Fatal crash profile · State

Traffic deaths in Pennsylvania in 2020

State in United States

Deaths, 2020
1,129
Fatal crashes
1,060
Population
13M

In 2020, 1,129 people died in 1,060 fatal crashes in Pennsylvania, about 3 a day. The death rate was 8.7 per 100,000 residents, compared with 11.8 in the United States. Pennsylvania had the 9th most traffic deaths of the 51 states and DC and the 40th-highest death rate. Pedestrians accounted for 13% of deaths, and 42% of fatal crashes were speeding-related.

Deaths

Traffic deaths

8.7

deaths per 100,000 residents in 2020

  • About three-quarters of the rate in the United States: 11.8

Pennsylvania 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 2020
Category Deaths
Vehicle occupants and others 747
Pedestrians 143
Motorcyclists 219
Cyclists 20
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Deaths by type, 2020
Type Deaths Share in Pennsylvania Share in the US
Pedestrians 143 13% 17%
Motorcyclists 219 19% 14%
Cyclists 20 2% 2%
Alcohol-impaired driving crashes 318 28% 30%
Speeding-related crashes 461 41% 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

42%

of fatal crashes were speeding-related

  • About 1.5 times the share in the United States: 29%

25%

of fatal crashes involved a drinking driver

  • About the same as the share in the United States: 27%
Crash factors in 2020
Category Pennsylvania United States
Speeding-related 24.9% 26.7%
Alcohol-involved 41.7% 28.6%
At night 48.3% 53.4%
At weekends 31.8% 32.9%

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

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Timing

When crashes happen

48%

of fatal crashes happened at night

  • About the same as 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 34
1am 40
2am 27
3am 23
4am 22
5am 30
6am 28
7am 32
8am 33
9am 33
10am 29
11am 49
12pm 51
1pm 49
2pm 56
3pm 75
4pm 50
5pm 63
6pm 50
7pm 67
8pm 60
9pm 49
10pm 66
11pm 44

All crashes 2020.

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Fatal crashes by day of week
Category Fatal crashes
Sun 158
Mon 119
Tue 164
Wed 144
Thu 129
Fri 167
Sat 179

All crashes 2020.

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Fatal crashes by month
Category Fatal crashes
Jan 76
Feb 54
Mar 62
Apr 57
May 86
Jun 116
Jul 128
Aug 93
Sep 101
Oct 93
Nov 105
Dec 89

All crashes 2020.

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Conditions

Weather and light

Weather at the time of the crash
Category Fatal crashes
Clear 131
Rain 79
Cloudy 37
Snow 19
Fog, Smog, Smoke 8
Other 5

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 541
Dark - Not Lighted 242
Dark - Lighted 215
Dusk 32
Dawn 23
Dark - Unknown Lighting 6

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

  1. US-30 LINCOLN HWY11
  2. SR-611 BROAD ST11
  3. I-81 AMERICAN LEGION MEM HWY9
  4. I-95 DELAWARE EXPY7
  5. US-22 WILLIAM PENN HWY6
  6. SR-1004 ERIE AVE5
  7. SR-3007 KELLY DR5
  8. I-81 AMERICAN LEGION MEM HW5
  9. US-1 ROOSEVELT BLVD5
  10. I-76 MAINLINE TPKE4

Road names as recorded in police reports.

Vehicles involved, by type
Category Vehicles
Cars 627
SUVs 302
Motorcycles 229
Pickup trucks 156
Medium and heavy trucks 148
Vans 63
Other vehicles 57
Other light trucks 9
Buses 6

All crashes 2020.

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Vehicles most often involved

  1. Honda Accord38
  2. Chevrolet Silverado27
  3. Jeep Grand Cherokee27
  4. Ford Focus25
  5. Honda Civic24
  6. Ford Escape23
  7. Nissan Altima23
  8. Toyota Camry23
  9. Ford F-15021
  10. Toyota Corolla21

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
Crash factors
Date Location Deaths
Dec 31, 2020 Lancaster County 1
Dec 31, 2020 Snyder County 1
Dec 31, 2020 Franklin County 1
Dec 31, 2020 Lancaster County 1
Dec 31, 2020 Montgomery County 1
Dec 30, 2020 Bucks County 1
Dec 30, 2020 Philadelphia, Philadelphia County 2
Dec 30, 2020 Mifflin County 1
Dec 29, 2020 Lackawanna County 1
Dec 29, 2020 Chester County 1
Dec 28, 2020 Bucks County 1
Dec 28, 2020 Chester County 1
Dec 27, 2020 Wilkes Barre, Luzerne County 1
Dec 25, 2020 Moosic, Lackawanna County 1
Dec 24, 2020 Franklin County 1
Dec 24, 2020 Lancaster County 1
Dec 24, 2020 Schuylkill County 1
Dec 23, 2020 Monroe County 1
Dec 23, 2020 Delaware County 1
Dec 23, 2020 Westmoreland County 1
Dec 23, 2020 Indiana County 1
Dec 23, 2020 Philadelphia, Philadelphia County 1
Dec 23, 2020 Greene County 1
Dec 23, 2020 Pottstown, Montgomery County 1
Dec 22, 2020 Columbia County 1

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Nearby and related

Counties in Pennsylvania in 2020

Area Deaths, 2020 Per 100,000
Adams County 16 15.4
Allegheny County 60 4.8
Armstrong County 5 7.6
Beaver County 13 7.7
Bedford County 4 8.4
Berks County 37 8.6
Blair County 10 8.2
Bradford County 6 10.0
Bucks County 52 8.0
Butler County 10 5.2
Cambria County 7 5.3
Cameron County 1 22.1
Carbon County 9 13.9
Centre County 14 8.9
Chester County 33 6.2
Clarion County 3 8.1
Clearfield County 15 18.7
Clinton County 8 21.4
Columbia County 9 13.9
Crawford County 5 6.0
Cumberland County 14 5.4
Dauphin County 20 7.0
Delaware County 29 5.0
Elk County 1 3.2
Erie County 15 5.5
Fayette County 27 21.0
Forest County 0 —
Franklin County 15 9.6
Fulton County 2 13.7
Greene County 2 5.6
Huntingdon County 7 15.9
Indiana County 15 18.0
Jefferson County 6 13.5
Juniata County 4 17.0
Lackawanna County 22 10.2
Lancaster County 47 8.5
Lawrence County 11 12.8
Lebanon County 22 15.4
Lehigh County 32 8.5
Luzerne County 35 10.8
Lycoming County 12 10.5
McKean County 3 7.4
Mercer County 13 11.8
Mifflin County 11 23.8
Monroe County 11 6.5
Montgomery County 35 4.1
Montour County 3 16.5
Northampton County 21 6.7
Northumberland County 11 12.0
Perry County 8 17.5
Philadelphia County 166 10.4
Pike County 6 10.2
Potter County 1 6.1
Schuylkill County 19 13.3
Snyder County 8 20.1
Somerset County 9 12.2
Sullivan County 1 17.2
Susquehanna County 11 28.7
Tioga County 5 12.2
Union County 5 11.7
Venango County 11 21.8
Warren County 7 18.2
Washington County 29 13.8
Wayne County 9 17.6
Westmoreland County 39 11.0
Wyoming County 4 15.4
York County 28 6.1

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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.