FATALITY FACTS 2009

Fixed object crashes

About 20 percent of motor vehicle crash deaths result from a vehicle leaving the roadway and hitting a fixed object alongside the road. Trees, utility poles, and traffic barriers are the most common objects struck. About half of the deaths in fixed object crashes occur at night.

Alcohol is a frequent contributing factor in these crashes. Motorists also run off the road because of excessive speeds, falling asleep, inattention, or poor visibility. Efforts to reduce these driver errors are only somewhat effective, so it's important to remove fixed objects or avoid putting them along roads in the first place, especially roads where vehicles are more likely to leave the pavement. Less preferred options include using breakaway objects or shielding or increasing the visibility of the objects.

The following facts are based on analysis of data from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).

The information is based on fatal crashes in which the most harmful event coded was a collision with a fixed object, regardless of whether the first harmful event also was a collision with a fixed object, or was instead another type of crash, such as a collision between two motor vehicles, that in turn led to a collision with a fixed object. Information on the most harmful event became available in FARS in 1979.

Data subsections:

Trends Alcohol Age and gender Crash types When and where crashes occur

Trends

A total of 7,800 people died in fixed object crashes in 2009, 10 percent fewer than in 2008 and 26 percent fewer than in 1979. The proportion of motor vehicle crash deaths involving collisions with fixed objects has remained between 19 and 23 percent since 1979.

Deaths in fixed object crashes as a percent of all motor vehicle crash deaths, 1979-2009
Year	Fixed object crash deaths		Other deaths		All deaths
Year	Num	%	Num	%	Num
1979	10,550	21	40,543	79	51,093
1980	10,968	21	40,123	79	51,091
1981	9,464	19	39,837	81	49,301
1982	8,417	19	35,528	81	43,945
1983	8,333	20	34,256	80	42,589
1984	8,796	20	35,461	80	44,257
1985	9,319	21	34,506	79	43,825
1986	9,851	21	36,236	79	46,087
1987	9,662	21	36,728	79	46,390
1988	9,865	21	37,222	79	47,087
1989	9,537	21	36,045	79	45,582
1990	9,355	21	35,244	79	44,599
1991	8,894	21	32,614	79	41,508
1992	8,221	21	31,029	79	39,250
1993	8,256	21	31,894	79	40,150
1994	8,142	20	32,574	80	40,716
1995	8,524	20	33,293	80	41,817
1996	8,442	20	33,623	80	42,065
1997	8,381	20	33,632	80	42,013
1998	8,401	20	33,100	80	41,501
1999	8,431	20	33,286	80	41,717
2000	8,899	21	33,046	79	41,945
2001	9,011	21	33,185	79	42,196
2002	9,580	22	33,425	78	43,005
2003	9,433	22	33,451	78	42,884
2004	9,123	21	33,713	79	42,836
2005	9,062	21	34,448	79	43,510
2006	9,181	21	33,527	79	42,708
2007	9,168	22	32,091	78	41,259
2008	8,661	23	28,762	77	37,423
2009	7,800	23	26,008	77	33,808

Trees are the most common fixed object struck. Forty-nine percent of deaths in fixed object crashes in 2009 involved a vehicle striking a tree. Utility poles and traffic barriers were the next most common objects struck, accounting for 13 and 8 percent of deaths, respectively.

Percent distribution of fixed object crash deaths by object struck, 2009

Deaths in fixed object crashes by object struck, 2009
Object struck	Num	%
Tree	3,817	49
Utility pole	980	13
Traffic barrier	601	8
Embankment	423	5
Culvert	242	3
Highway sign support	239	3
Ditch	235	3
Fence	192	2
Building	152	2
Wall	146	2
Bridge pier	116	1
Light support	112	1
Other	545	7
Total	7,800	100

Alcohol

Forty-five percent of drivers killed in fixed object crashes in 2009 had blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) at or above 0.08 percent. By comparison, 29 percent of drivers killed in other types of fatal crashes had BACs this high. The number of drivers killed in fixed object crashes with BACs at or above 0.08 percent declined from a high of 4,209 in 1986 to 2,770 in 2009, a reduction of 34 percent.

