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vPIC vehicle classification

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vPIC vehicle classification is the basis NHTSA uses for vehicle-related analysis beginning with 2020 data. For truck accident data, it determines the classification framework used to describe vehicles, rather than explaining why a crash occurred. The national illustration here selects large trucks involved in fatal crashes recorded in NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System, or FARS, and people killed in crashes involving those trucks. In 2024, those separate measures were 5,218 trucks and 5,340 deaths across the United States, covering the 50 states and the District of Columbia.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

Contents

Official definition

vPIC stands for Product Information Catalog and Vehicle Listing. This NHTSA dataset decodes Vehicle Identification Numbers to obtain information including make, model and body class. Historically, FARS vehicle types relied on analyst-coded body types without manufacturer authoritative data. vPIC instead uses the manufacturer's body-class classification, which NHTSA describes as enabling more accurate vehicle type analysis.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

The official classification notice states that vehicle types for 2020 and later are not comparable to those for 2019 and earlier. That limitation applies to any analysis containing a vehicle component. vPIC-based analysis data begin with the 2020 FARS and CRSS files.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

National figures

The national figures illustrate large-truck involvement in fatal crashes under the newer classification framework. In 2020, FARS recorded 4,821 large trucks in fatal crashes and 4,945 people killed in crashes involving large trucks. In 2023, the corresponding counts were 5,382 trucks and 5,478 deaths. The 2024 figures come from the FARS Annual Report File.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

These columns measure different things: one counts large trucks, while the other counts people killed in crashes involving large trucks. Neither column supplies a count of crashes. The death measure is not restricted to occupants of the large trucks.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

National figures[1][2][3][4][5]
YearLarge trucks in fatal crashesPeople killed in crashes involving large trucks
20204,8214,945
20215,7335,821
20225,8735,969
20235,3825,478
20245,2185,340

United States, 50 states and the District of Columbia. 2020 is the first year of vPIC-based classification. 2024 is the FARS Annual Report File.

What the term does not tell you

The official comparability warning, the operational selection of large trucks in fatal crashes, and the national illustrative counts serve different purposes. vPIC describes vehicle classification; the FARS selection limits these figures to fatal crashes involving large trucks. These figures therefore do not describe all truck crashes or establish a crash cause.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

No population denominator or population rate is supplied. Comparisons with 2019 or earlier vehicle-type counts would cross the stated classification break. The 2024 figures are identified as coming from the FARS Annual Report File.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

On related publications

References

  1. abcdefgh "Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2020 national data files (Final File)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record
  2. abcdefgh "Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2021 national data files (Final File)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record
  3. abcdefgh "Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2022 national data files (Final File)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record
  4. abcdefgh "Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2023 national data files (Final File)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record
  5. abcdefgh "Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2024 national data files (Annual Report File)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record
  6. abcdefg "Fatality Analysis Reporting System Analytical User's Manual, 1975-2024 (DOT HS 813 794)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record
  7. abcdefg "Large trucks: 2024 data (DOT HS 813 816, June 2026)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record
  8. abcdefg "Overview of motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2024 (DOT HS 813 791, April 2026)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record