Transportation Safety Data

Why is it important?



From 2005 to 2016, 233 people lost their lives in motor vehicle crashes in Thurston County. Transportation safety data allow our partners to identify their highest priorities and most effective strategies at increasing safety.

What are some of our major concerns?



Washington State developed a Strategic Highway Safety Plan in 2016 called “Target Zero.” The goal of the plan is zero traffic fatalities and serious injuries on our roads and highways. The Target Zero Plan identifies priority areas based on factors contributing to the number of fatalities or serious injuries. In Thurston County, the most common factors contributing to traffic-related fatalities or serious injuries are:
  • Impairment
  • Speeding
  • Distraction
  • Young drivers
Thurston-County-Target-Zero-data-1

** Data currently unavailable for this measure.
†Run off the road, intersection-related, opposite direction multi-vehicle, and road types are defined by WSDOT and derived from the statewide collision database.

Supporting Data



Quarterly Target Zero Data by County
Quarterly data by Target Zero priority areas
(Washington Traffic Safety Commission)

WA State Crash Data Portal
Summary reports and online maps of major and minor traffic crashes
(WA State Department of Transportation)

Federal Safety Performance Measures



In 2012, the federal government passed a transportation act called Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21). The Act created a performance measure framework to measure states’ progress on meeting specific goals related to transportation, including safety goals. TRPC’s function as a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) requires us to work with the State to develop and adopt performance measures.

The five performance measures for transportation safety are:

  1. Number of fatalities on all public roads
  2. Number of fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT) on all public roads 
  3. Number of serious injuries on all public roads 
  4. Number of serious injuries per 100 million VMT on all public roads
  5. Number of non-motorist fatalities and serious injuries on all public roads (e.g., bicyclists and pedestrians)
The State has adopted a goal that by 2030 there will be zero traffic-related fatalities and serious injuries. The Sustainable Thurston Report Card monitors our region’s progress towards meeting these goals.


What is TRPC Doing?



In 2017, the Transportation Policy Board and Council will consider adopting safety goals into the Regional Transportation Plan. Please see meeting agendas for current information.