DOT FARS - Simplified Dataset
2003 - 2014

This is the simplified version of the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) data from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The data tracks automobile accidents on public U.S. roads that have resulted in the death of one or more persons within 30 days of the accident.  Truck and trailer accidents are included.

The full dataset has 19 tables with very detailed information about the people and vehicles involved in each accident. You can find the full data here: http://ire.org/nicar/database-library/databases/dot-fatality-analysis-reporting-system-fars/

For the Simplified version of the data, we've pulled some of the essential information about each crash in the database into one table. See the "Layout.xlsx" file for a list of all included fields and their descriptions.

Important notes about the data: 
-- Much of this information is based on what police officers record at the scene; fields such as "WEATHER", "NICAR_DRUGS" and "NICAR_ALCOHOL" are based on their observations, not necessarily on any empirical measurements.
-- When using the NICAR_ALCOHOL field, don't equate these numbers with the number of DUIs, or legally drunk drivers. These are only the number of drivers where the police on scene noted that alcohol was involved. 
-- The records for 2014 are preliminary; final data will be released with preliminary 2015 data in late 2016.
-- Always assess the accuracy of latitude and longitude values. There's no guarantee that these are collected uniformly in the field, or that they are exact. 

BECAUSE THE DATA IS SOMEWHAT COMPLEX, WE STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU AT LEAST SPOT-CHECK YOUR DATA RESULTS. ONE WAY TO DO THAT IS TO QUERY THE WEB-BASED INTERFACE AT http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/. THROUGH THAT SITE, YOU CAN EXAMINE DOT REPRESENTATIONS OF THE ACTUAL FORMS USED TO REPORT THE ACCIDENTS.

Record counts:

NATIONAL file: 408,651
ALABAMA: 10,629
ALASKA: 795
ARIZONA: 10,298
ARKANSAS: 6,447
CALIFORNIA: 38,254
COLORADO: 5,758
CONNECTICUT: 3,125
DELAWARE: 1,313
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: 378
FLORIDA: 31,417
GEORGIA: 15,667
HAWAII: 1,349
IDAHO: 2,493
ILLINOIS: 12,128
INDIANA: 8,960
IOWA: 4,204
KANSAS: 4,456
KENTUCKY: 8,964
LOUISIANA: 9,108
MAINE: 1,825
MARYLAND: 6,179
MASSACHUSETTS: 4,455
MICHIGAN: 11,261
MINNESOTA: 5,041
MISSISSIPPI: 8,126
MISSOURI: 10,355
MONTANA: 2,474
NEBRASKA: 2,486
NEVADA: 3,536
NEW HAMPSHIRE: 1,410
NEW JERSEY: 7,226
NEW MEXICO: 4,236
NEW YORK: 14,320
NORTH CAROLINA: 15,662
NORTH DAKOTA: 1,327
OHIO: 12,679
OKLAHOMA: 7,684
OREGON: 4,311
PENNSYLVANIA: 15,431
RHODE ISLAND: 833
SOUTH CAROLINA: 10,248
SOUTH DAKOTA: 1,609
TENNESSEE: 12,145
TEXAS: 36,718
UTAH: 2,792
VERMONT: 775
VIRGINIA: 9,287
WASHINGTON: 5,748
WEST VIRGINIA: 3,977
WISCONSIN: 7,184
WYOMING: 1,568