Fatality Facts 2005

Roadside hazards

About 20 percent of motor vehicle crash deaths result from a vehicle leaving the roadway and hitting a fixed object such as a tree or utility pole alongside the road. Almost all such crashes involve only one vehicle. Fixed object crashes occur in both urban and rural areas but are mostly a problem on rural roads. Sixteen percent of fixed object crashes involve a vehicle that rolls over, and 18 percent involve occupant ejection. Trees are by far the most common objects struck, accounting for half of all fixed object crashes.

Alcohol is a frequent contributing factor in these crashes. Motorists also run off the road because of excessive speed, falling asleep, or inattention. Efforts to reduce these driver errors are only somewhat effective, so it's important to shield or remove fixed objects or avoid putting them along roads in the first place, especially roads where vehicles are more likely to leave the pavement.

The information in this fact sheet is based on fatal crashes in which the most harmful event coded in the Fatality Analysis Reporting System was a collision with a fixed object, regardless of whether the first harmful event also was a collision with a fixed object, or was instead another type of crash, such as a collision between two motor vehicles, that in turn led to a collision with a fixed object.

The following facts are based on analysis of data from the US Department of Transportation's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).

Overview

A total of 9,057 people died in fixed object crashes in 2005, 1 percent fewer than in 2004 and 14 percent fewer than in 1979. The proportion of motor vehicle crash deaths involving fixed objects has remained between 19 and 22 percent since 1979.

Deaths in fixed object crashes as a percent of all motor vehicle deaths, 1979-2005
Year	Fixed object crash deaths		Other deaths		All motor vehicle deaths
Year	Num	%	Num	%	Num
1979	10,550	21	40,543	79	51,093
1980	10,968	21	40,123	79	51,091
1981	9,464	19	39,837	81	49,301
1982	8,417	19	35,528	81	43,945
1983	8,333	20	34,256	80	42,589
1984	8,796	20	35,461	80	44,257
1985	9,319	21	34,506	79	43,825
1986	9,851	21	36,236	79	46,087
1987	9,662	21	36,728	79	46,390
1988	9,865	21	37,222	79	47,087
1989	9,537	21	36,045	79	45,582
1990	9,355	21	35,244	79	44,599
1991	8,894	21	32,614	79	41,508
1992	8,221	21	31,029	79	39,250
1993	8,256	21	31,894	79	40,150
1994	8,142	20	32,574	80	40,716
1995	8,524	20	33,293	80	41,817
1996	8,442	20	33,623	80	42,065
1997	8,381	20	33,632	80	42,013
1998	8,401	20	33,100	80	41,501
1999	8,431	20	33,286	80	41,717
2000	8,899	21	33,046	79	41,945
2001	9,011	21	33,185	79	42,196
2002	9,580	22	33,425	78	43,005
2003	9,433	22	33,451	78	42,884
2004	9,123	21	33,713	79	42,836
2005	9,057	21	34,386	79	43,443

Trees are the most common fixed object struck. Fifty percent of deaths in fixed object crashes in 2005 involved a vehicle striking a tree. Utility poles and embankments were the next most common objects struck, accounting for 14 and 6 percent of deaths, respectively.

Percent distribution of fixed object crash deaths by object struck, 2005

Deaths in fixed object crashes by object struck, 2005
Object struck	Num	%
Tree	4,573	50
Utility pole	1,223	14
Embankment	567	6
Guardrail	451	5
Other	364	4
Ditch	261	3
Highway sign support	226	2
Culvert	220	2
Concrete	214	2
Bridge pier/abutment	171	2
Wall	164	2
Fence	163	2
Building	158	2
Light support	131	2
Curb	91	1
Bridge rail	80	1
Total	9,057	100

Alcohol

Forty-four percent of drivers killed in fixed object crashes in 2005 had blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) at or above 0.08 percent. By comparison 27 percent of drivers in other types of fatal crashes had BACs this high. The proportion of drivers killed in fixed object crashes with BACs at or above 0.08 percent declined substantially since 1982, when 66 percent of these drivers had BACs this high.

Percent of fatally injured drivers with BACs>=0.08 percent by crash type, 1982-2005

Estimated number and percent of fatally injured drivers with BACs ≥ 0.08 percent, 1982-2005
Year	Fixed object crashes			Other			All Crashes
	Deaths	Estimated deaths with BACs ≥ 0.08		Deaths	Estimated deaths with BACs ≥ 0.08		Deaths	Estimated deaths with BACs ≥ 0.08
	Num	Num	%	Num	Num	%	Num	Num	%
1982	6,089	3,991	66	18,601	8,148	44	24,690	12,139	49
1983	6,074	3,925	65	18,064	7,618	42	24,138	11,543	48
1984	6,496	4,027	62	19,093	7,472	39	25,589	11,499	45
1985	6,927	4,078	59	18,410	6,608	36	25,337	10,685	42
1986	7,121	4,209	59	19,509	7,201	37	26,630	11,409	43
1987	6,974	3,965	57	19,859	7,093	36	26,833	11,058	41
1988	7,239	3,987	55	20,014	7,116	36	27,253	11,103	41
1989	6,962	3,926	56	19,427	6,711	35	26,389	10,637	40
1990	6,786	3,897	57	18,964	6,498	34	25,750	10,395	40
1991	6,398	3,538	55	17,532	5,947	34	23,930	9,485	40
1992	5,979	3,151	53	16,605	5,301	32	22,584	8,452	37
1993	5,957	3,079	52	17,185	5,243	31	23,142	8,322	36
1994	5,943	2,885	49	17,748	5,028	28	23,691	7,913	33
1995	6,197	3,018	49	18,193	5,289	29	24,390	8,307	34
1996	6,077	2,917	48	18,457	5,258	28	24,534	8,175	33
1997	6,081	2,881	47	18,586	4,962	27	24,667	7,843	32
1998	6,280	2,964	47	18,463	4,870	26	24,743	7,834	32
1999	6,249	2,908	47	19,008	5,010	26	25,257	7,918	31
2000	6,595	3,080	47	18,972	5,086	27	25,567	8,166	32
2001	6,685	3,050	46	19,184	5,203	27	25,869	8,252	32
2002	7,218	3,292	46	19,441	5,224	27	26,659	8,515	32
2003	7,083	3,163	45	19,696	5,191	26	26,779	8,354	31
2004	6,906	3,043	44	19,965	5,112	26	26,871	8,155	30
2005	6,944	3,041	44	20,528	5,474	27	27,472	8,515	31

