Fatal crash profile · State

Traffic deaths in West Virginia in 2020

State in United States

Deaths, 2020
267
Fatal crashes
249
Population
1.8M

In 2020, 267 people died in 249 fatal crashes in West Virginia. The death rate was 14.9 per 100,000 residents, compared with 11.8 in the United States. West Virginia had the 37th most traffic deaths of the 51 states and DC and the 16th-highest death rate. Pedestrians accounted for 7% of deaths, and 22% of fatal crashes were speeding-related.

Deaths

Traffic deaths

14.9

deaths per 100,000 residents in 2020

  • About 1.3 times the rate in the United States: 11.8

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

Road users

Who died

7%

of deaths were pedestrians

  • About 40 percent of the share in the United States: 17%
Who died in 2020
Category Deaths
Vehicle occupants and others 208
Pedestrians 18
Motorcyclists 38
Cyclists 3
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Deaths by type, 2020
Type Deaths Share in West Virginia Share in the US
Pedestrians 18 7% 17%
Motorcyclists 38 14% 14%
Cyclists 3 1% 2%
Alcohol-impaired driving crashes 74 28% 30%
Speeding-related crashes 60 22% 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

22%

of fatal crashes were speeding-related

  • About three-quarters of the share in the United States: 29%

33%

of fatal crashes involved a drinking driver

  • About 1.2 times the share in the United States: 27%
Crash factors in 2020
Category West Virginia United States
Speeding-related 32.5% 26.7%
Alcohol-involved 22.1% 28.6%
At night 42.6% 53.4%
At weekends 34.5% 32.9%

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

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Timing

When crashes happen

43%

of fatal crashes happened at night

  • About 80 percent of the share in the United States: 53%

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 3
1am 9
2am 3
3am 10
4am 2
5am 5
6am 10
7am 7
8am 7
9am 6
10am 13
11am 7
12pm 12
1pm 15
2pm 16
3pm 22
4pm 12
5pm 16
6pm 11
7pm 20
8pm 14
9pm 11
10pm 13
11pm 5

All crashes 2020.

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Fatal crashes by day of week
Category Fatal crashes
Sun 39
Mon 35
Tue 32
Wed 35
Thu 28
Fri 33
Sat 47

All crashes 2020.

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Fatal crashes by month
Category Fatal crashes
Jan 18
Feb 21
Mar 15
Apr 19
May 18
Jun 21
Jul 22
Aug 28
Sep 18
Oct 23
Nov 18
Dec 28

All crashes 2020.

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Conditions

Weather and light

Weather at the time of the crash
Category Fatal crashes
Clear 178
Rain 32
Cloudy 27
Snow 8
Fog, Smog, Smoke 4

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 145
Dark - Not Lighted 74
Dark - Lighted 12
Dusk 8
Dawn 8
Dark - Unknown Lighting 2

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-5011
  2. US-1199
  3. I-778
  4. I-817
  5. US-527
  6. US-2197
  7. US-607
  8. SR-146
  9. I-796
  10. SR-165

Road names as recorded in police reports.

Vehicles involved, by type
Category Vehicles
Cars 107
Pickup trucks 76
SUVs 74
Motorcycles 39
Medium and heavy trucks 34
Other vehicles 24
Vans 13
Buses 2
Other light trucks 1

All crashes 2020.

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Vehicles most often involved

  1. Chevrolet Silverado20
  2. Ford F-15010
  3. Toyota Tacoma9
  4. Chevrolet Cruze7
  5. Jeep Wrangler7
  6. Dodge Ram6
  7. Ford F-2505
  8. Ford F-3505
  9. Ram 15005
  10. Toyota Corolla5

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
Jun 14, 2020 Harrison County 1
Jun 14, 2020 Charleston, Kanawha County 1
Jun 14, 2020 Clear Fork, Wyoming County 1
Jun 13, 2020 Falling Spring, Greenbrier County 1
Jun 13, 2020 Upshur County 1
Jun 7, 2020 Martinsburg, Berkeley County 1
Jun 3, 2020 Mineral Wells, Wood County 1
Jun 2, 2020 Shepherdstown, Jefferson County 2
May 29, 2020 Wayne, Wayne County 1
May 29, 2020 Lizemores, Clay County 1
May 26, 2020 Morgantown, Monongalia County 1
May 25, 2020 Meadow Bridge, Fayette County 1
May 24, 2020 Montcalm, Mercer County 1
May 24, 2020 Romney, Hampshire County 1
May 23, 2020 Parkersburg, Wood County 1
May 23, 2020 Masontown, Preston County 2
May 23, 2020 Augusta, Hampshire County 1
May 23, 2020 Kopperston, Wyoming County 1
May 23, 2020 Walkersville, Lewis County 1
May 20, 2020 Elkins, Randolph County 1
May 18, 2020 Vienna, Wood County 1
May 17, 2020 Marshall County 1
May 15, 2020 Logan, Logan County 1
May 14, 2020 Elkins, Randolph County 1
May 1, 2020 Wayne, Wayne County 1

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Nearby and related

Counties in West Virginia in 2020

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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.