Fatal crash profile · State

Traffic deaths in Virginia in 2021

State in United States

Deaths, 2021
973
Fatal crashes
906
Population
8.7M

In 2021, 973 people died in 906 fatal crashes in Virginia, about 3 a day. That was 14.5% more than in 2020 (850) and the most since 2007. The death rate was 11.2 per 100,000 residents, compared with 13.0 in the United States. Virginia had the 16th most traffic deaths of the 51 states and DC and the 33rd-highest death rate. Pedestrians accounted for 13% of deaths, and 34% of fatal crashes were speeding-related.

Deaths

Traffic deaths

11.2

deaths per 100,000 residents in 2021

  • About 85 percent of the rate in the United States: 13.0

+14%

change in deaths from 2020 to 2021

850 deaths in 2020, 973 in 2021

  • The United States: +11%

Virginia 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 2021
Category Deaths
Vehicle occupants and others 720
Pedestrians 123
Motorcyclists 114
Cyclists 16
Embed
Download CSV
Deaths by type, 2021
Type Deaths Share in Virginia Share in the US
Pedestrians 123 13% 17%
Motorcyclists 114 12% 14%
Cyclists 16 2% 2%
Alcohol-impaired driving crashes 284 29% 31%
Speeding-related crashes 337 35% 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

34%

of fatal crashes were speeding-related

  • About 1.2 times the share in the United States: 28%

29%

of fatal crashes involved a drinking driver

  • About 1.1 times the share in the United States: 26%
Crash factors in 2021
Category Virginia United States
Speeding-related 29.5% 26.3%
Alcohol-involved 33.9% 28.2%
At night 48.3% 53.9%
At weekends 30.8% 32.8%

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

Embed
Download CSV

Timing

When crashes happen

48%

of fatal crashes happened at night

  • About 90 percent of the share in the United States: 54%

31%

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 33
1am 34
2am 35
3am 25
4am 15
5am 18
6am 27
7am 36
8am 17
9am 29
10am 32
11am 28
12pm 49
1pm 33
2pm 61
3pm 64
4pm 34
5pm 58
6pm 54
7pm 44
8pm 51
9pm 45
10pm 41
11pm 43

All crashes 2021.

Embed
Download CSV
Fatal crashes by day of week
Category Fatal crashes
Sun 127
Mon 124
Tue 106
Wed 120
Thu 128
Fri 149
Sat 152

All crashes 2021.

Embed
Download CSV
Fatal crashes by month
Category Fatal crashes
Jan 50
Feb 47
Mar 57
Apr 83
May 87
Jun 65
Jul 100
Aug 77
Sep 79
Oct 108
Nov 79
Dec 74

All crashes 2021.

Embed
Download CSV

Conditions

Weather and light

Weather at the time of the crash
Category Fatal crashes
Rain 80
Fog, Smog, Smoke 6
Snow 5
Clear 4
Other 1

All crashes 2021. Crashes where conditions were not reported are left out.

Embed
Download CSV
Light conditions at the time of the crash
Category Fatal crashes
Daylight 468
Dark - Not Lighted 270
Dark - Lighted 122
Dusk 27
Dawn 13
Dark - Unknown Lighting 6

All crashes 2021. Crashes where conditions were not reported are left out.

Embed
Download CSV

Roads and vehicles

Where and what, 2021

Roads with the most fatal crashes

  1. I-9535
  2. US-46034
  3. I-6432
  4. I-8129
  5. US-5828
  6. US-6024
  7. US-121
  8. US-2917
  9. US-1715
  10. I-29514

Road names as recorded in police reports.

Vehicles involved, by type
Category Vehicles
Cars 523
SUVs 300
Pickup trucks 188
Motorcycles 120
Medium and heavy trucks 118
Vans 60
Other vehicles 23
Buses 7
Other light trucks 3

All crashes 2021.

Embed
Download CSV

Vehicles most often involved

  1. Honda Accord35
  2. Chevrolet Silverado32
  3. Ford F-15029
  4. Toyota Camry28
  5. Honda Civic24
  6. Toyota Corolla22
  7. Toyota Tacoma21
  8. Jeep Grand Cherokee20
  9. Ford Explorer19
  10. Freightliner Cascadia19

Reflects how common a vehicle is as well as crash involvement; not a safety rating.

Crashes

Fatal crashes

The map loads when you scroll to it. It needs JavaScript.

Fatal crashes in 2021. Crashes without reported coordinates are not shown.

