Fatal crash profile · State

Traffic deaths in South Carolina

State in United States

Deaths, 2024
1,038
Fatal crashes
948
Population
5.5M

In 2024, 1,038 people died in 948 fatal crashes in South Carolina, about 3 a day. That was 0.9% fewer than in 2023 (1,047) and the fewest since 2019. The death rate was 18.9 per 100,000 residents, compared with 11.5 in the United States. South Carolina had the 13th most traffic deaths of the 51 states and DC and the 4th-highest death rate. Pedestrians accounted for 15% of deaths, and 37% of fatal crashes were speeding-related.

Deaths

Traffic deaths

18.9

deaths per 100,000 residents in 2024

  • About 1.6 times the rate in the United States: 11.5

-1%

change in deaths from 2023 to 2024

1,047 deaths in 2023, 1,038 in 2024

  • The United States: -4%
Traffic deaths by year, 1975–2024
Category Deaths Fatal crashes
1975 820 711
1976 806 694
1977 927 807
1978 883 778
1979 900 795
1980 852 747
1981 846 768
1982 730 667
1983 844 739
1984 916 820
1985 951 847
1986 1,059 944
1987 1,086 968
1988 1,031 908
1989 996 895
1990 979 884
1991 890 789
1992 807 718
1993 846 776
1994 847 753
1995 881 782
1996 930 821
1997 903 798
1998 1,002 912
1999 1,065 944
2000 1,065 948
2001 1,060 962
2002 1,053 949
2003 969 905
2004 1,046 946
2005 1,094 981
2006 1,045 973
2007 1,077 985
2008 921 841
2009 894 817
2010 809 750
2011 828 767
2012 863 806
2013 767 719
2014 823 756
2015 979 911
2016 1,020 941
2017 989 925
2018 1,036 969
2019 1,006 927
2020 1,066 964
2021 1,198 1,112
2022 1,094 1,019
2023 1,047 976
2024 1,038 948

People who died within 30 days of a crash. A fatal crash can kill more than one person.

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Deaths per 100,000 residents, 2000–2024
Category Deaths per 100,000
2000 26.5
2001 26.1
2002 25.6
2003 23.4
2004 24.8
2005 25.6
2006 24.0
2007 24.2
2008 20.3
2009 19.5
2010 17.5
2011 17.7
2012 18.3
2013 16.1
2014 17.1
2015 20.0
2016 20.6
2017 19.7
2018 20.4
2019 19.5
2020 20.8
2021 23.1
2022 20.7
2023 19.4
2024 18.9

Uses Census population estimates, available from 2000.

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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: 18%
Who died in 2024
Category Deaths
Vehicle occupants and others 694
Pedestrians 156
Motorcyclists 154
Cyclists 34
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Deaths by type, 2024
Type Deaths Share in South Carolina Share in the US
Pedestrians 156 15% 18%
Motorcyclists 154 15% 16%
Cyclists 34 3% 3%
Alcohol-impaired driving crashes 417 40% 30%
Speeding-related crashes 392 38% 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

37%

of fatal crashes were speeding-related

  • About 1.3 times the share in the United States: 28%

32%

of fatal crashes involved a drinking driver

  • About 1.3 times the share in the United States: 25%
Crash factors in 2024
Category South Carolina United States
Speeding-related 32.2% 24.8%
Alcohol-involved 36.8% 28.1%
At night 56.9% 53.6%
At weekends 35.3% 32.6%

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

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Timing

When crashes happen

57%

of fatal crashes happened at night

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

35%

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 224
1am 190
2am 183
3am 136
4am 128
5am 172
6am 182
7am 154
8am 108
9am 100
10am 126
11am 152
12pm 181
1pm 192
2pm 181
3pm 234
4pm 267
5pm 245
6pm 301
7pm 305
8pm 324
9pm 366
10pm 292
11pm 276

All crashes 2020–2024.

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Fatal crashes by day of week
Category Fatal crashes
Sun 769
Mon 636
Tue 584
Wed 696
Thu 625
Fri 766
Sat 943

All crashes 2020–2024.

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Fatal crashes by month
Category Fatal crashes
Jan 341
Feb 367
Mar 396
Apr 398
May 448
Jun 446
Jul 423
Aug 442
Sep 416
Oct 487
Nov 429
Dec 426

All crashes 2020–2024.

