1994 Pennsylvania Crash Facts and Statistics

NHTSA · 1994 · ROSA P / Pennsylvania. Dept. of Transportation

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Summary

This document, published by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Highway Safety and Traffic Engineering, presents a comprehensive statistical analysis of traffic crashes in Pennsylvania for the calendar year 1994. The report serves as a factual record of highway safety trends, providing detailed data on crash frequencies, severity, economic impacts, and contributing factors such as alcohol involvement and seat belt usage. It also includes historical comparisons dating back to 1928 and specific county-level breakdowns to identify geographic patterns in crash occurrences. The report aggregates data from 134,171 reportable crashes involving 227,532 vehicles and 347,569 persons. The methodology involves categorizing crashes by severity (fatal, injury, and property damage only), vehicle type, driver demographics, and environmental conditions. Key metrics include fatality and injury rates per 100 million vehicle miles, seat belt usage rates derived from observational surveys, and alcohol involvement statistics based on driver blood alcohol content and arrest records. The data covers 92.347 billion vehicle miles traveled across the state’s maintained road network. In 1994, there were 1,440 fatalities and 130,678 injuries, resulting in an estimated economic loss of $4.06 billion. The fatality rate was 1.56 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles, noted as the lowest ever recorded in Pennsylvania. Alcohol was involved in 9.6% of all crashes and 36.7% of fatal crashes. Seat belt usage among passenger car occupants was 63.9%, with the report estimating that 100% compliance would have prevented 394 fatalities and saved approximately $899 million. Demographic analysis revealed that 63% of drivers in all crashes and 77.1% of drivers in fatal crashes were male. Fatal crashes peaked on weekends, particularly Saturdays, and during the 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM timeframe. The significance of this report lies in its documentation of a continued downward trend in fatality rates despite increasing vehicle miles traveled. It highlights the substantial economic burden of traffic crashes on society and underscores the effectiveness of safety interventions, such as seat belt laws, which showed a steady increase in usage from 54.4% in 1990 to 63.9% in 1994. The data provides a baseline for evaluating highway safety policies and identifies specific high-risk areas, such as alcohol-related incidents and crashes involving young drivers, for targeted intervention.

Key finding

There were 134,171 reportable crashes in Pennsylvania in 1994, resulting in 1,440 fatalities and 130,678 injuries.

Methodology

dataset

Provenance

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Topics

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

Information type

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• Empirical Findings: crash risk outcomes