This annual report presents descriptive statistics about traffic crashes of all severities, from those that result in property damage to those that result in the loss of human life. Information from two of the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA's) primary data systems has been combined to create a single source for motor vehicle crash statistics. These two data systems are the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and the National Automotive Sampling System General Estimates System (GES). The report is presented in five chapters and three appendices. Chapter 1, "Trends," presents data from all years of FARS (1975 through 2001) and GES (1988 through 2001). The remaining chapters present data only from 2001. Chapter 2, "Crashes," describes general characteristics of crashes, such as when and how often they occurred, where they occurred, and what happened during the crash. Chapter 3, "Vehicles," concentrates on the types of vehicles involved in crashes and the damage to the vehicles. Chapter 4, "People," is the largest chapter of this report, with statistics about drivers, passengers, pedestrians, and pedalcyclists. The last chapter of the report, "States," contains information about crashes for each state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Terms used throughout the report are defined in the Glossary. Appendix A contains FARS data elements, Appendix B GES data elements, and Appendix C GES technical notes. (A)
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