Counties with the most motor vehicle accident fatalities in North Carolina
Counties with the most motor vehicle accident fatalities in North Carolina
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 North Carolina 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.
#50. Burke County, North Carolina
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 2 bicyclist deaths
- 1 death involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#49. Chatham County, North Carolina
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 3 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#48. Jackson County, North Carolina
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 0 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#47. Catawba County, North Carolina
- 6 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 8 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#46. Brunswick County, North Carolina
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 7 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#45. Cumberland County, North Carolina
- 19 pedestrian deaths
- 1 bicyclist death
- 4 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#44. Randolph County, North Carolina
- 3 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 1 death involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#43. Cherokee County, North Carolina
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 4 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#42. Lee County, North Carolina
- 2 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 3 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#41. Alamance County, North Carolina
- 8 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 7 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#40. Lenoir County, North Carolina
- 1 pedestrian death
- 1 bicyclist death
- 1 death involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#39. Richmond County, North Carolina
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 2 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#38. Johnston County, North Carolina
- 5 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 10 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: US-70 (10 fatalities)
#37. Davidson County, North Carolina
- 5 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 6 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: I-85 (8 fatalities)
#36. Cleveland County, North Carolina
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 5 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#35. Rowan County, North Carolina
- 7 pedestrian deaths
- 1 bicyclist death
- 1 death involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#34. Wilkes County, North Carolina
- 2 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 0 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#33. Surry County, North Carolina
- 2 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 4 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#32. Edgecombe County, North Carolina
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 5 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#31. Sampson County, North Carolina
- 2 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 3 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#30. Person County, North Carolina
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 2 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#29. Moore County, North Carolina
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 3 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#28. Caswell County, North Carolina
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 0 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#27. Pender County, North Carolina
- 1 pedestrian death
- 1 bicyclist death
- 4 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#26. Vance County, North Carolina
- 2 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 3 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#25. Pitt County, North Carolina
- 9 pedestrian deaths
- 1 bicyclist death
- 11 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: SR-33 (5 fatalities)
#24. Wilson County, North Carolina
- 3 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 6 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#23. Franklin County, North Carolina
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 5 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: US-401 (5 fatalities)
#22. Rockingham County, North Carolina
- 2 pedestrian deaths
- 2 bicyclist deaths
- 2 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#21. Polk County, North Carolina
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 1 death involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#20. Harnett County, North Carolina
- 4 pedestrian deaths
- 2 bicyclist deaths
- 4 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#19. Martin County, North Carolina
- 2 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 1 death involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#18. Wayne County, North Carolina
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 7 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: SR-55 (10 fatalities)
#17. Granville County, North Carolina
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 8 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#16. Madison County, North Carolina
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 2 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#15. Nash County, North Carolina
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 10 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#14. Scotland County, North Carolina
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 2 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#13. Yadkin County, North Carolina
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 1 death involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#12. Duplin County, North Carolina
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 5 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#11. Anson County, North Carolina
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 3 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#10. Hoke County, North Carolina
- 2 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 2 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#9. Rutherford County, North Carolina
- 6 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 2 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#8. Columbus County, North Carolina
- 1 pedestrian death
- 1 bicyclist death
- 4 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#7. Warren County, North Carolina
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 1 death involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#6. Halifax County, North Carolina
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 12 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#5. Bladen County, North Carolina
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 3 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#4. Hertford County, North Carolina
- 1 pedestrian death
- 1 bicyclist death
- 1 death involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#3. Robeson County, North Carolina
- 5 pedestrian deaths
- 3 bicyclist deaths
- 18 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#2. Montgomery County, North Carolina
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 0 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#1. Northampton County, North Carolina
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 2 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities