospital Medical Reports
- Emergency Medical Service Reports
FARS data can be used to answer a multitude of questions concerning the safety of vehicles, drivers, traffic situations, roadways, and environmental conditions. FARS data is also used at the State level by the FARS analyst to respond to State safety issues.
What is the availability of FARS data?
FARS data has been available every year since FARS was established in 1975. Users can obtain FARS data in two ways:
- You can request specific data from NCSA, and there is no charge for most requests. You can generally expect an answer within two weeks, but more time may be required for more complex or lengthy requests.
- You can obtain a file on computer tape or CDROM in one of several formats amenable to analysis. This will enable you to process the data using your own computer system. Information on acquiring the tapes is available by contacting NCSA at the address listed at the end of the next section. FARS data can also be obtained from the FARS Web site at: www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov
Requests for Tapes, Reports, and Information Should be Sent to:
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
National Center for Statistics and Analysis
Information Services Branch, NPO-121
400 Seventh Street, SW.
Washington, DC 20590
www.nhtsa.dot.gov
800-934-8517
