New York car accident statistics (2020-2024)

Car accident deaths in New York by year

Annual car accident deaths rose from 867 in 2020 to 953 in 2021 and reached 990 in 2022. The count then fell to 937 in 2023 and 897 in 2024. Within this period, 2022 had the highest count and 2020 had the lowest. The 2024 count was 30 deaths higher than the 2020 count.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

New York's share of the national car accident death total was 2.6% in 2020 and 2.6% in 2021. It was 2.7% in 2022, 2023 and 2024. For 2020 through 2024, the state accounted for 2.6% of the national total of 176,219 deaths. The annual counts and national shares describe deaths, rather than the number of fatal crashes.^{[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 New York car accidents

People in cars, SUVs, pickups or vans accounted for 2,677 deaths, or 57.6% of New York's car accident deaths from 2020 through 2024. This was the largest person category. People in other vehicles accounted for 592 deaths, or 12.7%, and were the smallest category. Nonoccupants (FARS person-type grouping) accounted for 1,375 deaths, or 29.6%.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Each category counts deaths in the selected passenger-vehicle-involved crashes. Nonoccupants (FARS person-type grouping) follows the FARS classification and can include occupants of parked motor vehicles. The category therefore is not a literal test of a person's position relative to a vehicle.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Collision types and setting

Manner of collision classifies the first harmful event. Deaths were: Angle (side impact), 831; Head-on, 598; Rear-end, 326; Sideswipe, 97; Other, 10; and Unknown, 4. Not a collision with a motor vehicle in transport accounted for 2,778 deaths. That row covers first harmful events such as striking a parked vehicle or fixed object, or a rollover, rather than collisions between motor vehicles in transport. Vehicles stopped in traffic can be in transport.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Daytime accounted for 2,147 car accident deaths (46.2%); nighttime accounted for 2,496 (53.7%). Urban locations recorded 3,504 deaths (75.5%), and rural locations recorded 1,130 (24.3%). Unknown classifications accounted for 1 death by time and 10 by land use.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Counties with the most car accident deaths

Suffolk County had the most car accident deaths at 626, followed by Nassau County at 334 and Queens County at 279. Erie County recorded 244 deaths; Kings County, 240; Monroe County, 209; Bronx County, 192; and Westchester County, 177. The remaining listed counts were Orange County, 141; New York County, 134; Dutchess County, 118; Onondaga County, 113; Oneida County, 92; Albany County, 88; and Niagara County, 85.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

These are death counts grouped by crash county. The separate rates measure average annual deaths per 100,000 residents. Among the listed counties, Suffolk County had the highest rate at 8.2, and New York County had the lowest at 1.6. Those rate comparisons apply to the listed counties, rather than every county statewide.^{[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 New York compares with the national rate

New York's car accident death rate was 4.7 average annual deaths per 100,000 residents for 2020 through 2024, compared with the national rate of 10.5. The state's rate was lower than the national rate. The corresponding death counts were 4,644 for New York and 176,219 for the United States.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

The rate calculation divides deaths during the period by the sum of annual Census Bureau population estimates and multiplies by 100,000. It does not adjust for miles driven or visitors. New York's separately displayed 2024 population estimate of 20,001,419 is not the denominator used for this calculation. Readers searching for a car accident lawyer should keep the table's crash-location counts distinct from its population-based rates.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

About these figures

Fatal motor vehicle traffic crashes are counted in the FARS census. To qualify for inclusion, a crash must involve a motor vehicle traveling on a trafficway customarily open to the public, with an occupant or nonoccupant death occurring within 30 days. The census excludes nonfatal crashes and injuries. Counts for states and counties are assigned according to where the crash occurred, not where the deceased person resided.^[8][6][7]

Records for 2020 through 2023 use FARS Final Files. The 2024 Annual Report File can change when replaced by the Final File. Rates use deaths divided by summed annual Census Bureau population estimates, Vintage 2025, multiplied by 100,000. They measure average annual deaths per 100,000 residents without adjustments for miles driven or visitors. The separately shown July 1, 2024 population estimate is not the rate denominator.^[8][6][7]

See also

• FARS Annual Report File and Final File
• Car accident statistics for Suffolk County, New York (2020-2024)
• Car accident statistics for Nassau County, New York (2020-2024)
• Car accident statistics for Queens County, New York (2020-2024)
• Car accident statistics for Erie County, New York (2020-2024)
• Car accident statistics for Kings County, New York (2020-2024)