Transportation Safety Data

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.

Areas of Concern

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:

  • Lane Departure
  • Impairment
  • Speeding

Thurston County Traffic Fatalities, 2010-2019

Contributing FactorNumberPercent
Impairment Involved10357%
Distraction Involved5731%
Speeding Involved7441%
Unrestrained Vehicle Occupants3620%
Lane Departure10558%
Intersection Related3218%
Walkers and Bicyclists2715%
Young Driver 16-25 Involved6335%
Motorcyclists3017%
Older Driver 70+ Involved2413%
Heavy Truck Involved2212%
Total181100%

Supporting Data

  • Target Zero Dashboard: 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). MAP-21 identified performance measures to measure states’ progress on meeting transportation goals, with five measures specific to transportation safety: 

  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)



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Supporting Data

What is TRPC Doing?

In 2018, the TRPC adopted safety targets and integrated them into the Regional Transportation Plan.

Disclaimer

Under United States Code Title 23 Section 409, this data cannot be used in discovery or evidence at trial in any action for damages against Thurston Regional Planning Council, or the jurisdictions involved in the data.