Maine car accident statistics (2020-2024)

Car accident deaths in Maine by year

Car accident deaths fell from 141 in 2020 to 134 in 2021, then rose to 162 in 2022. The count fell to 117 in 2023 before rising to 150 in 2024. The highest count was in 2022, and the lowest was in 2023. The 2024 count was 9 deaths higher than the 2020 count.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Maine's share of the national car accident death total was 0.4% in 2020, 2021 and 2022, 0.3% in 2023, and 0.4% in 2024. For the full period, Maine accounted for 0.4% of the 176,219 deaths nationally. The annual share of Maine traffic deaths classified as car accident deaths ranged from 84.7% in 2024 to 89.0% in 2022.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

2024 figures come from the FARS Annual Report File and can be revised when NHTSA publishes the final file.

Who died in Maine car accidents

People in cars, SUVs, pickups or vans accounted for 559 deaths, or 79.4% of car accident deaths during 2020 through 2024. This was the largest person category. People in other vehicles accounted for 66 deaths, or 9.4%, the smallest category. Nonoccupants (FARS person-type grouping) accounted for 79 deaths, or 11.2%.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Each category counts people killed in the selected passenger-vehicle-involved crashes in Maine. The labels distinguish FARS person and vehicle classifications; the nonoccupant label is not a literal test of whether someone was outside a vehicle. These counts use crash location, not residency.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Collision types and setting

Manner of collision describes the first harmful event. Deaths by row were Angle (side impact), 120; Head-on, 116; Rear-end, 23; Sideswipe, 15; Other, 16; and Unknown, 1. Not a collision with a motor vehicle in transport accounted for 413 deaths (58.7%). That row means the first harmful event was not between motor vehicles in transport, including rollovers or impacts with fixed objects. Vehicles stopped in traffic can be in transport.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Daytime accounted for 438 deaths (62.2%), and nighttime for 266 (37.8%). Urban accounted for 136 deaths (19.3%), rural for 564 (80.1%), and unknown land use for 4 (0.6%). These figures cover car accident deaths from 2020 through 2024.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Counties with the most car accident deaths

York County had the most car accident deaths during 2020 through 2024, with 94, followed by Cumberland County with 90, Penobscot County with 86, Kennebec County with 74 and Hancock County with 58. The listed counts continued with Androscoggin County at 52, Somerset County at 42, Oxford County at 40, Aroostook County at 32 and Washington County at 28. Waldo County recorded 24 deaths, Knox County 20, Franklin County 19, Lincoln County 19 and Piscataquis County 14.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

Counts and rates describe different measures. Among the listed counties, Hancock County had the highest average annual rate at 20.5 deaths per 100,000 residents; Cumberland County had the lowest at 5.8. York County's rate was 8.7. Each death can sharply change a rate where death counts are small.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

Up to 15 counties with the most deaths in the period, largest first. Rates for counties with few deaths change sharply with each death.

How Maine compares with the national rate

The Maine car accident death rate was 10.1, compared with the national rate of 10.5. Both figures measure average annual deaths per 100,000 residents for 2020 through 2024. Maine's rate was lower than the national rate. The corresponding death counts were 704 in Maine and 176,219 across the United States.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

The calculation divides deaths during the period by the sum of annual Census Bureau population estimates, then multiplies by 100,000. It does not adjust for miles driven or visitors. Maine's July 1, 2024 population estimate of 1,408,438 is displayed separately and is not the denominator. When reading these figures while searching for a car accident lawyer, keep their grouping by crash location in mind.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

About these figures

FARS is NHTSA's census of fatal motor vehicle traffic crashes. Inclusion requires a motor vehicle traveling on a trafficway customarily open to the public and a vehicle occupant or nonoccupant dying within 30 days. Nonfatal crashes and injuries are excluded. State and county counts follow crash location, not the home of the person killed.^[8][6][7]

Records for 2020 through 2023 come from FARS Final Files. The 2024 Annual Report File can be revised when the Final File replaces it. Rates use summed annual Census Bureau population estimates from Vintage 2025 to express average annual deaths per 100,000 residents, without adjustment for miles driven or visitors. The separate July 1, 2024 estimate is not the rate denominator.^[8][6][7]

See also

• FARS Annual Report File and Final File