Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS)

In order to improve traffic safety, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) created the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) in 1975. The FARS database contains information on all fatal motor vehicle accidents in the United States.To be included in FARS, a crash must involve a motor vehicle traveling on a traffic way customarily open to the public and result in the death of a person (either an occupant of a vehicle or a non-motorist) within 30 days of the crash. The FARS file contains descriptions of each fatal crash reported. Each case has more than 100 coded data elements that characterize the crash, the vehicles, and the people involved. Specific data elements may be modified slightly at times in response to users' needs and highway safety emphasis areas.Data on fatal motor vehicle traffic crashes are gathered from each state's source documents and are coded on standard FARS forms. FARS forms generally include some or all of the following: police accident reports (PARS), state vehicle registration files, state driver licensing files, state highway department data, vital statistics, death certificates, coroner/medical examiner reports, hospital medical records, and emergency medical service reports.\n