README for “Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2014-Present” dataset. U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA); U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) [distributor] 2025-05-29 ---------------------------------------------------------------- LINKS TO DATASET ---------------------------------------------------------------- A. Dataset archive link: https://doi.org/10.21949/1520850 B. NTAD catalog dataset link (Current Year): https://doi.org/10.21949/1522047 C. Dataset Documentation Link https://doi.org/10.21949/1518753 ---------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY OF DATASET ---------------------------------------------------------------- The Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2014-Present dataset is from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT)/Bureau of Transportation Statistics’s (BTS's) National Transportation Atlas Database (NTAD). This archive contains both the initial release of the data prior to finalization, and the final published iteration as they appeared on the NTAD at the end of the calendar year. One of the primary objectives of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is to reduce the staggering human toll and property damage that motor vehicle traffic crashes impose on our society. FARS is a census of fatal motor vehicle crashes with a set of data files documenting all qualifying fatalities that occurred within the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico since 1975. To qualify as a FARS case, the crash had to involve a motor vehicle traveling on a traffic way 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. This data file contains information about crash characteristics and environmental conditions at the time of the crash. There is one record per crash. On the NHTSA website, raw FARS data are made available to the public in Statistical Analysis System (SAS) data files as well as comma-separated values (CSV) files. Current and past raw FARS data are available at: ftp://ftp.nhtsa.dot.gov/fars/. The FARS Coding and Editing Manual contains a detailed description of each data element including coding instructions and attribute definitions. The Coding Manual is published for each year of data collection; current and past manuals are available at: https://doi.org/10.21949/1518753. ---------------------------------------------------------------- TABLE OF CONTENTS ---------------------------------------------------------------- A. General Information B. Sharing/Access & Policies Information C. Data and Related File Overview D. Methodological Information E. Data-Specific Information for: Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2014-Present [datasets] F. Update Log ---------------------------------------------------------------- A. GENERAL INFORMATION ---------------------------------------------------------------- 0. Title of Dataset: Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2014-Present [dataset] 1. Description of Dataset: The Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2014-Present dataset is from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT)/Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ (BTS's) National Transportation Atlas Database (NTAD). This archive contains both the initial release of the data prior to finalization, and the final published iteration as they appeared on the NTAD at the end of the calendar year. One of the primary objectives of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is to reduce the staggering human toll and property damage that motor vehicle traffic crashes impose on our society. FARS is a census of fatal motor vehicle crashes with a set of data files documenting all qualifying fatalities that occurred within the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico since 1975. To qualify as a FARS case, the crash had to involve a motor vehicle traveling on a traffic way 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. This data file contains information about crash characteristics and environmental conditions at the time of the crash. There is one record per crash. On the NHTSA website, raw FARS data are made available to the public in Statistical Analysis System (SAS) data files as well as comma-separated values (CSV) files. Current and past raw FARS data are available at: ftp://ftp.nhtsa.dot.gov/fars/. The FARS Coding and Editing Manual contains a detailed description of each data element including coding instructions and attribute definitions. The Coding Manual is published for each year of data collection; current and past manuals are available at: https://doi.org/10.21949/1518753. 2. Dataset archive link: https://doi.org/10.21949/1520850 3. Authorship Information: Principal Data Creator or Data Manager Contact Information Institution: U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Address: 1200 New Jersey Ave SE, Washington D.C. 20590 Contact: Anders.Longthorne@dot.gov Data Distributor Contact Information Name: National Transportation Atlas Database (NTAD) Institution: U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), Office of Spatial Analysis and Visualization (OSAV) Address: 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, Washington D.C. 20590 Email: ntad@dot.gov 4. Date of data collection and update interval: This dataset is updated annually. 5. Geographic location of data collection: United States of America 6. Information about funding sources that supported the collection of the data: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) ---------------------------------------------------------------- B. SHARING/ACCESS & POLICIES INFORMATION ---------------------------------------------------------------- 0. Recommended citation for the data: U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) [distributor]. Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2014-Present [datasets]. https://doi.org/10.21949/1520850 1. Licenses/restrictions placed on the data: These data are in the Public Domain. 2. Was data derived from another source?: No 3.This document was created to meet the requirements enumerated in the U.S. Department of Transportation's 'Plan to Increase Public Access to the Results of Federally-Funded Scientific Research' Version 1.1 << https://doi.org/10.21949/1520559 >> and guidelines suggested by the DOT Public Access website << https://doi.org/10.21949/1503647 >>, in effect and current as of December 03, 2020. ---------------------------------------------------------------- C. DATA & RELATED FILE OVERVIEW ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1. File List for the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2014-Present dataset A. Filename: Fatality_Analysis_Reporting_System_Final_NTAD2023_Present and Fatality_Analysis_Reporting_System_Initial_NTAD2014_Present.zip Short description: Compressed file folders containing the geospatial data for Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2014-Present dataset. File folders are classified by NTAD publication year and data vintage year or date respectively. B. Filename: bts_NTAD_FARS_DMP_20250529.pdf Short description: A PDF file containing the Data Management Plan that was created for current and future management of the data and associated files. C. Filename: bts_NTAD_FARS_README_20250529.txt Short description: The README.txt file that includes human-readable information about the data, variable definitions, contact information, and other contextual information. The file you are reading now. 2. File List for the Fatality_Analysis_Reporting_System_Final_NTAD2023_Present and Fatality_Analysis_Reporting_System_Initial_NTAD2014_Present.zip collections. A. Filename: NTADXXXX_SHP_Final_FARSXXXX_Initial_XXXX*.zip and NTADXXXX_GDB_Final_FARSXXXX_Initial_XXXX*.zip, or NTADXXXX_GDB_Final_FARSXXXX_Final_XXXX*.zip Short description: Compressed file folders containing the geospatial data for Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2014-Present dataset. File folders are classified by NTAD publication year, FARS reporting year, and data vintage year respectively. 3a. File List for the NTADXXXX_SHP_Final_FARSXXXX_Initial_XXXX*.zip collection. A. Filename: NTADXXXX_SHP_Final_FARSXXXX_Initial_XXXX_XX_XX Short description: A shapefile containing the geospatial data for Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2014-Present dataset. This includes associated files with extensions .prj, .dbf, .sbn, .sbx, .shx. B. Filename: NTADXXXX_SHP_Final_FARSXXXX_Initial_Tables_XXXX_XX_XX Short description: A collection of ancillary data tables in .dbf format for Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2014-Present dataset. 3b. File List for the NTADXXXX_GDB_Final_FARS_XXXX*.zip collection A. Filename: NTADXXXX_GDB_Final_FARS_XXXX*.gdb.zip Short description: A file geodatabase containing the geospatial data for Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2014-Present dataset. Geodatabase (GDB) folders contain all the necessary components to view and otherwise interact with their data. B. Filename: FARS_XXXX*.xml Short description: Text files containing key metadata and documentation information such as methodology, procedures, etc. Documents are classified by FARS reporting year and dataset. C. Filename: FARS_Coding_Manual_XXXX.pdf Short description: A PDF file containing the encoding and data dictionary information for the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2014-Present dataset. Documents are classified by FARS reporting year. 4a. File List for the NTADXXXX_SHP_Final_FARSXXXX_Initial_XXXX_XX_XX collection. A. Filename: fars_XXXX_initial_accidents_XXXX_XX_XX.shp Short description: A shapefile containing the geospatial data for Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2014-Present dataset. This includes associated files with extensions .prj, .dbf, .sbn, .sbx, .shx. Files are classified by FARS reporting year and data publication date respectively. B. Filename: fars_XXXX_initial_accidents_XXXX_XX_XX.shp.xml Short description: Text files containing key metadata and documentation information such as methodology, procedures, data dictionary, etc. Files are classified by FARS reporting year and data publication date respectively. 4b. File List for the NTADXXXX_SHP_Final_FARSXXXX_Initial_Tables_XXXX_XX_XX collection. A. Filename: FARSXXXX*.dbf Short description: Database file containing tabular data for the FARS ancillary tables published in support of the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2014-Present dataset geospatial data. This includes its associated .cpg file. Files are classified by FARS reporting year followed by table name and publication date respectively. B. Filename: FARSXXXX*.dbf.xml Short description: Text files containing the data dictionary for the respective database file. Files are classified by FARS reporting year followed by table name and publication date respectively. ---------------------------------------------------------------- D. METHODOLOGICAL INFORMATION ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Description of methods used for collection/generation of data: NHTSA has a cooperative agreement with an agency in each State government to provide specific information in a standard format on fatal crashes occurring in the State. The agreements are managed by NCSA’s FARS program staff. The State employees who gather, translate, and transmit the data are called FARS analysts. The number of analysts in each State varies according to the State. NHTSA provides each FARS analyst with formal training. All FARS data on fatal motor vehicle traffic crashes is gathered from the State’s own source documents and is coded onto standard FARS forms or directly into a microcomputer data entry system. The analysts obtain the documents needed to complete the FARS cases, which generally include some or all the following: • Police accident reports, • State vehicle registration files, • State driver licensing files, • State highway department data, • Vital records department data, • Death certificates, • Coroner/medical examiner reports, and • Emergency medical service reports. Each FARS analyst enters coded data through a local computer into NHTSA’s central FARS Web accessed database daily. The data is automatically checked online for acceptable range values and consistency, and again reviewed for quality upon arrival at NHTSA. Range checks ensure that the codes submitted are valid. For example, a code “4” for the element “Sex” would be rejected by the system since “1” (male), “2” (female), and “9” (unknown) are the only valid codes. Consistency checks ensure that no inconsistent data is entered. For example, if an analyst codes “11 a.m.” as the time of the crash and “dusk” as the light condition, these codes would all be rejected, as they are inconsistent. Quality control is a vital system feature. In addition to the range and consistency checks, other checks for timeliness, completeness, and accuracy are conducted throughout the year. 2. Instrument- or software-specific information needed to interpret the data: The data and documentation files can be opened with Esri ArcMap and any GIS software package. ---------------------------------------------------------------- E. DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) data table This dataset is updated annually. Dataset Manager is contacted to verify changes to data resulting in NTAD update. The metadata is updated in the same manner. For the most recent data, please visit the NTAD catalog at https://doi.org/10.21949/1522047 A. Number of variables (columns): The data dictionary found in (PDF documentation) provides definitions for the variables B. Data Dictionary/Variable List: Because of the large number of variables, please refer to the Data Dictionary found within the file FARS.txt for names, definitions, and formats of variables. C. Missing data codes: None ---------------------------------------------------------------- F. UPDATE LOG ---------------------------------------------------------------- This bts_FARS_20250529_README.txt file was originally created on 2021-04-14 by Dominic Menegus, Geographer, dominic.menegus@dot.gov [Note changes or update to the readme.txt file, e.g.:] 2021-04-14: Original file created 2025-05-29: Revised document, including data descriptions and file organization.