| Crash Statistics
contain descriptive statistics about fatal and non-fatal (injury and
property damage only) large truck and bus crashes. The State and National
profiles include some of the major aspects of truck and bus crashes. Additional crash
data on trucks, buses, truck and bus drivers, and motor carriers can be
obtained from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).
The State Profile results are generated from several data sources: the
Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), the Motor Carrier Management
Information System (MCMIS) Crash and Census data, and the Federal Highway
Administration's (FHWA's) Highway Statistic Series.
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Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS):
The FARS is a census of crashes involving any motor vehicle on a trafficway,
but only fatal crashes. It is generally considered to be the most reliable
national crash database. A large truck is defined in the FARS as a truck with a
gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of more than 10,000 pounds. A bus is
defined in the FARS as large motor vehicles used to carry more than 10
passengers, including school buses, inter-city buses and transit buses.
FARS is maintained by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The Crash Profile Reports use the most recently released 2005 - 2009 FARS datasets.
General Estimates System (GES).
GES is a probability-based
nationally representative sample of all police-reported fatal, injury, and
property damage only crashes. The data from GES yield national estimates,
calculated using a weighting procedure, but cannot give State-level estimates.
Also, GES is a sample of motor vehicle crashes, and the results generated are
estimates. The GES definition of a large truck is the same as the FARS
definition. GES is maintained by NHTSA.
Highway Statistic Series:
The Highway Statistics
Series consists of annual reports containing analyzed statistical data on motor
fuel; motor vehicles; driver licensing; highway-user taxation; State and local
government highway finance; highway mileage, and Federal aid for highways.
The series is used for tracking the road mileage in the United States,
financing information for the various states, and is used in formulation with
FHWA's apportionment of Federal funds to the States by the U.S. Congress.
A large truck is defined by FHWA as all vehicles on a single frame including
trucks, camping and recreational vehicles, etc. having at least two axles and
six tires. A bus is defined by FHWA as all vehicles manufactured as traditional
passenger-carrying buses with two axles, six tires and three or more axles.
This category includes only traditional buses (including school buses)
functioning as passenger-carrying vehicles. The Highway Statistic Series is
maintained by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).
Motor Carrier Management
Information System (MCMIS)
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) operates and maintains
the MCMIS. MCMIS contains information on the safety fitness of commercial motor
carriers and hazardous material (HM) shippers subject to the Federal Motor Carrier
Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) and the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMRs). MCMIS
is a collection of safety information including state-reported crashes, compliance
review and roadside inspections results, enforcement data, and motor carrier census
data. The Crash Profiles module uses the MCMIS Crash and Census data to compile and
publish the State Profiles and several National reports.
- The MCMIS Census data contains records for several hundred thousand active
entities, i.e., motor carriers, hazardous materials shippers, and registrants
(entities who register vehicles but are not carriers). In order to identify
each entity, MCMIS assigns a unique number to each entity record. This number
is referred to as the record census number. This is also the number supplied
to an entity as their USDOT number. The Crash Profile Reports use the MCMIS
Census data as of December 2009.
- The MCMIS Crash data includes crashes that are reported by states to the
FMCSA through the SAFETYNET computer reporting system. The Crash File includes
the National Governors' Association (NGA) recommended data elements collected
on trucks and buses involved in crashes that meet the NGA recommended crash
threshold. A State reportable crash must involve a truck (a vehicle designed, used,
or maintained primarily for carrying property, with a gross
vehicle weight rating or gross combination weight rating of more than 10,000 lbs.)
or bus (a vehicle with seats for at least nine people, including the driver).
The crash must result in at least one fatality;
one injury where the person injured is taken to a medical facility for immediate
medical attention; or one vehicle having been towed from the scene as a result of
disabling damage suffered in the crash. The Crash Profile Reports use the MCMIS
Crash data as of September 2010.
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