Fatality Facts 2006

Roadside hazards

Overview | Alcohol | Age and gender | Crash types | When and where crashes occur

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.

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 U.S. Department of Transportation's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).

Overview

A total of 9,136 people died in fixed object crashes in 2006, 1 percent more than in 2005 and 13 percent fewer than in 1979. The proportion of motor vehicle crash deaths involving collisions with fixed objects has remained between 19 and 22 percent since 1979.

Deaths in fixed object crashes as a percent of all motor vehicle deaths, 1979-2006
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	9,062	21	34,448	79	43,510
2006	9,136	21	33,506	79	42,642

Trees are the most common fixed object struck. Fifty percent of deaths in fixed object crashes in 2006 involved a vehicle striking a tree. Utility poles and traffic barriers were the next most common objects struck, accounting for 12 and 9 percent of deaths, respectively.

Percent distribution of fixed object crash deaths by object struck, 2006

Deaths in fixed object crashes by object struck, 2006
Object struck	Num	%
Tree	4,552	50
Utility pole	1,142	12
Traffic barriers	805	9
Embankment	538	6
Ditch	290	3
Highway sign support	275	3
Culvert	248	3
Fence	183	2
Bridge pier	164	2
Wall	161	2
Building	143	2
Light support	142	2
Other	493	5
Total	9,136	100

Alcohol

Forty-four percent of drivers killed in fixed object crashes in 2006 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 number of deaths in fixed object crashes involving drivers with BACs at or above 0.08 percent declined from a high of 4,209 in 1986 to 3,154 in 2006, a reduction of 25 percent.

Percent of fatally injured drivers with BACs > 0.08 percent by crash type, 1982-2006

Estimated number and percent of fatally injured drivers with BACs ≥ 0.08 percent, 1982-2006
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	3,060	44	20,547	5,430	26	27,491	8,489	31
2006	7,159	3,154	44	20,164	5,462	27	27,323	8,615	32

Age and gender

Forty-two percent of drivers killed in fixed object crashes in 2006 were males younger than 35. Overall, males accounted for 81 percent of drivers killed in fixed object crashes in 2006.

Driver deaths in fixed object crashes by age and gender, 2006
Age	Male		Female		Total
Age	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%
< 16	27	< 1	3	< 1	30	< 1
16-19	637	9	189	3	826	12
20-24	1,062	15	198	3	1,260	18
25-29	746	10	130	2	876	12
30-34	510	7	100	1	610	9
35-39	494	7	117	2	611	9
40-44	483	7	124	2	607	8
45-49	458	6	96	1	555	8
50-54	372	5	94	1	466	7
55-59	275	4	78	1	353	5
60-64	207	3	48	1	255	4
65-69	156	2	36	1	192	3
≥ 70	345	5	163	2	510	7
Total*	5,778	81	1,377	19	7,159	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Crash types

Ninety-five percent of fixed object crash deaths in 2006 occurred in single-vehicle crashes.

Deaths in fixed object crashes by crash type, 2006
Crash type	Deaths	%
Single-vehicle crashes	8,705	95
Multiple-vehicle crashes	426	5
All crashes	9,136	100

Eighteen percent of deaths in fixed object crashes in 2006 involved vehicles rolling over.

Deaths in fixed object crashes by rollover occurrence and object struck, 2006
Object struck	Rollover		No rollover		All crashes
Object struck	Num	%	Num	%	Num
Embankment	146	27	392	73	538
Boulder	15	24	48	76	63
Culvert	59	24	189	76	248
Ditch	63	22	227	78	290
Utility pole	233	20	909	80	1,142
Guardrail	83	18	374	82	457
Bridge rail	16	17	76	83	92
Tree	796	17	3,756	83	4,552
Concrete	37	15	211	85	248
Other post/pole	22	14	131	86	153
Fence	22	12	161	88	183
Highway sign support	12	10	110	90	122
Curb	10	8	109	92	119
Other	51	16	268	84	319
Bridge pier	23	14	141	86	164
Light support	18	13	124	87	142
Wall	20	12	141	88	161
Building	16	11	127	89	143
Total	1,642	18	7,494	82	9,136

Eighteen percent of deaths in fixed object crashes in 2006 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, 2006
Ejection	Deaths	%
Not ejected	7,451	82
Fully ejected	1,219	13
Partially ejected	429	5
Total*	9,136	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Sixty-two percent of deaths in fixed object crashes in 2006 occurred in frontal impacts.

Deaths in fixed object crashes by principal point of impact, 2006
Principal point of impact	Deaths	%
Frontal impact	5,678	62
Side impact — left side	1,276	14
Side impact — right side	1,177	13
Top or undercarriage	449	5
Rear impact	240	3
Unknown	6	<1
Total*	9,136	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

When and where crashes occur

Fifteen percent of deaths in fixed object crashes in 2006 occurred on interstates and freeways, 45 percent occurred on other major roads, and 37 percent occurred on minor roads.

Deaths in fixed object crashes by road type, 2006
Road type	Deaths	%
Interstates and freeways	1,342	15
Other major roads	4,124	45
Minor roads	3,387	37
All road types*	9,136	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Fifty-five percent of deaths in fixed object crashes in 2006 occurred on rural roads.

Deaths in fixed object crashes by land use, 2006
Land use	Deaths	%
Rural	5,054	55
Urban	3,877	42
Total*	9,136	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Eleven percent of deaths in fixed object crashes in 2006 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 17 percent, compared with 6 percent in rural areas.

Deaths in fixed object crashes by road classification and relation to junction, 2006
	Urban		Rural		Total*
	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%
Non-junction	3,198	82	4,772	94	8,157	89
Junction	672	17	281	6	969	11
Total*	3,877	100	5,054	100	9,136	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Forty-five percent of deaths in fixed object crashes in 2006 occurred on roads with speed limits 55 mph or higher.

Deaths in fixed object crashes by speed limit, 2006
Speed limit	Deaths	%
No limit	39	< 1
< 35 mph	1,130	12
35-40 mph	1,910	21
45-50 mph	1,723	19
55+ mph	4,120	45
Total*	9,136	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

About half of deaths in fixed object crashes in 2006 occurred at night (9pm-6am). The highest proportion of fixed object crashes occurred between midnight and 3 am (20 percent).

Deaths in fixed object crashes by time of day, 2006
Hour of day	Deaths	%
Midnight-3am	1,783	20
3am-6am	967	11
6am-9am	757	8
9am-noon	693	8
Noon-3pm	946	10
3pm-6pm	1,166	13
6pm-9pm	1,217	13
9pm-midnight	1,509	17
Total*	9,136	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns