ANALYSIS OF FATAL AND SERIOUS TRAFFIC CRASHES IN NORTH CAROLINA

In terms of fatal crash rates in recent years, the eight Southeastern States in the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Region IV have been ranked among the highest nationally. These states accounted for approximately 25 percent of the nation's fatalities in 1995 and a fatality rate about 20 percent above the national mean. In 1995, North Carolina ranked 9th of the 50 states in terms of total highway-related deaths, with 1,418 people killed. The analysis fatality rate of 1.9 (people killed per 100 million vehicle miles of travel) ranked North Carolina 2oth in the nation. In response, the North Carolina Department of Transportation has expressed an interest in further studying fatal crash causes and possible countermeasures. This paper explores the roadway, crash vehicle, driver, and environmental factors that are associated with fatal and serious crashes in the state. The analysis consisted of two phases. Phase One relied exclusively on data from the North Carolina Highway Safety Information System (HSIS) and the findings were used in Phase Two. Phase Two was a more detailed analysis that used both HIS and non-HSIS data. Some of the countermeasures used to address these factors are described.