Percent of fatally injured drivers with BACs ≥ 0.08 percent by crash type, 1982-2009

Estimated number and percent of fatally injured drivers with BACs ≥ 0.08 percent by crash type, 1982-2009
Year	Fixed object crashes			Other crashes			All crashes
	Driver deaths	Estimated deaths with BAC ≥ 0.08		Driver deaths	Estimated deaths with BAC ≥ 0.08		Driver deaths	Estimated deaths with BAC ≥ 0.08
	Num	Num	%	Num	Num	%	Num	Num	%
1982	6,089	3,991	66	18,601	8,148	44	24,690	12,139	49
1983	6,074	3,925	65	18,064	7,618	42	24,138	11,543	48
1984	6,496	4,027	62	19,093	7,472	39	25,589	11,499	45
1985	6,927	4,078	59	18,410	6,608	36	25,337	10,685	42
1986	7,121	4,209	59	19,509	7,201	37	26,630	11,409	43
1987	6,974	3,965	57	19,859	7,093	36	26,833	11,058	41
1988	7,239	3,987	55	20,014	7,116	36	27,253	11,103	41
1989	6,962	3,926	56	19,427	6,711	35	26,389	10,637	40
1990	6,786	3,897	57	18,964	6,498	34	25,750	10,395	40
1991	6,398	3,538	55	17,532	5,947	34	23,930	9,485	40
1992	5,979	3,151	53	16,605	5,301	32	22,584	8,452	37
1993	5,957	3,079	52	17,185	5,243	31	23,142	8,322	36
1994	5,943	2,885	49	17,748	5,028	28	23,691	7,913	33
1995	6,197	3,018	49	18,193	5,289	29	24,390	8,307	34
1996	6,077	2,917	48	18,457	5,258	28	24,534	8,175	33
1997	6,081	2,881	47	18,586	4,962	27	24,667	7,843	32
1998	6,280	2,964	47	18,463	4,870	26	24,743	7,834	32
1999	6,249	2,908	47	19,008	5,010	26	25,257	7,918	31
2000	6,595	3,080	47	18,972	5,086	27	25,567	8,166	32
2001	6,685	3,050	46	19,184	5,203	27	25,869	8,252	32
2002	7,218	3,292	46	19,441	5,224	27	26,659	8,515	32
2003	7,083	3,163	45	19,696	5,191	26	26,779	8,354	31
2004	6,906	3,043	44	19,965	5,112	26	26,871	8,155	30
2005	6,944	3,060	44	20,547	5,430	26	27,491	8,489	31
2006	7,180	3,145	44	20,168	5,433	27	27,348	8,578	31
2007	7,107	3,244	46	19,463	5,374	28	26,570	8,617	32
2008	6,839	3,082	45	17,415	4,879	28	24,254	7,961	33
2009	6,142	2,770	45	15,656	4,510	29	21,798	7,281	33

Age and gender

Thirty percent of drivers killed in fixed object crashes in 2009 were males younger than 30. Overall, males accounted for 80 percent of drivers killed in fixed object crashes in 2009.

Driver deaths in fixed object crashes by age and gender, 2009
Age	Male		Female		Total
Age	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%
< 16	18	< 1	11	< 1	29	< 1
16-19	419	7	145	2	564	9
20-24	813	13	179	3	992	16
25-29	634	10	125	2	759	12
30-34	393	6	89	1	482	8
35-39	381	6	72	1	453	7
40-44	396	6	81	1	477	8
45-49	429	7	100	2	529	9
50-54	367	6	89	1	456	7
55-59	295	5	80	1	375	6
60-64	214	3	66	1	280	5
65-69	163	3	50	1	213	3
≥ 70	373	6	154	3	527	9
Total*	4,900	80	1,241	20	6,142	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Crash types

Ninety-five percent of fixed object crash deaths in 2009 occurred in single-vehicle crashes.

