United States Department of Transportation
In this annual report, Traffic Safety Facts: A Compilation of Motor Vehicle Traffic Crash Data, the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) 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 three of NHTSA’s primary data systems has been combined
to create a single source for motor vehicle traffic crash statistics. The first data system,
the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), is probably the better known of the three sources.
Established in 1975, FARS contains data on the most severe traffic crashes, those in which someone was killed.
The second source is the National Automotive Sampling System General Estimates System (NASS GES),
which began operation in 1988. NASS GES contains data from a nationally representative sample of
police-reported crashes of all severities, including those that result in death, injury, or property damage.
The third source is the new Crash Report Sampling System (CRSS), which replaced NASS GES in 2016.
CRSS is the redesigned nationally representative sample of police-reported traffic crashes.
Note that 2018 and earlier year FARS data are final and generally not subject to change. However, minor revisions
were made to the 2017 and 2018 FARS Final files. For more information refer to "About This Report" in the Introduction section.
Although the 2021 data file is a full year's worth of data, it is subject to change
when it is finalized. The current version of the 2021 FARS data file is referred to as the
Annual Report File (ARF). The additional time between the Annual Report file and the Final file provides
the opportunity for submission of important variable data requiring outside sources, which may lead to
changes in the final counts. The updated final counts for 2021 will be reflected with the release of
the 2022 Annual Report File.
NOTE: NASS GES was discontinued in 2016 and replaced with a new system called the Crash Report Sampling System (CRSS). The 2016 data year was the first data collection year of CRSS. However, the 2016 and later year estimates from CRSS are not comparable to 2015 and earlier year estimates from NASS GES. Click here for more information on CRSS.
A change instituted with the release of 2020 data is rounding people injured, injury crash, and property-damage-only crash estimates to the nearest whole number. Previously the estimates were rounded to the nearest thousand.
NOTE: NASS GES was discontinued in 2016 and replaced with a new system called the Crash Report Sampling System (CRSS). The 2016 data year was the first data collection year of CRSS. However, the 2016 and later year estimates from CRSS are not comparable to 2015 and earlier year estimates from NASS GES. Click here for more information on CRSS.
A change instituted with the release of 2020 data is rounding people injured, injury crash, and property-damage-only crash estimates to the nearest whole number. Previously the estimates were rounded to the nearest thousand.