Traffic Safety Facts 1996
Administrator's Message
Dear Reader,
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is pleased to present its
Traffic Safety Facts
1996: A Compilation of Motor Vehicle Crash Data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System
and the General Estimates System. This report combines data from two of our key crash
databases, providing statistics on traffic crashes of all severities.
The numbers in this publication tell a very important story. More than 6.8 million police-reported
motor vehicle crashes occurred on our highways in 1996--one every 5 seconds. On average, a
person was injured in these crashes every 9 seconds, and someone was killed every 13 minutes.Information about these crashes, such as the tables in this report, helps us better understand the problem and develop effective solutions. Reducing these numbers requires the continued efforts of
state, local, and federal organizations working toward this common goal.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is committed to keeping highway safety high
on the list of national priorities.
I hope you find this publication useful.
Sincerely,
Ricardo Martinez, M.D.
Administrator
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Please send any comments to: ncsaweb@nhtsa.dot.gov
If you are requesting data or other information, your including a fax number, phone number, or postal address will enable us to respond more quickly and thoroughly to your request. You can also phone in information requests to our automated answering system at 1-800-934-8517, or (202) 366-4198 locally in the Washington, DC area.
Return to NCSA Main Page
Return to Traffic Safety Facts 1996 Main Page