Fatal crash profile · State

Traffic deaths in North Carolina in 2021

State in United States

Deaths, 2021
1,693
Fatal crashes
1,563
Population
10.6M

In 2021, 1,693 people died in 1,563 fatal crashes in North Carolina, about 5 a day. That was 10.1% more than in 2020 (1,538) and the most in any year since 1975. The death rate was 16.0 per 100,000 residents, compared with 13.0 in the United States. North Carolina had the 5th most traffic deaths of the 51 states and DC and the 17th-highest death rate. Pedestrians accounted for 15% of deaths, and 28% of fatal crashes were speeding-related.

Deaths

Traffic deaths

16.0

deaths per 100,000 residents in 2021

  • About 1.2 times the rate in the United States: 13.0

+10%

change in deaths from 2020 to 2021

1,538 deaths in 2020, 1,693 in 2021

  • The United States: +11%

North Carolina traffic deaths by year goes back to 1975.

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

Road users

Who died

15%

of deaths were pedestrians

  • About 85 percent of the share in the United States: 17%
Who died in 2021
Category Deaths
Vehicle occupants and others 1,177
Pedestrians 254
Motorcyclists 239
Cyclists 23
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Deaths by type, 2021
Type Deaths Share in North Carolina Share in the US
Pedestrians 254 15% 17%
Motorcyclists 239 14% 14%
Cyclists 23 1% 2%
Alcohol-impaired driving crashes 480 28% 31%
Speeding-related crashes 487 29% 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%

27%

of fatal crashes involved a drinking driver

  • About the same as the share in the United States: 26%
Crash factors in 2021
Category North Carolina United States
Speeding-related 27.3% 26.3%
Alcohol-involved 28.0% 28.2%
At night 50.9% 53.9%
At weekends 33.1% 32.8%

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

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Timing

When crashes happen

51%

of fatal crashes happened at night

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

33%

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 51
1am 46
2am 76
3am 33
4am 35
5am 23
6am 53
7am 56
8am 41
9am 31
10am 47
11am 63
12pm 76
1pm 70
2pm 74
3pm 69
4pm 92
5pm 93
6pm 117
7pm 79
8pm 105
9pm 90
10pm 75
11pm 65

All crashes 2021.

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Fatal crashes by day of week
Category Fatal crashes
Sun 250
Mon 214
Tue 177
Wed 192
Thu 201
Fri 261
Sat 268

All crashes 2021.

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Fatal crashes by month
Category Fatal crashes
Jan 123
Feb 81
Mar 107
Apr 166
May 141
Jun 144
Jul 144
Aug 127
Sep 131
Oct 158
Nov 107
Dec 134

All crashes 2021.

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Conditions

Weather and light

Weather at the time of the crash
Category Fatal crashes
Clear 1,270
Cloudy 160
Rain 110
Fog, Smog, Smoke 18
Snow 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 774
Dark - Not Lighted 513
Dark - Lighted 192
Dusk 48
Dawn 26
Dark - Unknown Lighting 3

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-8534
  2. I-4031
  3. I-9522
  4. US-7421
  5. US-6421
  6. US-42119
  7. I-7718
  8. US-7017
  9. SR-8715
  10. US-1713

Road names as recorded in police reports.

Vehicles involved, by type
Category Vehicles
Cars 989
SUVs 450
Pickup trucks 400
Motorcycles 243
Medium and heavy trucks 166
Vans 119
Other vehicles 30
Buses 6
Other light trucks 3

All crashes 2021.

