United States yearbook - 1982 (1)

Section 22
Transportation--*
Land
This section presents statistics on revenues, passenger and freight traffic volume, and employment
in various revenue-producing modes of the transportation industry, including motor vehicles,
trains, and pipelines. Data are also presented on commuting travel; highway mileage, construction,
and cost; motor vehicle travel, accidents, sales, and registrations; automobile operating costs; and
characteristics of railroads.
The principal compiler of data on public roads and on operation of motor vehicles is the U.S.
Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). These data appear
in FHWA's annual H ig h w a y S tatistics. Another major source of data on interstate land transport is
the U.S. Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), Among its publications are the A n n u a l R e p o rt to
C ongress, and the Tran spo rt S ta tis tic s in th e U n ite d S tate s volumes, which contain data on railroads
and motor carriers subject to ICC regulations.
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issues data on traffic accident deaths
and death rates in two annual reports; the F a c t B oo k and the F a tal A c c id e n t R e p o rtin g S ystem
A n n u a l R ep o rt. DOT'S Federal Railroad Administration presents data on accidents involving railroads
in its annual A c c id e n t/in c id e n t B ulletin , and the R a il-H ig h w a y C rossin g A c c id e n t/in c id e n t a n d
In ven tory Bulletin.
Various censuses and surveys conducted by the U.S. Bureau of the Census also provide data.
Results of the censuses of transportation are presented in C om m odity T ra n s p o rta tio n S urvey, N a ­
tio n a l Trav el S urvey, and Truck in v e n to ry a n d U se Survey. The A n n u a l S u rv e y o f M a n u fac tu re s and
reports of the censuses of manufactures, wholesale and retail trade, and service industries contain
statistics on the motor-vehicle and equipment industry and on retail, wholesale, and services aspects
of this Industry. Data on persons commuting to work were collected as part of the 1980
census and are provided for selected metropolitan areas in table 1079.
Data are also presented in many nongovernment publications. Among them are: The weekly and
annual C ars o f R e v e n u e F re ig h t L o a d e d and the annual Y earbook o f R a ilro a d F a c ts, both published
by the Association of American Railroads, Washington, D.C.; B us F a c ts, issued annually by
the American Bus Association, Washington, D.C.; and the T ran sit F a c t B o o k, containing electric railway
and motorbus statistics, published annually by the American Public Transit Association, Washington,
D.C. Useful annual handbooks in the field of motor-vehicle transport are M o to r V eh icle
F a c ts a n d Figures, issued by the Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Association of the United States,
Inc., Detroit, Mich.; A c c id e n t F a cts, issued by the National Safety Council, Chicago, III.; and T ran s­
p o rta tio n F a c ts a n d Trends, issued by the Transportation Association of America, Washington, D.C.
Urban and rural highway mileage.-—Beginning 1980, mileage is classified in urban and rural
categories, rather than municipal and rural. Urban denotes the Federal-aid legislation definition of
an area. Such areas include, as a minimum, a census place with a population of 5,000 to 49,999 or
a designated urbanized area with a population of 50,000 or more. These Federal-aid urban areas
may extend beyond corporate and census boundaries, and thus are not necessarily coextensive
with municipal boundaries. Rural in 1980 refers to non-Federal-aid urban area mileage. Prior to
1980, municipal referred to roads within incorporated places, densely populated New England
towns, and certain of the more populous unincorporated areas and rural to non-municipal roads.
Federal-aid highway systems.— Federal law provides that Federal funds be matched in varying
proportions with State funds for the costs of planning, engineering, right-of-way acquisition, and
construction of highways. Other costs, such as maintenance and policing, are borne entirety by the
States and local agencies.
Effective July 1, 1976, a uniform road classification system was implemented which shortened
the mileage of the highway system and redefined the three main systems of Federal-aid routes.
The Federal-aid primary system is comprised of a network of main roads important to interstate,
statewide, and regional travel. The system consists of main rural roads and their extensions into or
through urban areas. The Federal-aid secondary system consists of rural roads of a more local
nature, such as those which connect county seats and the larger population centers not served by
the primary system. The Federal-aid urban system is located in urban places of 5,000 or more persons
and consists of major urban roads and streets, except those on the primary system.
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