2004 Virginia Traffic Crash Facts

NHTSA · 2005 · ROSA P / Virginia. Dept. of Motor Vehicles

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Summary

The 2004 Virginia Traffic Crash Facts report, published by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles in cooperation with the Department of State Police and the Department of Transportation, provides a comprehensive statistical analysis of traffic safety in Virginia for the year 2004. The document aims to identify safety problems and support education and community activities by detailing crash frequencies, fatalities, injuries, and contributing factors such as alcohol use, speeding, and vehicle types. The report aggregates data from police reports and medical examiner records to analyze 153,907 reportable traffic crashes. It categorizes incidents by severity (fatal, personal injury, property damage), time of occurrence, geographic location (DMV districts, counties, cities, and towns), and demographic factors including age and gender. The analysis also examines specific crash circumstances, such as driver violations, physical impairments, and vehicle defects, while providing longitudinal trends from 1995 to 2004 regarding vehicle registration, licensed drivers, and vehicular mileage. In 2004, Virginia recorded 922 fatalities and 78,487 injuries, representing decreases of 2.12% and 0.45%, respectively, from 2003. Total crashes decreased by 0.61%. Despite a 2.66% increase in estimated vehicle miles traveled, the death rate per 100 million vehicle miles dropped 4.88% to 1.17. Alcohol was a significant factor in 11,504 crashes, resulting in 343 fatalities and 7,911 injuries. Speeding was cited in 17,058 crashes, with 5,551 drivers traveling between 56 and 60 MPH at the time of the incident. Fatal crashes peaked between 3:00 PM and 5:00 PM, while personal injury crashes were most frequent between 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM. The data highlights that 94.4% of all crashes involved a driver violating a traffic law, and 62.2% of fatal crashes involved such violations. The findings underscore the persistent impact of alcohol and speeding on traffic safety, despite overall declines in crash rates. The report identifies specific high-risk demographics and locations, noting that teenagers aged 15–19 accounted for 4.56% of traffic fatalities in alcohol-related crashes. By providing granular data on crash distributions across Virginia’s jurisdictions and timeframes, the document serves as a critical resource for policymakers and safety advocates to target interventions, enforce regulations, and develop educational programs aimed at reducing traffic fatalities and injuries.

Key finding

In 2004, Virginia recorded 922 traffic fatalities and 78,487 injuries across 153,907 crashes, with alcohol involvement contributing to 343 deaths.

Methodology

dataset

Provenance

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Topics

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• incidence prevalence
• demographic disparities
• sex gender

Information type

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• Empirical Findings: crash risk outcomes