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Conditions

Weather and light

Weather at the time of the crash
Category Fatal crashes
Clear 4,244
Rain 415
Cloudy 287
Fog, Smog, Smoke 58
Snow 3
Severe Crosswinds 2

All crashes 2020–2024. 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 2,071
Dark - Not Lighted 1,903
Dark - Lighted 468
Dark - Unknown Lighting 277
Dusk 171
Dawn 127

All crashes 2020–2024. Crashes where conditions were not reported are left out.

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Roads and vehicles

Where and what, 2020–2024

Roads with the most fatal crashes

  1. I-26134
  2. US-17105
  3. I-95101
  4. I-2075
  5. I-7773
  6. I-8564
  7. US-5243
  8. US-7642
  9. US-2537
  10. US-2133

Road names as recorded in police reports.

Vehicles involved, by type
Category Vehicles
Cars 2,939
SUVs 1,521
Pickup trucks 1,273
Motorcycles 812
Medium and heavy trucks 648
Vans 271
Other vehicles 146
Buses 16
Other light trucks 3

All crashes 2020–2024.

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Vehicles most often involved

  1. Chevrolet Silverado279
  2. Honda Accord272
  3. Ford F-150215
  4. Toyota Camry157
  5. Nissan Altima156
  6. Honda Civic117
  7. GMC Sierra108
  8. Chevrolet Tahoe108
  9. Toyota Corolla99
  10. Freightliner Cascadia98

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 2024. Crashes without reported coordinates are not shown.

Filter crashes
Crash factors
Date Location Deaths
Oct 4, 2024 Darlington County 2
Oct 4, 2024 Lexington County 1
Oct 4, 2024 Dorchester County 1
Oct 4, 2024 Horry County 1
Oct 4, 2024 Greenville County 1
Oct 3, 2024 Chester County 1
Oct 2, 2024 Columbia, Richland County 1
Oct 2, 2024 Columbia, Richland County 1
Oct 2, 2024 Greenville County 1
Oct 2, 2024 Spartanburg County 1
Oct 1, 2024 Florence County 1
Oct 1, 2024 Edgefield County 1
Oct 1, 2024 Spartanburg County 2
Oct 1, 2024 Bamberg County 1
Oct 1, 2024 Lexington County 1
Oct 1, 2024 Aiken County 1
Sep 30, 2024 Columbia, Richland County 1
Sep 30, 2024 Rock Hill, York County 1
Sep 30, 2024 Fort Mill, York County 1
Sep 30, 2024 Orangeburg County 1
Sep 30, 2024 Pickens County 1
Sep 30, 2024 Horry County 1
Sep 29, 2024 Spartanburg County 1
Sep 29, 2024 York County 1
Sep 28, 2024 Columbia, Richland County 1

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Nearby and related

Counties in South Carolina

Area Deaths, 2024 Per 100,000
Abbeville County 4 16.2
Aiken County 29 16.3
Allendale County 1 13.3
Anderson County 45 20.7
Bamberg County 3 23.4
Barnwell County 8 39.0
Beaufort County 27 13.3
Berkeley County 37 13.9
Calhoun County 6 42.3
Charleston County 61 14.1
Cherokee County 20 34.6
Chester County 8 24.6
Chesterfield County 10 22.5
Clarendon County 9 29.0
Colleton County 17 43.1
Darlington County 22 35.1
Dillon County 14 50.8
Dorchester County 38 21.7
Edgefield County 6 20.5
Fairfield County 10 48.8
Florence County 28 20.2
Georgetown County 20 30.2
Greenville County 94 16.4
Greenwood County 5 7.1
Hampton County 5 27.5
Horry County 58 14.0
Jasper County 17 46.8
Kershaw County 10 13.9
Lancaster County 20 18.0
Laurens County 17 24.1
Lee County 4 25.2
Lexington County 54 17.2
Marion County 14 49.1
Marlboro County 9 35.2
McCormick County 4 40.1
Newberry County 8 20.3
Oconee County 14 17.0
Orangeburg County 48 57.7
Pickens County 21 15.2
Richland County 63 14.6
Saluda County 8 40.9
Spartanburg County 66 17.8
Sumter County 23 21.9
Union County 10 37.3
Williamsburg County 9 30.2
York County 34 11.2

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Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2020–2024. A fatal crash is one in which at least one person died within 30 days. Population: US Census Bureau estimates.