States with the fastest-growing electric-vehicle accident rates
States with the fastest-growing electric vehicle accident rates
As electric vehicles move from niche to normal on U.S. roads, crash patterns are starting to shift with them. More than 3.5 million EVs were registered nationwide in 2023. At the same time, insurers are seeing substantially more collision claims from EV drivers: one major claims analytics firm reports that the U.S. collision claim frequency for repairable battery electric vehicles (BEVs) rose 38% in 2024 compared with 2023.
A 2023 epidemiological study of EV crashes in the United States found that while fatalities per 100,000 electric cars did not increase significantly from 2014 to 2020, 82% of EV-involved fatalities occurred on local roads away from intersections, nearly half involved speeding, and more than a third involved a driver with elevated blood alcohol levels. In other words, many of the same behaviors that have long made U.S. roads deadly are now intersecting with a rapidly changing vehicle fleet.
THE702FIRM Injury Attorneys, a Nevada-based personal injury law firm, used data to examine the EV populations growing the fastest in most states and why this growth also reflects increasing accident rates.
California
California has long been the epicenter of America’s EV experiment. As of 2023, the state had an estimated 1,256,600 light-duty EVs, far more than any other state and over a third of the national EV fleet.
That concentration collides with some familiar challenges: dense urban traffic, complex freeway networks, and persistent road-safety problems. An April 2024 crash in Pleasanton killed a family of four traveling in a VinFast VF 8. The car veered off the road, struck a tree, and caught fire. This prompted a formal investigation by federal safety regulators into whether steering or vehicle-system issues contributed.
In May 2025, a head-on collision on Highway 4 near Brentwood involving an electric SUV sparked a battery-fire hazard so severe that it delayed rescue efforts. Both drivers died. Hazmat teams needed to handle the scene before first responders could safely approach.
Given the state’s very large EV fleet plus these serious incidents, California remains at the forefront of where EV-involved crash exposure and EV-specific post-crash hazards are currently visible at scale.
Florida
Florida has the second-largest EV fleet in the country, with more than a quarter-million registered electric cars and SUVs. Warm weather and relatively short urban trips make the state particularly welcoming to EV adoption.
But Florida is also a high-risk traffic environment. Its 2023 crash death rate report shows 15 deaths per 100,000 residents. It sits well above the national average, and more than 3,300 people were killed in crashes statewide. Pedestrians and other vulnerable road users account for a substantial share of those deaths.
In one 2024 crash in Broward County, investigators said a speeding Tesla driver may have caused a multivehicle collision that killed two people.
That combination of heavy tourism, rapid population growth, and rising EV ownership means Florida’s roads are carrying more EVs through already dangerous corridors. As more EVs mix with older vehicles, enforcement and roadway design efforts aimed at speed management and safe urban crossings are likely to play an outsized role in containing crash risk.
Texas
Texas has more than 230,000 registered EVs, placing it among the top three EV markets. Long highway distances, high speed limits, and heavy freight traffic create a challenging environment for any vehicle type.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigated a 2021 crash in Spring, Texas, involving a 2019 Tesla Model S P100D. The car left a cul-de-sac, accelerated down a private road, ran off pavement, struck a manhole and trees, and caught fire. Both occupants died. The investigation concluded that the crash involved no mechanical defects, no autopilot use, and no signs of preexisting vehicle malfunction.
As EVs increasingly appear on those corridors and as more households adopt them for daily commuting, exposure to EV-involved crashes will likely climb, even if per-mile risk does not. State planners have responded with investments in charging corridors and safety campaigns that target speeding and impaired driving.
Washington
Washington ranks near the top nationally in EV adoption per capita, with more than 150,000 all-electric vehicles in a state of roughly 7.8 million people. The Seattle metro area in particular has become a dense cluster of battery-electric cars, supported by extensive public charging.
In March 2023, firefighters responded to a crash in Medina in which a Tesla caught fire after a collision; two people inside were trapped for a time before escaping. According to fire officials, the vehicle’s lithium-ion battery burned more intensely and for longer than a typical gasoline-car fire, requiring far more water and specialized response.
As more EVs integrate into urban traffic with heavy pedestrian, cyclist, and public transit presence, crash-exposure risk increases, especially as EVs (often heavier and quieter) mix with older vehicles.
Nevada
Nevada’s EV fleet, nearly 50,000 all-electric vehicles, is concentrated in metropolitan areas like Las Vegas and Reno, where high-speed desert highways, round-the-clock traffic, and a mix of local and out-of-state drivers collide. In February 2025, a Cybertruck in Reno operating under FSD reportedly failed to handle a lane merge, drove onto a curb, and struck a pole.
Nevada, especially in urban centers like Las Vegas, and corridors used for freight and battery transport, the mix of rising EV ownership and heavy interstate traffic raises the state’s overall exposure to both conventional traffic accidents.
What the growing shift means for states
As EVs make up a growing share of the nation’s traffic, states with early or rapid adoption will continue to shape the public’s understanding of their safety performance. Crashes and fire events remain relatively rare given the size of the U.S. fleet, but each documented case adds pressure on automakers, regulators, and emergency response agencies to adapt faster than they have in past vehicle transitions. The next several years may show whether updated design standards, improved crash data reporting, and specialized fire response protocols can keep pace with an accelerating shift toward electrification.
This story was produced by THE702FIRM Injury Attorneys and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
