Fatal crash profile · State

Traffic deaths in North Carolina in 2022

State in United States

Deaths, 2022
1,631
Fatal crashes
1,501
Population
10.7M

In 2022, 1,631 people died in 1,501 fatal crashes in North Carolina, about 4 a day. That was 3.7% fewer than in 2021 (1,693) and the fewest since 2020. The death rate was 15.2 per 100,000 residents, compared with 12.8 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 16% of deaths, and 31% of fatal crashes were speeding-related.

Deaths

Traffic deaths

15.2

deaths per 100,000 residents in 2022

  • About 1.2 times the rate in the United States: 12.8

-4%

change in deaths from 2021 to 2022

1,693 deaths in 2021, 1,631 in 2022

  • The United States: -1%

North Carolina traffic deaths by year goes back to 1975.

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

Road users

Who died

16%

of deaths were pedestrians

  • About 90 percent of the share in the United States: 18%
Who died in 2022
Category Deaths
Vehicle occupants and others 1,134
Pedestrians 256
Motorcyclists 220
Cyclists 21
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Deaths by type, 2022
Type Deaths Share in North Carolina Share in the US
Pedestrians 256 16% 18%
Motorcyclists 220 13% 15%
Cyclists 21 1% 3%
Alcohol-impaired driving crashes 453 28% 32%
Speeding-related crashes 517 32% 28%

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

31%

of fatal crashes were speeding-related

  • About 1.1 times 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 2022
Category North Carolina United States
Speeding-related 23.7% 26.2%
Alcohol-involved 31.1% 27.7%
At night 51.3% 53.9%
At weekends 32.0% 33.3%

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%

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 59
1am 53
2am 48
3am 38
4am 36
5am 40
6am 62
7am 55
8am 54
9am 44
10am 42
11am 50
12pm 69
1pm 71
2pm 75
3pm 68
4pm 68
5pm 71
6pm 84
7pm 93
8pm 83
9pm 93
10pm 79
11pm 64

All crashes 2022.

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Fatal crashes by day of week
Category Fatal crashes
Sun 228
Mon 189
Tue 189
Wed 197
Thu 212
Fri 234
Sat 252

All crashes 2022.

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Fatal crashes by month
Category Fatal crashes
Jan 122
Feb 116
Mar 105
Apr 95
May 135
Jun 119
Jul 138
Aug 131
Sep 137
Oct 139
Nov 126
Dec 138

All crashes 2022.

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Conditions

Weather and light

Weather at the time of the crash
Category Fatal crashes
Clear 1,187
Cloudy 163
Rain 120
Fog, Smog, Smoke 11
Snow 5
Sleet or Hail 3

All crashes 2022. 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 719
Dark - Not Lighted 539
Dark - Lighted 186
Dawn 25
Dusk 23
Dark - Unknown Lighting 5

All crashes 2022. Crashes where conditions were not reported are left out.

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Roads and vehicles

Where and what, 2022

Roads with the most fatal crashes

  1. I-8537
  2. US-7030
  3. I-9523
  4. US-7423
  5. I-4022
  6. US-42118
  7. US-1716
  8. US-6415
  9. US-15815
  10. I-7715

Road names as recorded in police reports.

Vehicles involved, by type
Category Vehicles
Cars 907
SUVs 447
Pickup trucks 352
Motorcycles 223
Medium and heavy trucks 184
Vans 101
Other vehicles 47
Buses 9
Other light trucks 4

All crashes 2022.

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Vehicles most often involved

  1. Honda Accord67
  2. Chevrolet Silverado62
  3. Ford F-15059
  4. Nissan Altima47
  5. Honda Civic46
  6. Toyota Camry45
  7. GMC Sierra33
  8. Ford Ranger30
  9. Toyota Corolla28
  10. Nissan Sentra27

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 2022. Crashes without reported coordinates are not shown.

