Unsafe Driving Acts in Serious U.S. Traffic Crashes, 1996-1997

723 serious crashes involving 1,284 drivers were investigated from four U.S. sites between April 1996 and April 1997. The data, collected by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration using the National Automotive Sampling System protocol, includes in-depth evaluations of vehicle condition, roadway factors, and driver behaviors. In 99% of crashes, a driver behavioral error was identified as a cause or contributing factor.

Use Cases

• Ranking the relative frequency of driver error types (e.g., inattention, speed, alcohol) based on the reported percentages.
• Modeling associations between crash problem types (e.g., rear-end, roadside departure) and specific driver behaviors.
• Analyzing the link between situational factors (roadway conditions, vehicle characteristics) and unsafe driving acts mentioned in the study.

Strengths

• Data is based on 723 in-depth crash investigations following a standardized 11-step evaluation process.
• Provides specific quantified percentages for six high-frequency causal factors (e.g., Driver Inattention at 22.7%).
• Study design uses the National Automotive Sampling System protocol to ensure a fair sample of serious U.S. crashes.

Limitations

• Data is from a specific 13-month period in 1996-1997; driving behaviors and vehicle technology may have changed.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and file format are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, author James C. Fell.

Collection Method

In-depth data collection and evaluation of crashes selected via the National Automotive Sampling System protocol.

Time Range

April 1, 1996 through April 30, 1997.

Freshness

Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Geography

Four sites in the United States.