Fatal crash profile · State

Traffic deaths in Delaware in 2020

Deaths, 2020: 116
Fatal crashes: 104
Population: 991.9K

In 2020, 116 people died in 104 fatal crashes in Delaware. The death rate was 11.7 per 100,000 residents, compared with 11.8 in the United States. Delaware had the 44th most traffic deaths of the 51 states and DC and the 26th-highest death rate. Pedestrians accounted for 22% of deaths, and 28% of fatal crashes were speeding-related.

Deaths

Traffic deaths

11.7

deaths per 100,000 residents in 2020

About the same as the rate in the United States: 11.8

Delaware traffic deaths by year goes back to 1975.

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

Road users

Who died

22%

of deaths were pedestrians

About 1.3 times the share in the United States: 17%

Who died in 2020

Category	Deaths
Vehicle occupants and others	73
Pedestrians	25
Motorcyclists	15
Cyclists	3

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Deaths by type, 2020
Type	Deaths	Share in Delaware	Share in the US
Pedestrians	25	22%	17%
Motorcyclists	15	13%	14%
Cyclists	3	3%	2%
Alcohol-impaired driving crashes	31	27%	30%
Speeding-related crashes	33	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: 29%

21%

of fatal crashes involved a drinking driver

About 80 percent of the share in the United States: 27%

Crash factors in 2020

Category	Delaware	United States
Speeding-related	21.2%	26.7%
Alcohol-involved	27.9%	28.6%
At night	50.0%	53.4%
At weekends	27.9%	32.9%

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

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Timing

When crashes happen

50%

of fatal crashes happened at night

About the same as the share in the United States: 53%

28%

of fatal crashes happened at weekends

About 85 percent of the share in the United States: 33%

Fatal crashes by hour of day

Category	Fatal crashes
12am	1
1am	6
2am	1
3am	3
4am	0
5am	1
6am	8
7am	1
8am	2
9am	3
10am	1
11am	3
12pm	4
1pm	5
2pm	4
3pm	9
4pm	3
5pm	8
6pm	8
7pm	6
8pm	6
9pm	4
10pm	9
11pm	7

All crashes 2020.

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Fatal crashes by day of week

Category	Fatal crashes
Sun	13
Mon	15
Tue	15
Wed	18
Thu	10
Fri	17
Sat	16

All crashes 2020.

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Fatal crashes by month

Category	Fatal crashes
Jan	10
Feb	7
Mar	5
Apr	4
May	8
Jun	9
Jul	11
Aug	11
Sep	17
Oct	7
Nov	7
Dec	8

All crashes 2020.

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Conditions

Weather and light

Weather at the time of the crash

Category	Fatal crashes
Clear	78
Cloudy	15
Rain	9
Fog, Smog, Smoke	2

All crashes 2020. 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	50
Dark - Not Lighted	39
Dark - Lighted	12
Dawn	3

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

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Roads and vehicles

Where and what, 2020

Roads with the most fatal crashes

US-136
I-955
SR-1 COASTAL HWY5
US-1134
SR-2733
SR-22
SR-12
SR-1 BAY RD2
SR-242
SR-4 CHESTNUT HILL RD2

Road names as recorded in police reports.

Vehicles involved, by type

Category	Vehicles
Cars	69
SUVs	41
Pickup trucks	17
Motorcycles	15
Medium and heavy trucks	9
Vans	6
Other vehicles	4
Buses	1

All crashes 2020.

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Vehicles most often involved

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 2020. Crashes without reported coordinates are not shown.

Filter crashes

Who died Time of day Day Weather Lighting Vehicle type involved Make involved

Alcohol-involved Speeding-related Distracted driver

Date	Location	Road	Deaths
Jul 31, 2020	Harrington, Kent County	FLATIRON ROAD	1
Jul 21, 2020	Sussex County	SR-20	2
Jul 14, 2020	Newark, New Castle County	SR-4 CHESTNUT HILL RD	1
Jul 10, 2020	Wilmington, New Castle County	POWDER MILL ROAD	1
Jul 6, 2020	Hockessin, New Castle County	OLD WILMINGTON RD	1
Jul 5, 2020	Sussex County	US-113	1
Jul 4, 2020	Kent County	SR-1 BAY RD	1
Jul 3, 2020	New Castle, New Castle County	S HEALD ST	1
Jul 3, 2020	Sussex County	MOUNT JOY RD	2
Jul 3, 2020	Sussex County	OLD LANDING RD	1
Jul 3, 2020	Sussex County	CR-OLD FURNACE RD	2
Jun 27, 2020	Wilmington, New Castle County	SR-7 LIMESTONE RD	1
Jun 26, 2020	Kent County	US-13	1
Jun 26, 2020	New Castle, New Castle County	LAURA CT	1
Jun 21, 2020	New Castle, New Castle County	BEAR RD	1
Jun 16, 2020	New Castle County	SR-9 RIVER RD	1
Jun 11, 2020	Sussex County	cr-redden road	1
Jun 9, 2020	Dover, Kent County	SR-1 BAY RD	1
Jun 5, 2020	Georgetown, Sussex County	US-113 S DUPONT BLVD	1
Jun 1, 2020	New Castle, New Castle County	CLARKS CORNER RD	2
May 31, 2020	Dover, Kent County	SR-9 BAYSIDE RD	1
May 30, 2020	Sussex County	GREENTOP RD	1
May 24, 2020	New Castle County	SR-1 KOREAN WAR VETS MEM HWY	1
May 13, 2020	New Castle County	SR-4 WEST NEWPORT PIKE	1
May 11, 2020	New Castle County	ROGERS RD	1

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Nearby and related

Counties in Delaware in 2020

Area	Deaths, 2020	Per 100,000
Kent County	17	9.3
New Castle County	62	10.9
Sussex County	37	15.5

Rankings

Nearby states

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