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Data & Index

Methodology

Public sources only, every method published, and the source and year under every figure. This is how each part of the site's data is built.

The Accident Advisory editorial teamLast updated 4 sources

The short answer

  • Public data only. Federal datasets, state statutes and court records, each kept with its source, release and download date.
  • Every method is published. The formula, the weights and every input, so anyone can check the result.
  • Nothing is guessed. A value we haven't checked shows "In preparation".
In this guide
  1. The short answer
  2. The TAA Index
  3. Case tracker
  4. State law pages
  5. Rules for every figure
  6. Sources

How is the TAA Index worked out?

The road injury risk part of the Index ranks the 50 states and DC on public measures, all for the same year. The 2026 edition uses two measures, from 2023 data.

Fatalities per 100M vehicle miles
NHTSA FARS (fatalities) and FHWA Highway Statistics (vehicle miles travelled)
Fatalities per 100k residents
NHTSA FARS and US Census Bureau population estimates
Share of uninsured drivers
Insurance Research Council. Left out of the current edition until its terms are confirmed to allow republishing the figures.
Each measure is scaled 0–100 across the 50 states and DC (higher = more risk).
Index score = (measure 1 + measure 2) ÷ 2, rounded to one decimal.
Rank 1 = lowest risk.

Each edition publishes every input and intermediate value, with a CSV download, and the map shades states in five equal groups by score. The current edition is on the TAA Index page. It is built by scripts/build-index.py, which records a checksum for every download.

Where do the case tracker figures come from?

Case counts come from the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation's monthly pending-docket reports. Each count shows the month of the report it comes from. Court events are taken from orders and docket entries, each with its date and source. Status labels (Pending, Settlement announced, Closed) come only from court records. We don't estimate what any case is worth.

How are the state law pages checked?

  • Every rule is checked against the statute and a second independent source. Law firm blogs aren't used as sources.
  • Each rule shows the statute and the date we last checked it.
  • A state page is published only once it has at least 6 distinct, state-specific, cited facts. Until then the state appears as a row on the "by state" map pages.
  • A "by state" map page is published once at least 26 states are cited on its main rule. Any state still being checked shows "In preparation".

Rules for every figure

  • No figure without its source and year.
  • No estimates of claim value and no settlement figures.
  • Downloads, embeds and citations carry the same source line as the page.

Sources

Written by The Accident Advisory editorial team from the sources below. Every change is logged in the editorial changelog.

  1. NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).
  2. FHWA Highway Statistics.
  3. US Census Bureau population estimates.
  4. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation.

General information, not legal advice. The Accident Advisory is not a law firm. Laws differ by state and change over time.

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