Traffic Deaths in This State Soared 32% Last Year

Economy

Published: October 2, 2020 6:47 am

Last Updated: October 2, 2020 6:49 am

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Safety Administration made its annual report on American traffic deaths. For 2019, the figure dropped 2% to 36,096. It was the third consecutive annual decline. However, the figures were very uneven by state. They ranged from an increase of over 32% to a drop of more than 31%.

Traffic deaths were spread among three categories. Those in which a car or truck was driven by an individual numbered 23,744 in 2019, down 2.4%. Motorcycle accidents killed 5,014 people, a decline of 0.5%. Pedestrian deaths, which have an official designation of “non-occupied fatalities,” dropped 1.7% to 7,338. Of these, 6,205 were pedestrians, while 846 were on bicycles.

These deaths rose 32.4% in Wyoming to 147. That was well ahead of the next state, Delaware, where the figure rose by 18.9% to 132. The only other state with a double-digit increase was Maine, where the number jumped 15.4% to 157.

At the other end of the spectrum was New Hampshire, where deaths dropped 31.3% to 101. The next largest decrease was in neighboring Vermont, down 30.9% to 47. The only other state where the decline was over 20% was South Dakota, where the number was 21.5% lower to 102.

Among the largest states by population, traffic deaths in California declined 5.1% to 3,606. They slipped 0.9% in Texas to 3,615. The figure in Florida was 1.5% higher to 3,183. In New York, traffic deaths dropped 3.4% to 931.

These are the numbers by state:

State	2018	2019	Change
Alabama	953	930	−2.4%
Alaska	80	67	−16.3%
Arizona	1,011	981	−3.0%
Arkansas	520	505	−2.9%
California	3,798	3,606	−5.1%
Colorado	632	596	−5.7%
Connecticut	293	249	−15.0%
Delaware	111	132	18.9%
District of Columbia	31	23	−25.8%
Florida	3,135	3,183	1.5%
Georgia	1,505	1,491	−0.9%
Hawaii	117	108	−7.7%
Idaho	234	224	−4.3%
Illinois	1,035	1,009	−2.5%
Indiana	860	809	−5.9%
Iowa	319	336	5.3%
Kansas	405	411	1.5%
Kentucky	724	732	1.1%
Louisiana	771	727	−5.7%
Maine	136	157	15.4%
Maryland	512	521	1.8%
Massachusetts	355	334	−5.9%
Michigan	977	985	0.8%
Minnesota	381	364	−4.5%
Mississippi	663	643	−3.0%
Missouri	921	880	−4.5%
Montana	181	184	1.7%
Nebraska	230	248	7.8%
Nevada	329	304	−7.6%
New Hampshire	147	101	−31.3%
New Jersey	563	559	−0.7%
New Mexico	392	424	8.2%
New York	964	931	−3.4%
North Carolina	1,436	1,373	−4.4%
North Dakota	105	100	−4.8%
Ohio	1,068	1,153	8.0%
Oklahoma	655	640	−2.3%
Oregon	502	489	−2.6%
Pennsylvania	1,190	1,059	−11.0%
Rhode Island	59	57	−3.4%
South Carolina	1,036	1,001	−3.4%
South Dakota	130	102	−21.5%
Tennessee	1,040	1,135	9.1%
Texas	3,648	3,615	−0.9%
Utah	260	248	−4.6%
Vermont	68	47	−30.9%
Virginia	820	831	1.3%
Washington	539	519	−3.7%
West Virginia	294	260	−11.6%
Wisconsin	589	566	−3.9%
Wyoming	111	147	32.4%
U.S. Total	36,835	36,096	−2.0%
Puerto Rico	308	289	−6.2%

Note: U.S. total excludes Puerto Rico.
Source: FARS 2018 Final File, 2019 ARF.

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