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Vehicles most often involved

  1. Chevrolet Silverado76
  2. Honda Accord73
  3. Honda Civic68
  4. Ford F-15063
  5. Toyota Camry49
  6. Nissan Altima39
  7. Ford Explorer37
  8. Ford Ranger30
  9. Hyundai Sonata28
  10. Toyota Tacoma28

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 19, 2021 Wake County 1
Dec 19, 2021 Rowan County 1
Dec 19, 2021 Granville County 1
Dec 19, 2021 Durham, Durham County 1
Dec 19, 2021 Cumberland County 2
Dec 19, 2021 Kannapolis, Cabarrus County 1
Dec 18, 2021 Harnett County 1
Dec 18, 2021 Gastonia, Gaston County 1
Dec 18, 2021 Burlington, Alamance County 1
Dec 17, 2021 Wilkes County 3
Dec 17, 2021 Johnston County 1
Dec 17, 2021 Hoke County 1
Dec 17, 2021 Catawba County 1
Dec 17, 2021 Alexander County 1
Dec 16, 2021 Davidson County 1
Dec 16, 2021 Charlotte, Mecklenburg County 1
Dec 16, 2021 Harnett County 1
Dec 16, 2021 Union County 1
Dec 15, 2021 Greene County 1
Dec 15, 2021 Scotland County 1
Dec 15, 2021 Randolph County 1
Dec 15, 2021 Jacksonville, Onslow County 1
Dec 15, 2021 Harnett County 1
Dec 14, 2021 Asheville, Buncombe County 1
Dec 14, 2021 Currituck County 1

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Nearby and related

Counties in North Carolina in 2021

Area Deaths, 2021 Per 100,000
Alamance County 18 10.4
Alexander County 7 19.3
Alleghany County 2 18.0
Anson County 5 23.1
Ashe County 6 22.4
Avery County 1 5.7
Beaufort County 5 11.2
Bertie County 8 46.4
Bladen County 12 40.6
Brunswick County 23 15.9
Buncombe County 31 11.4
Burke County 10 11.4
Cabarrus County 24 10.4
Caldwell County 11 13.7
Camden County 1 9.2
Carteret County 8 11.6
Caswell County 2 8.9
Catawba County 37 22.9
Chatham County 17 21.7
Cherokee County 3 10.3
Chowan County 0 —
Clay County 3 26.4
Cleveland County 14 13.9
Columbus County 23 46.0
Craven County 15 14.7
Cumberland County 59 17.4
Currituck County 6 20.2
Dare County 5 13.2
Davidson County 39 22.9
Davie County 5 11.4
Duplin County 29 59.7
Durham County 22 6.7
Edgecombe County 14 28.9
Forsyth County 47 12.2
Franklin County 12 16.7
Gaston County 22 9.5
Gates County 2 19.2
Graham County 4 49.9
Granville County 18 29.8
Greene County 6 29.6
Guilford County 88 16.2
Halifax County 17 35.2
Harnett County 37 27.3
Haywood County 10 16.0
Henderson County 16 13.7
Hertford County 9 45.4
Hoke County 16 30.1
Hyde County 0 —
Iredell County 22 11.4
Jackson County 9 21.2
Johnston County 39 17.2
Jones County 3 32.6
Lee County 14 21.9
Lenoir County 26 47.5
Lincoln County 13 14.5
Macon County 3 8.0
Madison County 3 13.8
Martin County 3 13.8
McDowell County 8 18.0
Mecklenburg County 118 10.5
Mitchell County 2 13.4
Montgomery County 8 31.0
Moore County 23 22.3
Nash County 21 21.9
New Hanover County 27 11.7
Northampton County 6 35.1
Onslow County 27 13.3
Orange County 19 12.8
Pamlico County 2 16.2
Pasquotank County 11 27.1
Pender County 14 22.2
Perquimans County 3 22.9
Person County 7 17.9
Pitt County 27 15.4
Polk County 4 20.3
Randolph County 32 22.0
Richmond County 12 28.1
Robeson County 62 53.5
Rockingham County 18 19.7
Rowan County 31 21.0
Rutherford County 13 20.1
Sampson County 18 30.5
Scotland County 28 84.0
Stanly County 12 19.0
Stokes County 5 11.2
Surry County 16 22.4
Swain County 4 28.3
Transylvania County 3 9.0
Tyrrell County 1 29.6
Union County 24 9.8
Vance County 17 40.4
Wake County 86 7.5
Warren County 10 53.1
Washington County 2 18.4
Watauga County 8 14.5
Wayne County 16 13.6
Wilkes County 18 27.4
Wilson County 16 20.2
Yadkin County 10 26.8
Yancey County 0 —

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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.