Indiana Crash Facts: 2009

NHTSA · 2009 · ROSA P / Indiana. Governor's Council on Impaired & Dangerous Driving

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Summary

This report, titled *Indiana Crash Facts: 2009*, presents a comprehensive statistical analysis of traffic collisions in Indiana to inform public policy and safety program planning. Produced by the Indiana University Public Policy Institute’s Center for Criminal Justice Research in collaboration with the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute, the document aims to provide data-driven insights into the causes and consequences of motor vehicle crashes. The analysis is motivated by the need to establish benchmarks for the state’s Highway Safety Plan, targeting specific priority areas such as alcohol impairment, speed, young drivers, and occupant protection. The study utilizes data from the Indiana State Police’s Automated Reporting Information Exchange System (ARIES), which contains detailed records for over 189,000 collisions reported in 2009. The dataset includes information on collision circumstances, vehicle types, driver demographics, injury severity, and contributing factors such as alcohol involvement and speeding. The report aggregates this data to calculate trends, rates per population or vehicle miles traveled, and geographic distributions across Indiana’s counties. Key findings indicate a significant decline in traffic safety incidents compared to 2008. Total collisions resulting in injury or property damage decreased by 7.7 percent to 189,676, while fatal collisions dropped by 12.6 percent to 631, resulting in 692 fatalities. Alcohol-related collisions accounted for 4.7 percent of all crashes but represented 24.9 percent of fatal collisions, causing 168 deaths. Speed-related collisions comprised 9.6 percent of all crashes and 21.6 percent of fatal crashes, resulting in 158 deaths. Rural areas accounted for 68.1 percent of all fatalities. The 16-to-17-year-old age group exhibited the highest fatality rate among drivers at 4.0 per 10,000 licensed drivers. Additionally, 48 percent of persons killed in motor vehicle collisions were known to be restrained, and the total economic cost of collisions exceeded $4.3 billion. The significance of this report lies in its role as a foundational resource for state and national policymakers. By identifying specific high-risk factors and demographic groups, the data supports the Governor’s Council on Impaired and Dangerous Driving in setting measurable goals for reducing fatalities and injuries. The findings highlight the disproportionate impact of alcohol and speed on fatal outcomes and underscore the economic burden of crashes, providing evidence to justify targeted interventions in rural areas and among young drivers.

Key finding

Fatal collisions in Indiana decreased by 12.6 percent in 2009, with speeding and alcohol involvement accounting for 21.6 percent and 24.9 percent of those fatal crashes, respectively.

Methodology

dataset

Provenance

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Topics

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

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