Filter crashes
Crash factors
Date Location Deaths
Oct 1, 2022 Haywood County 1
Oct 1, 2022 Bladen County 1
Oct 1, 2022 Jacksonville, Onslow County 1
Sep 30, 2022 Catawba County 1
Sep 30, 2022 Martin County 1
Sep 30, 2022 Asheville, Buncombe County 2
Sep 30, 2022 Clayton, Johnston County 1
Sep 30, 2022 Robeson County 1
Sep 30, 2022 Moore County 1
Sep 30, 2022 Johnston County 1
Sep 29, 2022 Onslow County 1
Sep 29, 2022 Randolph County 1
Sep 29, 2022 Charlotte, Mecklenburg County 1
Sep 29, 2022 Burke County 1
Sep 29, 2022 New Bern, Craven County 1
Sep 29, 2022 Greensboro, Guilford County 1
Sep 29, 2022 Johnston County 1
Sep 29, 2022 Haywood County 1
Sep 28, 2022 Wake County 1
Sep 27, 2022 Roxboro, Person County 1
Sep 27, 2022 Wayne County 1
Sep 27, 2022 Onslow County 1
Sep 27, 2022 Lenoir County 1
Sep 27, 2022 Matthews, Mecklenburg County 1
Sep 27, 2022 Catawba County 1

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Nearby and related

Counties in North Carolina in 2022

Area Deaths, 2022 Per 100,000
Alamance County 29 16.4
Alexander County 6 16.6
Alleghany County 1 8.9
Anson County 9 41.4
Ashe County 2 7.4
Avery County 1 5.7
Beaufort County 11 24.8
Bertie County 4 23.6
Bladen County 14 47.7
Brunswick County 25 16.4
Buncombe County 36 13.1
Burke County 12 13.7
Cabarrus County 32 13.6
Caldwell County 16 19.9
Camden County 1 9.0
Carteret County 14 20.2
Caswell County 6 27.0
Catawba County 31 19.0
Chatham County 10 12.5
Cherokee County 6 20.3
Chowan County 3 21.6
Clay County 0 —
Cleveland County 22 21.8
Columbus County 23 46.0
Craven County 21 20.5
Cumberland County 44 13.0
Currituck County 7 22.6
Dare County 6 15.8
Davidson County 28 16.2
Davie County 10 22.7
Duplin County 21 42.8
Durham County 29 8.8
Edgecombe County 8 16.5
Forsyth County 41 10.5
Franklin County 27 36.3
Gaston County 22 9.4
Gates County 6 57.9
Graham County 3 37.3
Granville County 15 24.6
Greene County 1 4.9
Guilford County 66 12.1
Halifax County 17 35.7
Harnett County 17 12.3
Haywood County 12 19.2
Henderson County 10 8.5
Hertford County 5 25.7
Hoke County 11 20.5
Hyde County 1 21.6
Iredell County 23 11.7
Jackson County 9 20.5
Johnston County 38 16.2
Jones County 4 43.3
Lee County 15 22.9
Lenoir County 7 12.8
Lincoln County 12 12.9
Macon County 3 7.9
Madison County 4 18.3
Martin County 5 23.3
McDowell County 10 22.3
Mecklenburg County 112 9.8
Mitchell County 0 —
Montgomery County 8 30.9
Moore County 13 12.3
Nash County 23 23.9
New Hanover County 14 5.9
Northampton County 10 59.5
Onslow County 38 18.4
Orange County 19 12.6
Pamlico County 2 16.3
Pasquotank County 13 31.7
Pender County 13 19.8
Perquimans County 3 22.7
Person County 4 10.2
Pitt County 24 13.6
Polk County 1 5.0
Randolph County 25 17.1
Richmond County 15 35.4
Robeson County 65 55.9
Rockingham County 15 16.3
Rowan County 22 14.7
Rutherford County 11 17.0
Sampson County 22 37.2
Scotland County 17 50.8
Stanly County 5 7.8
Stokes County 15 33.2
Surry County 16 22.4
Swain County 3 21.5
Transylvania County 1 3.0
Tyrrell County 2 57.9
Union County 28 11.2
Vance County 17 40.3
Wake County 97 8.3
Warren County 4 21.4
Washington County 0 —
Watauga County 4 7.2
Wayne County 26 22.0
Wilkes County 17 25.8
Wilson County 17 21.4
Yadkin County 11 29.3
Yancey County 7 37.3

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Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2022. A fatal crash is one in which at least one person died within 30 days. Population: US Census Bureau estimates.