Georgia Highway Safety 1997 Fact Book: a Report on Highway Safety in Georgia

NHTSA · 1997 · ROSA P / Georgia. Governor's Office of Highway Safety

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Summary

The *Georgia Highway Safety 1997 Fact Book*, published by the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, addresses the critical issue of motor vehicle crashes as the leading cause of trauma deaths in Georgia. The report was motivated by the need to provide fact-based analysis to increase public awareness and assist policymakers in designing effective safety interventions, coinciding with the signing of the Teenage and Adult Driver Responsibility Act of 1997. The document aims to highlight that injuries and fatalities are preventable through the reduction of high-risk driving behaviors and increased use of occupant protection devices. The report utilizes data collected from routine state systems, including the Georgia Department of Public Safety, the Georgia Department of Transportation, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. It presents statewide statistics on crashes, injuries, and fatalities from 1990 to 1995, analyzing trends by age, gender, vehicle type, and contributing circumstances. The methodology involves calculating rates per 100 million vehicle miles traveled and per 100,000 population to contextualize raw incident numbers and identify specific risk factors among different demographic groups. Key findings reveal that in 1995, Georgia experienced 283,639 motor vehicle crashes, resulting in 1,492 fatalities and 139,857 injuries. The state’s fatality rate of 21.0 per 100,000 population significantly exceeded the national rate of 15.9. Young drivers (ages 16–17) were disproportionately involved in crashes, accounting for 5.8% of all crashes despite comprising only 2.7% of licensed drivers. Excess speed replaced driving under the influence (DUI) as the most frequent contributing circumstance in fatal crashes, though alcohol or drugs were still involved in one-third of fatalities. Male drivers were involved in fatal crashes more than twice as often as females. Conversely, safety belt use increased from 42% in 1990 to 62% in 1996, and child safety seat use rose to 70% in 1995. Children not in safety seats were ten times more likely to be killed than those properly restrained. The significance of this report lies in its identification of specific, preventable risk factors, such as speeding among young drivers and low seat belt usage among fatalities. It underscores the effectiveness of legislative measures like the Teenage and Adult Driver Responsibility Act and emphasizes the need for continued tracking of risk factors. By providing detailed demographic and behavioral data, the report serves as a foundational tool for the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety and community agencies to design targeted programs aimed at reducing injury and death on Georgia’s roadways.

Key finding

Excess speed replaced driving under the influence as the most frequent contributing circumstance for fatal motor vehicle crashes in Georgia in 1995, while young drivers aged 16-17 were involved in 5.8% of all crashes despite comprising only 2.7% of licensed drivers.

Methodology

dataset

Provenance

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Topics

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

Information type

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• Empirical Findings: crash risk outcomes, observational prevalence