Transportation Accident Category Background

• U.S. air carries include those operating under 14 CFR 121, all scheduled and nonscheduled service. Since Mar. 20, 1997, 14 CFR 121 includes only aircraft with 10 or more seats formerly operated under 14 CFR 135. This change makes it difficult to compare pre-1997 data for 14 CFR 121 and 14 CFR 135 with more recent data.
• Commuter carrier includes all operating scheduled services under 14 CFR 135. Since Mar. 20, 1997, 14 CFR 121 includes only aircraft with 10 or more seats formerly operated under 14 CFR 135. This change makes it difficult to compare pre-1997 data for 14 CFR 121 and 14 CFR 135 with more recent data.
• On-demand air tax includes all non-scheduled service operating under 14 CFR 135.
• General air aviation iniclude all operations other than those operating under 14 CFR 121 and 14 CFR 135.
• The motor vehicle crash data are from the U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administrations' General Estimates System (GES), which began operation in 1988. GES data are obtained from a nationally representative probability sample selected from all police-reported crashes. The GES sample includes only crashes where a police accident report was completed and the crash resulted in property damage, injury, or death. The resulting figures do not take into account crashes that were not reported to the police or did not result in property damage.
• For total highway crashes, the U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration uses the term "crash" instead of accident in its highway safety data. Highway crashes often involve more than one motor vehicle, and hence "total highway crashes" is smaller than the sum of the components. Estimates of highway crashes are rounded to the nearest thousand in the source document.
• Light trucks are defined as trucks of 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight rating or less, including pickups, vans, truck-based station wagons, and utility vehicles. Large trucks are defined as trucks over 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight rating, including single-unit trucks and truck tractors.
• Railroad, total includes Amtrak and accidents and incidents resulting from freight and passenger rail operations including commuter rail. Railroad accident data for 1970 and before are not comparable with post-1970 data due to a change in the reporting system.
• Accidents and incidents occurring at highway-rail crossings resulting from freight and passenger rail operations including commuter rail. Data are not comparable after 1970 due to a change in reporting system. Most highway-rail grade crossing accidents are also counted under highway.
• The Federal Railroad Administration defines a grade crossing as a location where a public highway, road, street, or private roadway, including associated sidewalks and pathways, crosses one or more railroad tracks at grade. The Federal Transit Administration defines two types of grade crossings: (1) At grade, mixed, and cross traffic crossings, meaning railway right-of-way over which other traffic moving in the same direction or other cross directions may pass. This includes city street right-of-way; (2) at grade with cross traffic crossings, meaning railway right-of-way over which no other traffic may pass, except to cross at grade-level crossings. This can include median strip rights-of-way with grade level crossings at intersecting streets.
• Railraod includes train accidents only.
• Transit total accident figures include collisions with vehicles, objects, and people, derailments/vehicles going off the road. Accident figures do not include fires and personal casualties. The drop in the number of accidents in 2002 is due largely to a change in definitions by the Federal Transit Administration, particularly the definition of injuries. Beginning in 2002, only injuries requiring immediate medical treatment away from the scene qualified as reportable. In 2008, the property damage threshold was changed to $25,000. Previously, any accident with property damage equal to or greater than $7,500 was reported.
• Highway-rail grade crossing accidents includes those occurring at highway-rail grade crossings resulting from operations of public transit rail modes including commuter rail. Data for light rail crossings are: 1995 (98); 1996 (97); 1997 (66); 1998 (66); 1999 (103); 2000 (106); 2001 (54); 2002 (112); 2003 (68); 2004 (106); 2005 (81); 2006 (95); 2007 (93); 2008 (107); 2009 (119); and 2010 (116).
• Transit accidents includes those occurring at highway-rail grade crossings resulting from operations of public transit rail modes excluding commuter rail.
• Vessel related data from 1992-97 are obtained from the Marine Safety Management Information System. Between 1998 and 2000, the U.S. Coast Guard phased in a new computer system to track safety data, the Marine Information for Safety and Law Enforcement System. During this period, data are obtained from combining entries in the Marine Safety Management Information System with entries in the Marine Information for Safety and Law Enforcement System. Data after 2002 comes from the Marine Information for Safety and Law Enforcement System. Statistics for prior years may not be directly comparable due to the revised method of capture.