2005 Traffic Crash Facts Annual Report

NHTSA · 2005 · ROSA P / Nebraska. Dept. of Roads

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Summary

The 2005 Traffic Crash Facts Annual Report, prepared by the Nebraska Department of Roads, analyzes motor vehicle crash data to identify safety trends and inform the state’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan. The report addresses the inherent dangers of driving, attributing most crashes to improper driver behavior. It aims to increase driver awareness by detailing crash frequencies, contributing factors, and demographic trends, with a specific goal of reducing fatalities to 1.0 per hundred million vehicle miles traveled by 2008. The study utilizes data from 35,739 reportable crashes in Nebraska during 2005, defined as incidents involving death, injury, or property damage exceeding $1,000. The dataset includes 238 fatal crashes, 13,389 injury crashes, and 22,112 property-damage-only crashes. The analysis categorizes crashes by geographic location, roadway type, surface conditions, time of day, driver demographics, vehicle body style, and contributing circumstances such as alcohol involvement and restraint use. Comparative data from 2004 and historical trends from 1996–2005 are used to assess changes in crash rates and severity. Key findings indicate that the death rate in 2005 was 1.4 persons per 100 million vehicle miles traveled. While fatal crashes constituted only 0.7% of all accidents, they accounted for 276 deaths. Alcohol was involved in 31.1% of fatal crashes, a decrease from 35.4% in 2004. Seatbelt usage was low among severe casualties; only 27.6% of those killed and 50.8% of those with disabling injuries were belted, despite a statewide observed usage rate of 79.2%. Young drivers aged 15–24 were disproportionately involved in crashes, comprising 33.0% of all crashes and 26.0% of fatal crashes. Males represented 56.6% of drivers in all crashes but 72.7% of drivers in fatal crashes. Geographically, Douglas County recorded the highest number of fatalities (38), and over 65% of all fatalities occurred on two-lane rural roads. Motorcycle crashes reached a ten-year high of 459, correlated with increased registrations, though fatal motorcycle crashes decreased to 16. The report concludes that improvements in vehicle design, roadway engineering, and enforcement have contributed to a general downward trend in fatality rates over the last decade. However, it emphasizes that driving remains dangerous and that individual responsibility is critical. The data supports ongoing initiatives to reduce work zone crashes and improve intersection safety, noting that nearly 50% of all crashes occur at intersections. The findings underscore the need for continued focus on seatbelt enforcement, alcohol impairment reduction, and addressing the high crash involvement rates among young and male drivers.

Key finding

Alcohol was involved in 31.1% of fatal crashes in Nebraska in 2005, and only 27.6% of occupants who died in crashes were wearing seatbelts.

Methodology

dataset

Provenance

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Topics

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• incidence prevalence
• fatality injury trends
• demographic disparities
• comparative international
• vru crash typology
• crash typology

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