1992 Michigan traffic crash facts

NHTSA · 1994 · ROSA P / Michigan. Office of Highway Safety Planning

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Summary

This report, titled *1992 Michigan Traffic Crash Facts*, presents a comprehensive statistical analysis of motor vehicle crashes in Michigan for the year 1992. Produced by the Office of Highway Safety Planning and the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, the document aims to provide detailed data on crash frequencies, severity, and contributing factors to support traffic safety planning. The report notes that the 1992 data is "transitional" due to the introduction of a redesigned Uniform Traffic Crash Report (UD-10) form, which utilized optical scanning for data processing. This change introduced some technical errors, though fatal crash counts were verified against the Federal Fatal Accident Reporting System to ensure accuracy. The study relies on data from over 660 law enforcement agencies, analyzing 344,942 reported crashes. The findings indicate a significant improvement in traffic safety outcomes compared to 1991. Total fatalities decreased by 8.8% to 1,300, injuries dropped by 12.6% to 118,727, and total crashes fell by 5.5%. Despite a 2.6% increase in vehicle miles traveled and a 1.1% rise in vehicle registrations, the death rate per 100 million vehicle miles declined by 11.8% to 1.5, marking the lowest rate in reporting history. The economic cost of these crashes was estimated at $8.58 billion. Key findings highlight alcohol involvement as a critical factor in crash severity. Alcohol was a factor in 33.6% of fatal crashes where drinking status was determined, a 30.7% decrease from the previous year. Crashes involving drivers who had been drinking resulted in fatalities at a rate five times higher than non-alcohol-related crashes. Temporal analysis revealed that fatal crashes peaked in July and were most frequent on Saturdays, particularly between midnight and 3:00 AM, when 70% of fatal crashes involved alcohol. Additionally, restraint usage reported in crash forms was 76.6%, though usage among fatal victims was only 33.4%. The report concludes that while exposure factors such as mileage and driver numbers increased, safety interventions and reduced crash frequency contributed to lower fatality and injury rates. It emphasizes the disproportionate danger of alcohol-impaired driving, especially during weekend nights, and notes that crashes occurring outside normal driving lanes accounted for a higher percentage of fatalities than their occurrence rate would suggest. The document serves as a baseline for future safety initiatives, acknowledging ongoing efforts to refine data collection methods to improve accuracy in subsequent years.

Key finding

Michigan's 1992 traffic fatality count decreased by 8.8 percent to 1,300 deaths, resulting in a death rate of 1.5 per 100 million vehicle miles traveled.

Methodology

dataset

Provenance

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Topics

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

Information type

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• Empirical Findings: crash risk outcomes