Metro Atlanta truck crash statistics: Occupants of passenger cars (2020-2024)

Deaths and fatal crashes by year

Selected passenger-car occupant deaths numbered 37 in 2020, 38 in 2021, 27 in 2022, 23 in 2023 and 24 in 2024. The corresponding counts of distinct fatal crashes containing those deaths were 31, 37, 25, 21 and 23. Among the supplied annual rows, 2021 had the largest selected-death count and the largest count of crashes containing those deaths. Each column measures something different: deceased people in the selected population versus distinct crashes containing them. These are annual counts within the same metro crash-location scope, rather than population rates. The 2024 Annual Report File remains subject to revision.^{[6][1][2][3][4][5][7][8][9]}

Person categories

The person-category table places all 149 selected deaths under people in other vehicles. For this topic, that label refers specifically to the selected passenger-car occupants, rather than everyone who died outside a large truck. A_PTYPE in 1,2 selects drivers and passengers, while A_BODY = 1 identifies the deceased person's vehicle as a passenger car. Both conditions apply within crashes selected by A_LT = 1. Other deceased people in those same crashes are excluded from this page's selected-death totals. The category therefore describes the selected people, and does not provide a complete accounting of deaths in their crashes.^{[6][1][2][3][4][5][7][8][9]}

Manner of collision

Angle collisions account for 58 selected passenger-car occupant deaths, the largest selected-death count among the supplied manner-of-collision rows. Rear-end collisions account for 48, followed by head-on collisions with 24. The remaining categories record 12 for events not involving a collision with a motor vehicle in transport, 6 for sideswipes and 1 for other events. These figures count selected deceased people, not separate collisions. Manner of collision describes the first harmful event, rather than every event in a crash. A motor vehicle in transport can be stopped in traffic, so that term does not require the vehicle to be moving.^{[6][1][2][3][4][5][7][8][9]}

Recorded counties

Fulton County records 34 selected passenger-car occupant deaths, the largest selected-death count among the supplied county rows. DeKalb County and Gwinnett County each record 16, followed by Cobb County with 11 and Clayton County with 8. Barrow County and Henry County each record 7; Bartow County and Douglas County each record 5. These assignments identify where the crashes occurred, not where the deceased people lived. The metro geography is the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA MSA, CBSA 12060, containing 29 counties under OMB Bulletin 23-01, July 2023. County counts do not establish comparative risk because no traffic exposure denominator is supplied.^{[6][1][2][3][4][5][7][8][9]}

Recorded interstate routes

Among the supplied interstate rows, I-75 has the largest selected passenger-car occupant death count, with 18. I-20 and I-285 each record 14, I-85 records 11 and I-575 records 2. Route assignment requires ROUTE = 1 together with a parseable I-route in TWAY_ID. The table is therefore an operational selection of recorded interstate routes within metro Atlanta. It does not describe every road, or deaths along the entire length of a listed interstate outside the metro area. These are selected-person death counts, not crash counts or mileage-based rates, and they do not support a comparison of travel risk.^{[6][1][2][3][4][5][7][8][9]}

Trucks in the selected crashes

The distinct fatal crashes containing the selected passenger-car occupant deaths involved 146 large-truck vehicles. Among those large trucks, 89 were truck-tractor vehicles. Both figures count vehicles involved in the selected crashes; neither is a count of deaths or distinct crashes. For this dataset, a large truck is a medium or heavy truck with a gross vehicle weight rating greater than 10,000 pounds. Buses and motor homes are excluded from that definition. Large-truck involvement identifies the crash population, but does not establish fault. The truck counts describe vehicles in the crashes containing selected deaths, while the person totals remain limited to deceased passenger-car occupants.^{[6][1][2][3][4][5][7][8][9]}

Sources and limits

NHTSA FARS is a census of fatal traffic crashes involving a motor vehicle on a trafficway customarily open to the public, with an occupant or nonoccupant dying within 30 days. Crashes with no deaths are excluded. This page uses FARS Final Files for 2020 through 2023 and the provisional 2024 Annual Report File. Its passenger-car selection is A_PTYPE in 1,2 and A_BODY = 1 within A_LT = 1 crashes. Counts follow crash location. The supplied 33.3% uses all metro large-truck-crash deaths as its denominator; no population, mileage or traffic exposure rate is supplied.^{[6][1][2][3][4][5][7][8][9]}

See also

• Georgia's two-year limit for truck accident injury claims

On related publications

• Georgia truck accident statistics (2020-2024) (truckaccidentlawyers.wiki)
• Large truck (crash data definition) (truckaccidentlawyer.wiki)