Filter crashes
Crash factors
Date Location Deaths
Dec 31, 2021 Blacksburg, Montgomery County 1
Dec 31, 2021 New Kent County 1
Dec 30, 2021 Tysons Corner, Fairfax County 1
Dec 30, 2021 Shenandoah County 1
Dec 29, 2021 McLean, Fairfax County 2
Dec 28, 2021 Virginia Beach, Virginia Beach city 1
Dec 28, 2021 Bedford County 1
Dec 28, 2021 Frederick County 1
Dec 27, 2021 Powhatan County 1
Dec 25, 2021 Prince Edward County 1
Dec 25, 2021 Hopewell, Hopewell city 2
Dec 24, 2021 Nelson County 1
Dec 24, 2021 Waynesboro, Waynesboro city 1
Dec 24, 2021 Mecklenburg County 1
Dec 24, 2021 Southampton County 1
Dec 24, 2021 Chesterfield County 1
Dec 23, 2021 King and Queen County 1
Dec 23, 2021 Roanoke, Roanoke city 1
Dec 23, 2021 Loudoun County 1
Dec 22, 2021 Spotsylvania County 1
Dec 22, 2021 Springfield, Fairfax County 1
Dec 22, 2021 Caroline County 1
Dec 22, 2021 Pittsylvania County 1
Dec 22, 2021 Pittsylvania County 1
Dec 21, 2021 Norfolk, Norfolk city 1

Download these crashes as CSV

Explore

Nearby and related

Counties in Virginia in 2021

Area Deaths, 2021 Per 100,000
Accomack County 7 20.9
Albemarle County 16 14.0
Alexandria city 7 4.5
Alleghany County 5 33.3
Amelia County 3 22.5
Amherst County 6 19.1
Appomattox County 5 30.5
Arlington County 7 3.0
Augusta County 18 23.1
Bath County 0 —
Bedford County 19 23.7
Bland County 0 —
Botetourt County 10 29.4
Bristol city 1 5.8
Brunswick County 13 81.4
Buchanan County 4 20.1
Buckingham County 6 35.4
Buena Vista city 0 —
Campbell County 8 14.5
Caroline County 10 31.8
Carroll County 7 24.1
Charles City County 2 30.2
Charlotte County 5 43.5
Charlottesville city 2 4.4
Chesapeake city 23 9.1
Chesterfield County 27 7.3
Clarke County 2 13.4
Colonial Heights city 3 16.5
Covington city 0 —
Craig County 0 —
Culpeper County 7 13.0
Cumberland County 5 51.4
Danville city 8 18.9
Dickenson County 0 —
Dinwiddie County 10 35.7
Emporia city 0 —
Essex County 5 47.3
Fairfax County 52 4.6
Fairfax city 1 4.1
Falls Church city 0 —
Fauquier County 13 17.5
Floyd County 1 6.4
Fluvanna County 4 14.4
Franklin County 12 21.8
Franklin city 0 —
Frederick County 9 9.6
Fredericksburg city 3 10.5
Giles County 5 30.2
Gloucester County 5 12.8
Goochland County 3 11.7
Grayson County 3 19.5
Greene County 1 4.8
Greensville County 12 105.1
Halifax County 5 14.8
Hampton city 11 8.0
Hanover County 22 19.7
Harrisonburg city 3 5.8
Henrico County 39 11.7
Henry County 10 19.9
Highland County 1 44.6
Hopewell city 5 21.7
Isle of Wight County 11 27.9
James City County 11 13.7
King George County 6 21.8
King William County 2 11.0
King and Queen County 7 105.0
Lancaster County 5 45.7
Lee County 1 4.5
Loudoun County 8 1.9
Louisa County 10 25.6
Lunenburg County 3 25.0
Lynchburg city 8 10.1
Madison County 1 7.2
Manassas Park city 1 5.9
Manassas city 1 2.3
Martinsville city 0 —
Mathews County 2 23.4
Mecklenburg County 17 56.0
Middlesex County 4 37.1
Montgomery County 5 5.1
Nelson County 10 67.4
New Kent County 15 62.6
Newport News city 16 8.7
Norfolk city 28 11.9
Northampton County 4 33.1
Northumberland County 2 16.6
Norton city 1 27.5
Nottoway County 3 19.3
Orange County 6 16.1
Page County 3 12.6
Patrick County 1 5.7
Petersburg city 7 20.9
Pittsylvania County 15 25.0
Poquoson city 0 —
Portsmouth city 12 12.3
Powhatan County 8 25.6
Prince Edward County 7 32.0
Prince George County 10 23.3
Prince William County 32 6.6
Pulaski County 4 11.8
Rappahannock County 0 —
Richmond County 3 33.0
Richmond city 17 7.5
Roanoke County 7 7.2
Roanoke city 10 10.1
Rockbridge County 6 26.5
Rockingham County 11 13.0
Russell County 8 31.3
Salem city 0 —
Scott County 4 18.6
Shenandoah County 7 15.6
Smyth County 9 30.4
Southampton County 7 38.8
Spotsylvania County 15 10.4
Stafford County 11 6.8
Staunton city 0 —
Suffolk city 13 13.5
Surry County 0 —
Sussex County 6 55.4
Tazewell County 8 20.0
Virginia Beach city 35 7.6
Warren County 4 9.8
Washington County 8 14.9
Waynesboro city 4 17.7
Westmoreland County 5 26.6
Williamsburg city 0 —
Winchester city 0 —
Wise County 1 2.8
Wythe County 9 31.9
York County 7 9.8

Compare Virginia with another place

Get updates for Virginia

We'll email you when NHTSA publishes new data for Virginia, usually about once a year. We'll send a link to confirm your address first. No tracking and no sharing, and every email has a link to unsubscribe.

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.