No material or nonsubstantive change to a currently approved collection
No
Regular
Approved without change
04/01/2025
03/27/2025
In accordance with 5 CFR 1320, this information collection is approved. Any previous terms of clearance remain in effect if applicable.
table that charts list comparision
Inventory as of this Action
Requested
Previously Approved
02/28/2026
02/28/2026
02/28/2026
34,817
0
34,817
107,209
0
107,209
0
0
0
The FARS is a voluntary information collection of fatal motor vehicle traffic crashes. The FARS is in its forty-sixth year of operation and is a census of all defined crashes involving fatalities in the country. The FARS collects data from all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico under cooperative agreements. State employees extract and transcribe information from existing State files including police crash reports as well as driver license, vehicle registration, highway department, and vital statistics files. NHTSA aggregates the data for research and analysis in support of motor vehicle regulations and highway safety programs. This supports NHTSAâs mission to save lives, prevent injuries, and reduce economic losses resulting from motor vehicle crashes by providing the agency vital information about fatal crashes. The aggregated data comprises a national database that is NHTSAâs and many Statesâ principal means of tracking trends in fatalities and quantifying problems or potential problems in highway safety. The FARS data are used extensively by all the NHTSA program and research offices, other DOT modes, States, and local jurisdictions. The highway research community uses the FARS data for trend analysis, problem identification, and program evaluation. Congress uses the FARS data for making decisions concerning safety programs. The FARS data are also available upon request to anyone interested in highway safety.
The annual burden has been adjusted from 106,244 to 107,209 hours (an increase of 965 hours) costs have decreased from $100,000 to $0 (a decrease of $100,000). The adjustment in burden hours is due to the increase in the complexity of coding the FARS cases and an increase in the number of fatal crashes across most States. The increase also accounts for the time to process the non-traffic fatalities for NTS. Furthermore, while time for manually inputting data has decreased with States implementing systems to electronically transfer police report data that prepopulate NHTSAâs data systems, including FARS, the overall burden increased because, over the past two years, there has been an increase in staff turnover at the State level, adding an increase in administrative hours, training, and coding assistance to continue operations. The decrease in costs is a result of removing labor costs associated with labor hours that were incorrectly included in our last ICR.
US Code:
23 USC 101
Name of Law: Highway Safety Act of 1966
The annual burden has been adjusted from 106,244 to 107,209 hours (an increase of 965 hours) costs have decreased from $100,000 to $0 (a decrease of $100,000). The adjustment in burden hours is due to the increase in the complexity of coding the FARS cases and an increase in the number of fatal crashes across most States. The increase also accounts for the time to process the non-traffic fatalities for NTS. Furthermore, while time for manually inputting data has decreased with States implementing systems to electronically transfer police report data that prepopulate NHTSAâs data systems, including FARS, the overall burden increased because, over the past two years, there has been an increase in staff turnover at the State level, adding an increase in administrative hours, training, and coding assistance to continue operations. The decrease in costs is a result of removing labor costs associated with labor hours that were incorrectly included in our last ICR. Costs decreased from $100,000 to $0. When NHTSA last sought approval, labor costs were included in response to question 13, which was incorrect.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) EDT (mapping maintenance)