An evaluation of the increase in traffic fatalities in Virginia in 1977.

Mitchell, Deborah; Lynn, Cheryl · 1978 · ROSA P / Virginia Transportation Research Council (VTRC)

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Summary

This study investigates the sharp increase in traffic fatalities in Virginia during 1977, a period following years of relative stability since the 1973 oil embargo. The research aimed to identify specific factors responsible for this surge by comparing fatal accident data from 1976 and 1977. The authors utilized the Fatal Accident Reporting System (FARS), a national computerized database, to analyze accident, vehicle/driver, and person-level variables. The study also served as a pilot test to evaluate the utility and limitations of FARS for state-level safety analysis. The analysis compared 808 fatal accidents in 1976 with 871 in 1977 using chi-square tests to determine statistical significance. At the accident level, the only significant difference was an increase in fatalities on interstate and other U.S. routes. Vehicle-related factors showed that vehicles involved in 1977 crashes were slightly heavier and had lower occupancy rates (one or two occupants) compared to 1976. Driver-related variables indicated that 1977 drivers were less likely to be impaired (asleep or inattentive) and had fewer previous traffic convictions and accidents than their 1976 counterparts. At the person level, seat belt usage among drivers decreased significantly in 1977. However, the authors noted that no single factor emerged as a definitive cause for the overall increase in fatalities. The study concluded that while statistical differences existed in certain variables, they did not indicate a need to alter Virginia’s highway safety program, though continued promotion of seat belt usage was recommended. Crucially, the authors found FARS to be an inefficient tool for state-level evaluation due to significant data quality issues, including missing information, coding inconsistencies, and formatting errors. Furthermore, accessing and using the system proved bureaucratically difficult and expensive for state users. Consequently, the report recommends against using FARS for evaluating state traffic fatality characteristics, citing its high cost, poor accessibility, and unreliable data output.

Key finding

Fatalities increased on interstate and other U.S. routes in 1977, while seat belt usage among drivers decreased significantly compared to 1976.

Methodology

dataset

Provenance

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Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.

Topics

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• fatality injury trends
• incidence prevalence
• comparative international
• demographic disparities

Information type

What kind of knowledge this paper contributes, grouped by family — independent of topic (what it is about) and method (how it was studied).

• Empirical Findings: crash risk outcomes, observational prevalence
• Methodological Resource: dataset resource