Healthy Communities Assessment Tool

The Motor Vehicle Collisions indicator captures the annual number of injuries and fatalities, regardless of transportation mode, on public roadways and rights of way per 1,000 people. In the U.S., more than 32,000 people are killed and 2 million are injured each year from motor vehicle crashes. The rate of deaths of motor vehicle occupants in Alabama is 13.7 (per 100,000 population), while the national rate is 7.0, according to the Centers for Disease Control, which drew its numbers from a nine-year period, 2003-2012. The number of young drivers 16 to 20 years old involved in fatal crashes increased by 10 percent from 2014; the number of young drivers who died in fatal crashes also increased by 10 percent from 2014. Motor vehicle injuries and fatalities are direct measures of adverse health outcomes (i.e., death and injury) as well as indirect measures. Because the risk of fatal injury is higher for walking and bicycling than for driving or taking public transportation, there is often a negative perception connected to walkability and safety, i.e., walking and biking are unsafe modes of transportation. This may curtail active modes of transportation (i.e., those that require individual physical activity) associated with longer life, improved mental health, and cancer prevention. In addition to the Health Systems and Public Safety domain, the Motor Vehicle Collisions indicator is tied to the Transportation Services domain. Data on motor vehicle crashes is available from the Critical Analysis Reporting Environment (CARE) database.