Counties with the most motor vehicle accident fatalities in New Mexico

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January 4, 2023
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers // Wikimedia Commons

Counties with the most motor vehicle accident fatalities in New Mexico

Media outlets were quick during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent lockdowns that defined the summer and fall of 2020 to note just how little traffic there was as a result. Simple logic would suggest that less traffic equals a lower likelihood of accidents and thus fewer injuries and fatalities. Sadly, this was not the case.

Nationwide, traffic fatalities rose 7.2% in 2020 to nearly 39,000. That number was the highest recorded since 2007. Qualifying this disturbing fact is a sticky wicket—common denominators behind traffic deaths such as impaired driving, failure to use a seat belt, and excessive speed were certainly contributing factors, but they alone do not account for a rise in deaths commensurate with a 430-million-mile drop in the number of miles people traveled across the course of the year. What can be qualified, however, is where fatal crashes took place.

Citing data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Stacker identified the counties in New Mexico that had the most fatalities from motor vehicle crashes in 2020. The number of accident fatalities are ranked by the number of deaths per 100,000 people, with the raw number functioning as a tiebreaker. The analysis only looked at counties with at least five deaths during 2020. Additional data is included on pedestrian, bicyclist, and drunk-driving-related deaths. In counties where at least five fatalities happened on the same street or interstate, the road with the most deaths is also included.

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#20. Otero County, New Mexico

- Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 8.9 per 100K people (#1,448 nationally, 6 deaths)
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 2 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
2 / 20
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#19. Doña Ana County, New Mexico

- Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 9.2 per 100K people (#1,430 nationally, 20 deaths)
- 5 pedestrian deaths
- 1 bicyclist death
- 8 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
3 / 20
turtix // Shutterstock

#18. Sandoval County, New Mexico

- Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 9.5 per 100K people (#1,408 nationally, 14 deaths)
- 2 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 2 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
4 / 20
Billy Hathorn // Wikimedia Commons

#17. Curry County, New Mexico

- Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 14.4 per 100K people (#1,092 nationally, 7 deaths)
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 3 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: US-60 (5 fatalities)
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M.Bucka // Wikimedia Commons

#16. Bernalillo County, New Mexico

- Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 16.2 per 100K people (#957 nationally, 109 deaths)
- 31 pedestrian deaths
- 4 bicyclist deaths
- 22 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Roads with most fatalities: I-40, CENTRAL AVE (11 fatalities each)
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#15. Eddy County, New Mexico

- Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 16.4 per 100K people (#948 nationally, 10 deaths)
- 4 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 3 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
7 / 20
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#14. Chaves County, New Mexico

- Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 18.5 per 100K people (#837 nationally, 12 deaths)
- 5 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 2 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
8 / 20
AllenS // Wikimedia Commons

#13. Lea County, New Mexico

- Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 19.2 per 100K people (#805 nationally, 14 deaths)
- 1 pedestrian death
- 1 bicyclist death
- 2 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
9 / 20
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#12. San Juan County, New Mexico

- Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 19.5 per 100K people (#778 nationally, 24 deaths)
- 10 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 12 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: US-64 (8 fatalities)
10 / 20
Asaavedra32 // Wikimedia

#11. Santa Fe County, New Mexico

- Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 21.5 per 100K people (#695 nationally, 33 deaths)
- 6 pedestrian deaths
- 1 bicyclist death
- 12 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: I-25 (7 fatalities)
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KeanoManu // Wikimedia Commons

#10. San Miguel County, New Mexico

- Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 29.2 per 100K people (#430 nationally, 8 deaths)
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 4 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
12 / 20
AllenS // Wikimedia Commons

#9. Luna County, New Mexico

- Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 31.6 per 100K people (#385 nationally, 8 deaths)
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 2 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
13 / 20
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#8. Grant County, New Mexico

- Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 31.9 per 100K people (#377 nationally, 9 deaths)
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 2 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
14 / 20
StockPhotoAstur // Shutterstock

#7. McKinley County, New Mexico

- Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 32.9 per 100K people (#354 nationally, 24 deaths)
- 5 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 5 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: I-40 (11 fatalities)
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Carptrash // Wikimedia Commons

#6. Rio Arriba County, New Mexico

- Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 34.7 per 100K people (#320 nationally, 14 deaths)
- 2 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 7 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: US-84 (5 fatalities)
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AllenS // Wikimedia Commons

#5. Torrance County, New Mexico

- Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 39.6 per 100K people (#244 nationally, 6 deaths)
- 2 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 0 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
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Lochaven // Wikimedia Commons

#4. Taos County, New Mexico

- Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 43.7 per 100K people (#203 nationally, 15 deaths)
- 2 pedestrian deaths
- 1 bicyclist death
- 7 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
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#3. Cibola County, New Mexico

- Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 55.0 per 100K people (#111 nationally, 15 deaths)
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 3 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: I-40 (9 fatalities)
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#2. Socorro County, New Mexico

- Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 66.2 per 100K people (#74 nationally, 11 deaths)
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 2 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: I-25 (7 fatalities)
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U.S. Army Corps of Engineers // Wikimedia Commons

#1. Guadalupe County, New Mexico

- Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 156.8 per 100K people (#7 nationally, 7 deaths)
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 1 death involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities

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