Washington fatal crashes in 1978
FARS records 985 deaths in 865 fatal crashes in Washington in 1978.
In 1977 it records 912 deaths in 797 fatal crashes.
This site gives no rate for the years before 2000.
Deaths in Washington rose by 8.0% from 1977 to 1978. In the United States they rose by 5.1%.
In 1978, a driver was recorded as drinking in 50.9% of fatal crashes in Washington and 35.5% in the United States.
To qualify as a FARS case, the crash had to involve a motor vehicle traveling on a trafficway customarily open to the public and must have resulted in the death of a motorist or a non-motorist within 30 days of the crash.
The set of first files, known as the Annual Report File (ARF), is released following the crash year. The ARF is replaced about a year later with a final file, which contains additional cases or updates to cases that had become available after the ARF was released.
NHTSA's words. Source: NHTSA, Fatality Analysis Reporting System Analytical User's Manual, 1975-2024 (DOT HS 813 794, April 2026), copied on .
This site reads the years before 2015 from one fixed copy. It does not track later revisions of these years. Release dates
1978 beside 1977
| Figure | Washington, 1978 | Washington, 1977 | United States, 1978 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deaths | 985 | 912 | 50,331 |
| Fatal crashes | 865 | 797 | 44,433 |
| Deaths for each 100,000 residents | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Fatal crashes with a driver recorded as drinking | 440 | n/a | 15,780 |
Note: this site has no rate for the years before 2000.
Note: FARS records a driver as drinking when police reported alcohol involvement or a test of the driver was positive for alcohol. It is not NHTSA's alcohol-impaired measure. NHTSA's definitions
NHTSA says that its count of drinking drivers is unreliable for 1977, 1981 and 1999 to 2007, because it was derived in a wrong way. This site gives no count for these years.
For the years before 2015 the count is from the FARS element DRUNK_DR. It counts a blood alcohol concentration of .01 g/dL or more. From 2015 the count is from DR_DRINK and counts .001 g/dL or more.
Counties in 1978
| County | Deaths | Fatal crashes |
|---|---|---|
| Adams County | 10 | 9 |
| Asotin County | 4 | 4 |
| Benton County | 40 | 34 |
| Chelan County | 20 | 16 |
| Clallam County | 25 | 23 |
| Clark County | 43 | 35 |
| Columbia County | 1 or 2 | 1 or 2 |
| Cowlitz County | 16 | 14 |
| Douglas County | 7 | 6 |
| Ferry County | 1 or 2 | 1 or 2 |
| Franklin County | 12 | 12 |
| Grant County | 12 | 9 |
| Grays Harbor County | 24 | 22 |
| Island County | 16 | 13 |
| Jefferson County | 10 | 9 |
| King County | 232 | 215 |
| Kitsap County | 34 | 32 |
| Kittitas County | 9 | 8 |
| Klickitat County | 8 | 8 |
| Lewis County | 15 | 14 |
| Lincoln County | 5 | 5 |
| Mason County | 8 | 6 |
| Okanogan County | 13 | 12 |
| Pacific County | 6 | 5 |
| Pend Oreille County | 1 or 2 | 1 or 2 |
| Pierce County | 93 | 79 |
| San Juan County | 3 | 1 or 2 |
| Skagit County | 16 | 14 |
| Skamania County | 1 or 2 | 1 or 2 |
| Snohomish County | 77 | 67 |
| Spokane County | 61 | 53 |
| Stevens County | 12 | 10 |
| Thurston County | 26 | 22 |
| Wahkiakum County | 1 or 2 | 1 or 2 |
| Walla Walla County | 11 | 10 |
| Whatcom County | 31 | 26 |
| Whitman County | 12 | 10 |
| Yakima County | 66 | 53 |
Note: a county with no fatal crash in 1978 is not in the table. A count of 1 or 2 is written "1 or 2".
Time of day and weekday
| Time of day | Fatal crashes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Midnight to 6 a.m. | 230 | 26.8% |
| 6 a.m. to noon | 121 | 14.1% |
| Noon to 6 p.m. | 216 | 25.1% |
| 6 p.m. to midnight | 292 | 34.0% |
| Weekday | Fatal crashes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday | 144 | 16.6% |
| Monday | 111 | 12.8% |
| Tuesday | 91 | 10.5% |
| Wednesday | 102 | 11.8% |
| Thursday | 112 | 12.9% |
| Friday | 130 | 15.0% |
| Saturday | 175 | 20.2% |
Note: the tables have the fatal crashes with a known hour or weekday.
Cite this page
Fatal Roads. Washington fatal crashes in 1978. https://fatalroads.com/state/washington/1978/. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatality Analysis Reporting System, FARS 2024 annual file. Data to .
The address of this page does not change.
Source of the figures
Counts: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatality Analysis Reporting System, national file of 1978. This site reads the years before 2015 from one fixed copy. It does not track later revisions of these years. Residents: Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, vintage 2025. Data to .
How the figures are made. Data sources and licences. Corrections.
Questions
Which file does the 1978 page use?
This site reads the years before 2015 from one fixed copy. It does not track later revisions of these years.
What part of the deaths in the United States in 1978 was in Washington?
Washington had 985 of the 50,331 deaths in the United States in 1978. That is 2.0 percent.
In how many counties of Washington did FARS record a fatal crash in 1978?
FARS records one or more fatal crashes in 38 counties of Washington in 1978.
How many fatal crashes in Washington in 1978 had a driver recorded as drinking?
FARS records a driver as drinking in 440 of 865 fatal crashes in 1978.