Age and gender

Forty-two percent of drivers killed in fixed object crashes in 2005 were males younger than 35. Overall males accounted for 81 percent of all drivers killed in fixed object crashes in 2005.

Driver deaths in fixed object crashes by age and gender, 2005
Age	Male		Female		Total
Age	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%
<16	31	<1	5	<1	36	1
16-19	627	9	186	3	813	12
20-24	1,070	15	161	2	1,231	18
25-29	661	10	115	2	776	11
30-34	534	8	85	1	619	9
35-39	469	7	114	2	583	8
40-44	448	6	118	2	566	8
45-49	427	6	117	2	544	8
50-54	362	5	75	1	437	6
55-59	293	4	68	1	361	5
60-64	224	3	51	1	275	4
65-69	159	2	51	1	210	3
≥ 70	343	5	142	2	485	7
Total*	5,655	81	1,289	19	6,944	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Crash types

Ninety-five percent of fixed object crash deaths in 2005 occurred in single-vehicle crashes.

Deaths in fixed object crashes by crash type, 2005
Crash type	Deaths	%
Single-vehicle crashes	8,612	95
Multiple-vehicle crashes	445	5
All crashes	9,057	100

Sixteen percent of deaths in fixed object crashes in 2005 involved vehicles rolling over.

Deaths in fixed object crashes by rollover occurrence and object struck, 2005
Object struck	Rollover		No rollover		All crashes
Object struck	Num	%	Num	%	Num
Boulder	22	45	27	55	49
Culvert	56	25	164	75	220
Embankment	143	25	424	75	567
Ditch	59	23	202	77	261
Utility Pole	239	20	984	80	1,223
Bridge rail	15	19	65	81	80
Concrete	35	16	179	84	214
Tree	693	15	3,880	85	4,573
Bridge pier	26	15	145	85	171
Wall	23	14	141	86	164
Fence	23	14	140	86	163
Guardrail	56	12	395	88	451
Light support	13	10	118	90	131
Other	81	10	709	90	790
Total	1,484	16	7,573	84	9,057

Eighteen percent of deaths in fixed object crashes in 2005 involved occupant ejection; 13 percent of the occupants killed were fully ejected, and 5 percent were partially ejected.

Deaths in fixed object crashes by occupant ejection, 2005
Ejection	Deaths	%
Not ejected	7,412	82
Fully ejected	1,167	13
Partially ejected	450	5
Total*	9,057	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Sixty-two percent of deaths in fixed object crashes in 2005 occurred in frontal impacts.

Deaths in fixed object crashes by principal point of impact, 2005
Principal point of impact	Deaths	%
Frontal impact	5,640	62
Side impact — left side	1,302	14
Side impact — light side	1,167	13
Top or undercarriage	410	5
Rear impact	240	3
Unknown	3	<1
Total*	9,057	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Road types

Fifteen percent of deaths in fixed object crashes in 2005 occurred on interstates and freeways, 45 percent occurred on other major roads and 35 percent occurred on minor roads.

Deaths in fixed object crashes by road type, 2005
Road type	Deaths	%
Interstates and freeways	1,336	15
Other major roads	4,077	45
Minor roads	3,179	35
All road types*	9,057	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Fifty-five percent of deaths in fixed object crashes in 2005 occurred on rural roads.

Deaths in fixed object crashes by road classification, 2005
Road classification	Deaths	%
Rural	4,985	55
Urban	3,661	40
Total*	9,057	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Twelve percent of deaths in fixed object crashes in 2005 occurred at junctions including intersections, interchanges, rail grade crossings, and junctions of streets with driveways and alleys. In urban areas the proportion of deaths in fixed object crashes that occurred at junctions was 20 percent, compared with 7 percent in rural areas.

Deaths in fixed object crashes by road classification and relation to junction, 2005
	Urban		Rural		Total*
	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%
Non-junction	2,928	80	4,623	93	7,939	88
Junction	732	20	359	7	1,114	12
Total*	3,661	100	4,985	100	9,057	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Forty-five percent of deaths in fixed object crashes in 2005 occurred on roads with speed limits 55 mph or higher.

Deaths in fixed object crashes by speed limit, 2005
Speed limit	Deaths	%
No limit	37	<1
<35 mph	1,160	13
35-40 mph	1,845	20
45-50 mph	1,690	19
55+ mph	4,099	45
Total*	9,057	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

When crashes occur

About half of deaths in fixed object crashes in 2005 occurred at night (9pm–6am). The highest proportion of fixed object crashes occurred between midnight and 3am.

Deaths in fixed object crashes by time of day, 2005
Time of day	Deaths	%
Midnight-3am	1,827	20
3am-6am	963	11
6am-9am	755	8
9am-noon	659	7
Noon-3pm	920	10
3pm-6pm	1,195	13
6pm-9pm	1,190	13
9pm-midnight	1,430	16
Total*	9,057	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns