Fatal crash profile · State

Traffic deaths in Alabama in 2021

State in United States

Deaths, 2021
983
Fatal crashes
885
Population
5.1M

In 2021, 983 people died in 885 fatal crashes in Alabama, about 3 a day. That was 5.2% more than in 2020 (934) and the most since 2016. The death rate was 19.5 per 100,000 residents, compared with 13.0 in the United States. Alabama had the 15th most traffic deaths of the 51 states and DC and the 7th-highest death rate. Pedestrians accounted for 13% of deaths, and 28% of fatal crashes were speeding-related.

Deaths

Traffic deaths

19.5

deaths per 100,000 residents in 2021

  • About 1.5 times the rate in the United States: 13.0

+5%

change in deaths from 2020 to 2021

934 deaths in 2020, 983 in 2021

  • The United States: +11%

Alabama traffic deaths by year goes back to 1975.

Profile by year: 2024 · 2023 · 2022 · 2021 · 2020

Road users

Who died

13%

of deaths were pedestrians

  • About three-quarters of the share in the United States: 17%
Who died in 2021
Category Deaths
Vehicle occupants and others 769
Pedestrians 127
Motorcyclists 80
Cyclists 7
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Deaths by type, 2021
Type Deaths Share in Alabama Share in the US
Pedestrians 127 13% 17%
Motorcyclists 80 8% 14%
Cyclists 7 1% 2%
Alcohol-impaired driving crashes 282 29% 31%
Speeding-related crashes 274 28% 29%

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

28%

of fatal crashes were speeding-related

  • About the same as the share in the United States: 28%

24%

of fatal crashes involved a drinking driver

  • About the same as the share in the United States: 26%
Crash factors in 2021
Category Alabama United States
Speeding-related 24.4% 26.3%
Alcohol-involved 27.8% 28.2%
At night 52.8% 53.9%
At weekends 31.1% 32.8%

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

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Timing

When crashes happen

53%

of fatal crashes happened at night

  • About the same as the share in the United States: 54%

31%

of fatal crashes happened at weekends

  • About the same as the share in the United States: 33%
Fatal crashes by hour of day
Category Fatal crashes
12am 29
1am 33
2am 27
3am 31
4am 20
5am 25
6am 23
7am 31
8am 21
9am 15
10am 34
11am 23
12pm 49
1pm 32
2pm 43
3pm 41
4pm 50
5pm 52
6pm 65
7pm 53
8pm 60
9pm 46
10pm 43
11pm 35

All crashes 2021.

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Fatal crashes by day of week
Category Fatal crashes
Sun 133
Mon 117
Tue 108
Wed 105
Thu 133
Fri 147
Sat 142

All crashes 2021.

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Fatal crashes by month
Category Fatal crashes
Jan 69
Feb 63
Mar 68
Apr 72
May 84
Jun 74
Jul 87
Aug 69
Sep 71
Oct 78
Nov 59
Dec 91

All crashes 2021.

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Conditions

Weather and light

Weather at the time of the crash
Category Fatal crashes
Clear 568
Cloudy 174
Rain 120
Fog, Smog, Smoke 18
Severe Crosswinds 1

All crashes 2021. Crashes where conditions were not reported are left out.

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Light conditions at the time of the crash
Category Fatal crashes
Daylight 415
Dark - Not Lighted 294
Dark - Lighted 122
Dusk 28
Dawn 15
Dark - Unknown Lighting 11

All crashes 2021. Crashes where conditions were not reported are left out.

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Roads and vehicles

Where and what, 2021

Roads with the most fatal crashes

  1. I-6556
  2. I-5930
  3. US-431 SR-122
  4. SR-6918
  5. US-80 SR-818
  6. I-2012
  7. US-72 SR-212
  8. US-231 SR-5311
  9. SR-7510
  10. SR-7910

Road names as recorded in police reports.

Vehicles involved, by type
Category Vehicles
Cars 585
Pickup trucks 249
SUVs 236
Medium and heavy trucks 136
Motorcycles 81
Vans 54
Other vehicles 37
Other light trucks 4

All crashes 2021.

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Vehicles most often involved

  1. Chevrolet Silverado59
  2. Ford F-15043
  3. Toyota Camry41
  4. Honda Accord37
  5. GMC Sierra27
  6. Honda Civic27
  7. Nissan Altima27
  8. Toyota Corolla22
  9. Freightliner Cascadia21
  10. Hyundai Sonata20

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 2021. Crashes without reported coordinates are not shown.

Filter crashes
Crash factors
Date Location Deaths
Dec 31, 2021 Montgomery, Montgomery County 1
Dec 31, 2021 Attalla, Etowah County 1
Dec 31, 2021 Mobile County 1
Dec 31, 2021 Birmingham, Jefferson County 1
Dec 30, 2021 Greene County 1
Dec 30, 2021 Huntsville, Madison County 1
Dec 30, 2021 Tuscaloosa, Tuscaloosa County 2
Dec 30, 2021 Mobile, Mobile County 2
Dec 30, 2021 Mobile County 1
Dec 30, 2021 Mobile, Mobile County 1
Dec 30, 2021 Barbour County 1
Dec 30, 2021 Birmingham, Jefferson County 1
Dec 28, 2021 Cullman County 1
Dec 28, 2021 Lowndes County 2
Dec 28, 2021 Birmingham, Jefferson County 1
Dec 27, 2021 Montgomery, Montgomery County 1
Dec 27, 2021 Union Springs, Bullock County 1
Dec 26, 2021 Tuscaloosa County 1
Dec 26, 2021 Loxley, Baldwin County 1
Dec 26, 2021 Lee County 1
Dec 26, 2021 Cullman County 1
Dec 25, 2021 Sylvania, DeKalb County 1
Dec 25, 2021 Jefferson County 1
Dec 24, 2021 Gadsden, Etowah County 1
Dec 24, 2021 Talladega County 1

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Nearby and related

Counties in Alabama in 2021

Area Deaths, 2021 Per 100,000
Autauga County 14 23.6
Baldwin County 26 10.9
Barbour County 8 32.6
Bibb County 6 26.9
Blount County 8 13.6
Bullock County 7 69.1
Butler County 20 106.1
Calhoun County 19 16.4
Chambers County 9 26.1
Cherokee County 5 20.0
Chilton County 15 33.1
Choctaw County 6 47.8
Clarke County 4 17.6
Clay County 2 14.1
Cleburne County 9 59.4
Coffee County 17 31.4
Colbert County 7 12.1
Conecuh County 4 35.3
Coosa County 2 19.3
Covington County 6 16.0
Crenshaw County 5 38.3
Cullman County 19 21.2
Dale County 10 20.3
Dallas County 10 26.7
DeKalb County 17 23.7
Elmore County 13 14.6
Escambia County 6 16.4
Etowah County 14 13.6
Fayette County 5 31.0
Franklin County 3 9.4
Geneva County 8 30.0
Greene County 7 92.3
Hale County 5 34.0
Henry County 2 11.5
Houston County 17 15.8
Jackson County 11 20.9
Jefferson County 108 16.1
Lamar County 4 29.2
Lauderdale County 10 10.5
Lawrence County 16 48.4
Lee County 19 10.7
Limestone County 23 21.4
Lowndes County 12 120.7
Macon County 10 52.9
Madison County 52 13.1
Marengo County 8 42.2
Marion County 4 13.8
Marshall County 24 24.4
Mobile County 79 19.1
Monroe County 3 15.4
Montgomery County 43 19.0
Morgan County 18 14.6
Perry County 2 24.1
Pickens County 4 21.5
Pike County 10 30.5
Randolph County 3 13.5
Russell County 20 34.1
Shelby County 16 7.0
St. Clair County 19 20.5
Sumter County 14 117.0
Talladega County 25 31.0
Tallapoosa County 4 9.7
Tuscaloosa County 48 20.3
Walker County 25 38.7
Washington County 1 6.6
Wilcox County 5 48.0
Winston County 8 33.8

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Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2021. A fatal crash is one in which at least one person died within 30 days. Population: US Census Bureau estimates.