Fatal crash profile · State

Traffic deaths in District of Columbia in 2020

Deaths, 2020: 36
Fatal crashes: 34
Population: 671K

In 2020, 36 people died in 34 fatal crashes in District of Columbia. The death rate was 5.4 per 100,000 residents, compared with 11.8 in the United States. District of Columbia had the 51st most traffic deaths of the 51 states and DC and the 49th-highest death rate. Pedestrians accounted for 28% of deaths, and 41% of fatal crashes were speeding-related.

Deaths

Traffic deaths

5.4

deaths per 100,000 residents in 2020

About half the rate in the United States: 11.8

District of Columbia traffic deaths by year goes back to 1975.

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

Road users

Who died

28%

of deaths were pedestrians

About 1.7 times the share in the United States: 17%

Who died in 2020

Category	Deaths
Vehicle occupants and others	18
Pedestrians	10
Motorcyclists	7
Cyclists	1

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Deaths by type, 2020
Type	Deaths	Share in District of Columbia	Share in the US
Pedestrians	10	28%	17%
Motorcyclists	7	19%	14%
Cyclists	1	3%	2%
Alcohol-impaired driving crashes	8	22%	30%
Speeding-related crashes	16	44%	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

41%

of fatal crashes were speeding-related

About 1.4 times the share in the United States: 29%

26%

of fatal crashes involved a drinking driver

About the same as the share in the United States: 27%

Crash factors in 2020

Category	District of Columbia	United States
Speeding-related	26.5%	26.7%
Alcohol-involved	41.2%	28.6%
At night	58.8%	53.4%
At weekends	32.4%	32.9%

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

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Timing

When crashes happen

59%

of fatal crashes happened at night

About 1.1 times the share in the United States: 53%

32%

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

All crashes 2020.

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Fatal crashes by day of week

Category	Fatal crashes
Sun	6
Mon	5
Tue	5
Wed	2
Thu	2
Fri	9
Sat	5

All crashes 2020.

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Fatal crashes by month

Category	Fatal crashes
Jan	4
Feb	2
Mar	0
Apr	2
May	3
Jun	4
Jul	2
Aug	6
Sep	4
Oct	4
Nov	2
Dec	1

All crashes 2020.

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Conditions

Weather and light

Weather at the time of the crash

Category	Fatal crashes
Clear	30
Rain	4

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
Dark - Lighted	19
Daylight	12
Dusk	2
Dawn	1

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

SOUTHERN AVE SE3
ALABAMA AVE SE2
NORTH CAPITOL ST NW2
I-3952
MINNESOTA AVE SE2
PENNSYLVANIA AVE SE2
BENNING RD SE1
63RD ST SE1
51ST ST SE1
16TH ST NW1

Road names as recorded in police reports.

Vehicles involved, by type

Category	Vehicles
Cars	25
SUVs	11
Motorcycles	7
Medium and heavy trucks	2
Vans	2
Other vehicles	1
Buses	1
Pickup trucks	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
Dec 20, 2020	Washington, District of Columbia	ROCK CREEK PKWY	1
Nov 19, 2020	Washington, District of Columbia	SOUTHERN AVE SE	1
Nov 16, 2020	Washington, District of Columbia	MINNESOTA AVE SE	1
Oct 31, 2020	Washington, District of Columbia	SOUTHERN AVE SE	1
Oct 23, 2020	Washington, District of Columbia	I-395 SOUTH	1
Oct 23, 2020	Washington, District of Columbia	KENNEDY ST NW	1
Oct 15, 2020	Washington, District of Columbia	63RD ST SE	1
Sep 20, 2020	Washington, District of Columbia	PENNSYLVANIA AVE SE	1
Sep 20, 2020	Washington, District of Columbia	FORT DUPONT DR	1
Sep 8, 2020	Washington, District of Columbia	BENNING RD SE	1
Sep 5, 2020	Washington, District of Columbia	OVERLOOK AVE SW	1
Aug 28, 2020	Washington, District of Columbia	CONSTITUTION AVE NW	1
Aug 25, 2020	Washington, District of Columbia	SUITLAND PKWY SE	1
Aug 23, 2020	Washington, District of Columbia	CONNECTICUT AVE NW	1
Aug 23, 2020	Washington, District of Columbia	I-395	1
Aug 21, 2020	Washington, District of Columbia	16TH ST NW	1
Aug 15, 2020	Washington, District of Columbia	SOUTH CAPITOL ST SE	1
Jul 24, 2020	Washington, District of Columbia	MINNESOTA AVE SE	1
Jul 18, 2020	Washington, District of Columbia	51ST ST SE	1
Jun 30, 2020	Washington, District of Columbia	NAYLOR RD SE	1
Jun 19, 2020	Washington, District of Columbia	SOUTH DAKOTA AVE NE	1
Jun 8, 2020	Washington, District of Columbia	US-50 NEW YORK AVE NE	1
Jun 8, 2020	Washington, District of Columbia	PINEY BRANCH RD NW	1
May 31, 2020	Washington, District of Columbia	NORTH CAPITOL ST NW	2
May 29, 2020	Washington, District of Columbia	US-1 NEW YORK AVE NE	1

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Explore

Nearby and related

Counties in District of Columbia in 2020

Area	Deaths, 2020	Per 100,000
District of Columbia	36	5.4

Rankings

Nearby states

Compare District of Columbia with another place

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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.