How to use FARS figures in a local story
Last checked against the NHTSA pages:
The Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) is the federal count of fatal road crashes. A local story often starts with one FARS number. This guide shows what the number means and how a count becomes a rate. It also shows how NHTSA writes its own citation. It gives no advice.
What FARS counts
FARS is a census of fatal motor vehicle crashes in the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. A crash is in FARS when two things are true. It involves a motor vehicle on a trafficway that is customarily open to the public. A person dies within 30 days of the crash.
- A death on day 31 is not in FARS.
- A crash with no death is not in FARS.
State analysts gather the data. They use police crash reports, death certificates and other state records. The guide How FARS counts a fatal crash has more detail.
Counts and rates
A count is the number of crashes or deaths. A rate divides the count by a base. The State Traffic Data of NHTSA gives two rates for the United States in 2023:
- 12.21 deaths for each 100,000 residents.
- 1.26 deaths for each 100 million vehicle-miles traveled (VMT).
NHTSA takes the population from the Census Bureau and the vehicle-miles from the Federal Highway Administration. The national totals of NHTSA leave out Puerto Rico.
The two rates have different bases. A rate for each resident uses the size of the population. A rate for each vehicle-mile uses the amount of driving.
Annual file and final file
NHTSA releases the Annual Report File (ARF) first. It finalizes the year in the following year, and the final counts can differ from the first counts. The guide When a new year of data arrives has the detail, and the page FARS release dates lists each file.
The counts for 2023 show the difference. The State Traffic Data for 2023 uses the 2023 ARF and shows 40,901 deaths. The early estimate for 2025 uses the 2023 final file and shows 41,025 deaths.
An early estimate is a statistical projection. It is not a count of FARS cases.
Small numbers and multi-year totals
A small place has a small base. Take a county of 20,000 residents. One death gives a rate of 5.0 for each 100,000 residents. Two deaths give 10.0. The rate doubles when the count goes from one to two.
A multi-year total adds the counts of single years. The years can come from different files. A rate for several years can divide the total deaths by the sum of the yearly populations. Take the same county for three years. Six deaths give 6 divided by 60,000, times 100,000. The result is 10.0 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.
What FARS codes
FARS codes the facts that the records show. A recorded factor is not a cause. The FARS manual classifies a driver as drinking when police report alcohol involvement or when an alcohol test is positive. The manual says alcohol data is often missing, so the count can be too low.
NHTSA uses a different measure for alcohol-impaired driving. It uses a blood alcohol concentration of .08 g/dL or higher. It estimates the values that are missing. The glossary has more of the words of NHTSA.
In all cases throughout this fact sheet, use of the term does not indicate that a crash or a fatality was caused by alcohol impairment, only that an alcohol-impaired driver was involved in the crash.
How to cite NHTSA
NHTSA prints a suggested citation on its reports. For the FARS manual it reads:
National Center for Statistics and Analysis. (2026, April). Fatality Analysis Reporting System analytical user’s manual, 1975-2024 (Report No. DOT HS 813 794). National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. https://doi.org/10.21949/dz60-ft73
NHTSA names the data file in the source line of its tables. Examples are "FARS 2023 ARF" and "2024 FARS ARF". For questions about a report, NHTSA gives the address NCSARequests@dot.gov.
Sources
This guide follows the FARS Analytical User's Manual, 1975-2024 (sections "Introduction", "FARS Operations" and the entry for the field DR_DRINK). It also follows the State Traffic Data: 2023 Data, the early estimate for 2025 and the Alcohol-Impaired Driving: 2023 Data fact sheet. The text was checked against them on 18 October 2026.
One state, two rate denominators
FARS records 52 deaths in Rhode Island in 2024.
| Rate | Figure |
|---|---|
| Deaths for each 100,000 residents | 4.7 |
| Deaths for each 100 million vehicle-miles | 0.68 |
The two rates have different denominators. The population rate and the travel rate do not measure the same thing.
The state figures (CSV) give the values and years used on the state pages.