Fatal crash profile · City

Traffic deaths in Bessemer, Alabama

City in Jefferson County · Alabama · United States

Deaths, 2024
9
Fatal crashes
9
Population
25.1K

In 2024, 9 people died in 9 fatal crashes in Bessemer, Alabama. That was 28.6% more than in 2023 (7) and the most since 2020. The death rate was 35.9 per 100,000 residents, compared with 15.2 in Jefferson County, 18.6 in Alabama and 11.5 in the United States. Between 2020 and 2024, 36 people died, an average of 7.2 a year. That rate is based on fewer than 20 deaths, so it can swing a lot from year to year. Pedestrians accounted for 44% of deaths.

Deaths

Traffic deaths

35.9

deaths per 100,000 residents in 2024

  • About double the rate in Jefferson County, Alabama: 15.2
  • About 1.9 times the rate in Alabama: 18.6
  • About 3 times the rate in the United States: 11.5

+29%

change in deaths from 2023 to 2024

7 deaths in 2023, 9 in 2024

  • Jefferson County, Alabama: -10%
  • Alabama: -1%
  • The United States: -4%
Traffic deaths by year, 2020–2024
Category Deaths Fatal crashes
2020 10 10
2021 6 5
2022 4 4
2023 7 7
2024 9 9

People who died within 30 days of a crash. A fatal crash can kill more than one person.

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Deaths per 100,000 residents, 2020–2024
Category Deaths per 100,000
2020 38.6
2021 23.5
2022 15.9
2023 28.1
2024 35.9

Uses Census population estimates, available from 2000.

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Road users

Who died

44%

of deaths were pedestrians

  • About 3 times the share in Jefferson County, Alabama: 16%
  • About 3 times the share in Alabama: 13%
  • About double the share in the United States: 18%
Who died in 2024
Category Deaths
Vehicle occupants and others 3
Pedestrians 4
Motorcyclists 2
Cyclists 0
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Deaths by type, 2024
Type Deaths Share in Bessemer Share in Jefferson County
Pedestrians 4 44% 16%
Motorcyclists 2 22% 16%
Cyclists 0 0% 0%
Alcohol-impaired driving crashes 1 11% 21%
Speeding-related crashes 0 0% 20%

Alcohol-impaired and speeding-related count everyone killed in those crashes, so a death can appear in more than one row.

Crash factors

Speeding, alcohol, night and weekend crashes

0%

of fatal crashes were speeding-related

  • About 5 percent of the share in Jefferson County, Alabama: 19%
  • About 5 percent of the share in Alabama: 29%
  • About 5 percent of the share in the United States: 28%

11%

of fatal crashes involved a drinking driver

  • About 3 times the share in Jefferson County, Alabama: 4%
  • About 40 percent of the share in Alabama: 27%
  • About 45 percent of the share in the United States: 25%
Crash factors in 2024
Category Bessemer Jefferson County Alabama United States
Speeding-related 11.1% 4.2% 26.6% 24.8%
Alcohol-involved 0.0% 18.9% 29.4% 28.1%
At night 66.7% 47.4% 51.7% 53.6%
At weekends 33.3% 30.5% 32.2% 32.6%

Share of fatal crashes. Alcohol-involved means a police-reported drinking driver.

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Timing

When crashes happen

67%

of fatal crashes happened at night

  • About 1.4 times the share in Jefferson County, Alabama: 47%
  • About 1.3 times the share in Alabama: 52%
  • About 1.2 times the share in the United States: 54%

33%

of fatal crashes happened at weekends

  • About the same as the share in Jefferson County, Alabama: 31%
  • About the same as the share in Alabama: 32%
  • About the same as the share in the United States: 33%
Fatal crashes by hour of day
Category Fatal crashes
12am 2
1am 2
2am 0
3am 3
4am 0
5am 2
6am 1
7am 1
8am 3
9am 0
10am 0
11am 1
12pm 0
1pm 1
2pm 0
3pm 2
4pm 2
5pm 2
6pm 2
7pm 3
8pm 3
9pm 2
10pm 1
11pm 2

All crashes 2020–2024.

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Fatal crashes by day of week
Category Fatal crashes
Sun 5
Mon 4
Tue 9
Wed 3
Thu 7
Fri 4
Sat 3

All crashes 2020–2024.

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Fatal crashes by month
Category Fatal crashes
Jan 3
Feb 0
Mar 2
Apr 4
May 1
Jun 4
Jul 3
Aug 3
Sep 4
Oct 4
Nov 2
Dec 5

All crashes 2020–2024.

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Conditions

Weather and light

Weather at the time of the crash
Category Fatal crashes
Clear 21
Cloudy 10
Rain 4

All crashes 2020–2024. Crashes where conditions were not reported are left out.

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Light conditions at the time of the crash
Category Fatal crashes
Dark - Lighted 12
Daylight 12
Dark - Not Lighted 6
Dawn 3
Dark - Unknown Lighting 1
Dusk 1

All crashes 2020–2024. Crashes where conditions were not reported are left out.

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Roads and vehicles

Where and what, 2020–2024

Roads with the most fatal crashes

  1. I-4596
  2. SR-56
  3. MU-9TH AVE SR-52
  4. I-592
  5. 5TH AVE2
  6. MU-8TH AVE N1
  7. MU-19TH ST N1
  8. MU-32ND ST1
  9. MU-6TH AVE1
  10. MU-MORGAN RD SE1

Road names as recorded in police reports.

Vehicles involved, by type
Category Vehicles
Cars 20
Pickup trucks 10
SUVs 8
Medium and heavy trucks 6
Motorcycles 5
Other vehicles 3

All crashes 2020–2024.

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Vehicles most often involved

  1. Chevrolet Malibu4
  2. Chevrolet Silverado2
  3. Chevrolet Suburban2
  4. Chrysler 2002
  5. Acura ILX1
  6. Acura TL1
  7. Chevrolet Avalanche1
  8. Chevrolet Camaro1
  9. Chevrolet Colorado1
  10. Chevrolet Cruze1

Reflects how common a vehicle is as well as crash involvement; not a safety rating.

Crashes

Fatal crashes

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Fatal crashes in 2024. Crashes without reported coordinates are not shown.

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Crash factors
Date Deaths
Dec 28, 2024 1
Oct 30, 2024 1
Aug 27, 2024 1
Jul 16, 2024 1
Jun 28, 2024 1
May 12, 2024 1
Apr 30, 2024 1
Mar 19, 2024 1
Mar 3, 2024 1
Dec 26, 2023 1
Oct 13, 2023 1
Sep 29, 2023 1
Sep 7, 2023 1
Jul 12, 2023 1
Apr 13, 2023 1
Jan 2, 2023 1
Sep 15, 2022 1
Aug 22, 2022 1
Aug 1, 2022 1
Jun 19, 2022 1
Oct 7, 2021 2
Jul 15, 2021 1
Jun 1, 2021 1
Apr 14, 2021 1
Apr 1, 2021 1

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Nearby and related

Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2020–2024. A fatal crash is one in which at least one person died within 30 days. Population: US Census Bureau estimates.