Deaths in fixed object crashes by crash type, 2009
Crash type	Deaths	%
Single-vehicle crashes	7,385	95
Multiple-vehicle crashes	412	5
All crashes	7,800	100

Eighteen percent of deaths in fixed object crashes in 2009 involved vehicles rolling over.

Deaths in fixed object crashes by rollover occurrence and object struck, 2009
Object struck	Rollover		No rollover		All crashes
Object struck	Num	%	Num	%	Num
Boulder	13	34	25	66	38
Culvert	67	27	175	72	242
Embankment	112	26	311	74	423
Ditch	61	26	174	74	235
Light support	20	18	92	82	112
Utility pole	185	19	795	81	980
Tree	655	18	3,162	83	3,817
Building	26	17	126	83	152
Guardrail	65	16	326	83	391
Fence	30	16	162	84	192
Concrete	30	14	180	86	210
Highway sign support	16	14	99	86	115
Other post/pole	16	13	108	87	124
Wall	19	13	127	87	146
Bridge pier	13	11	103	89	116
Bridge rail	8	11	63	89	71
Curb	8	7	103	93	111
Other	48	14	277	85	325
Total	1,392	18	6,408	82	7,800

About 19 percent of passenger vehicle occupant deaths in fixed object crashes in 2009 involved ejection; 13 percent of the occupants killed were fully ejected, and 6 percent were partially ejected.

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths in fixed object crashes by occupant ejection status, 2009
Ejection	Deaths	%
Not ejected	5,125	80
Fully ejected	863	13
Partially ejected	405	6
Total*	6,426	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Sixty-two percent of deaths in fixed object crashes in 2009 occurred in frontal impacts.

Deaths in fixed object crashes by principal point of impact, 2009
Principal point of impact	Deaths	%
Frontal impact	4,837	62
Side impact — left side	1,063	14
Side impact — right side	992	13
Top or undercarriage	402	5
Rear impact	198	3
Unknown	13	< 1
Total*	7,800	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

When and where crashes occur

Fifteen percent of deaths in fixed object crashes in 2009 occurred on interstates and freeways, 46 percent occurred on other major roads, and 38 percent occurred on minor roads.

Deaths in fixed object crashes by road type, 2009
Road type	Deaths	%
Interstates and freeways	1,152	15
Other major roads	3,598	46
Minor roads	2,933	38
All road types*	7,800	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Fifty-eight percent of deaths in fixed object crashes in 2009 occurred on rural roads.

Deaths in fixed object crashes by land use, 2009
Land use	Deaths	%
Rural	4,519	58
Urban	3,221	41
Total*	7,800	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Twelve percent of deaths in fixed object crashes in 2009 occurred at junctions including intersections, interchanges, rail grade crossings, and junctions of streets with driveways and alleys. In urban areas, the proportion of deaths in fixed object crashes that occurred at junctions was 20 percent, compared with 7 percent in rural areas.

Deaths in fixed object crashes by road classification and relation to junction, 2009
	Urban		Rural		Total*
	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%
Non-junction	2,581	80	4,216	93	6,848	88
Junction	637	20	301	7	946	12
Total*	3,221	100	4,519	100	7,800	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Forty-four percent of deaths in fixed object crashes in 2009 occurred on roads with speed limits 55 mph or higher.

Deaths in fixed object crashes by speed limit, 2009
Speed limit	Deaths	%
No limit	37	< 1
< 35 mph	1,018	13
35-40 mph	1,646	21
45-50 mph	1,490	19
55+ mph	3,434	44
Total*	7,800	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

About half of deaths in fixed object crashes in 2009 occurred at night (9pm-6am). The highest proportions of fixed object crashes occurred between midnight and 3am (19 percent) and between 9pm and midnight (16 percent).

Deaths in fixed object crashes by time of day, 2009
Hour of day	Deaths	%
Midnight-3am	1,510	19
3am-6am	859	11
6am-9am	591	8
9am-noon	634	8
Noon-3pm	861	11
3pm-6pm	992	13
6pm-9pm	1,066	14
9pm-midnight	1,214	16
Total*	7,800	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns