Car accident statistics for Franklin County, Ohio (2020-2024)

Car accident deaths in Franklin County by year

Car accident deaths in Franklin County ranged across the five years tracked, moving from 107 in 2020 to 100 in 2021, then to 109 in 2022 and 113 in 2023 before dropping to 72 in 2024. The highest year was 2023, with 113 deaths, and the lowest was 2024, with 72 deaths. Measured from 2020 to 2024, deaths were 35 lower. All traffic deaths peaked at 129 in 2023 and fell to 89 in 2024, with the share of all traffic deaths occurring in car accidents ranging from 80.0% in 2021 to 87.6% in 2023.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Deaths within 30 days in crashes on public roads. 2024 figures come from the FARS Annual Report File and can be revised.

Who died in Franklin County car accidents

Among the 501 car accident deaths recorded in Franklin County from 2020 through 2024, People in cars, SUVs, pickups or vans accounted for 325 deaths, or 64.9% of the total, making up the majority of people killed. People in other vehicles accounted for 70 deaths, or 14.0%. Nonoccupants (FARS person-type grouping) accounted for 106 deaths, or 21.2%, covering pedestrians, pedalcyclists and other or unknown nonoccupants under the FARS classification system.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

How the fatal car crashes happened

Manner of collision data show that Not a collision with a motor vehicle in transport accounted for 248 deaths, or 49.5% of car accident deaths in Franklin County from 2020 through 2024. That category covers crashes whose first harmful event was not a collision between motor vehicles in transport, such as striking a pedestrian, a cyclist, a parked vehicle or a fixed object, or a rollover. Angle (side impact) crashes recorded 119 deaths (23.8% of car accident deaths), Head-on crashes recorded 62 deaths (12.4%), Rear-end crashes recorded 47 deaths (9.4%), and Sideswipe crashes recorded 19 deaths (3.8%). Other and Unknown manners accounted for 1 and 5 deaths respectively.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Time of day and setting

Nighttime hours, defined as 6 p.m. to 5:59 a.m., accounted for 320 car accident deaths in Franklin County from 2020 through 2024, a majority of the total, compared with 181 deaths during daytime hours of 6 a.m. to 5:59 p.m. Urban land use accounted for 493 deaths, or 98.4%, while rural land use accounted for 6 deaths, or 1.2%, with 2 deaths of unknown land use. Crashes that also involved a large truck accounted for 42 car accident deaths, or 8.4% of the county total.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Car accident death rate compared with Ohio and the United States

Franklin County's average annual rate of car accident deaths was 7.5 per 100,000 residents from 2020 through 2024. That rate sits below the Ohio rate of 8.9 per 100,000 and below the national rate of 10.5 per 100,000. Among the areas compared, the United States recorded the highest rate at 10.5 and Franklin County recorded the lowest at 7.5. This rate reflects average annual deaths per 100,000 residents and does not adjust for miles driven or for visitors to the county.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

Rates divide deaths by the sum of annual Census population estimates, so they show deaths per 100,000 residents per year. They do not adjust for miles driven or for visitors.

Recorded characteristics of all fatal crashes

Looking at all fatal crashes in Franklin County of any vehicle type, roadway departure was a recorded characteristic in 242 deaths, or 40.9% of all traffic deaths, the largest share among the characteristics listed. At an intersection was recorded in 210 deaths (35.5%), pedestrian involved in 141 deaths (23.9%), hit-and-run in 98 deaths (16.6%), motorcycle involved in 96 deaths (16.2%), and speeding-related in 109 deaths (18.4%). Driver distraction reported appeared in 14 deaths (2.4%) and in a work zone in 7 deaths (1.2%), the smallest share listed. Because a single crash can carry several characteristics, these shares overlap and do not add to 100%.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

A crash can carry several characteristics, so the rows overlap and do not add to 100%. These are recorded characteristics, not findings of fault.

About these figures

Figures on this page come from NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System, which compiles a census of fatal motor vehicle traffic crashes on public trafficways where someone dies within 30 days. Deaths are grouped by the county where the crash occurred rather than by where those killed lived. Data for 2020 through 2023 come from FARS Final Files, while 2024 data come from the FARS Annual Report File, which can be revised once NHTSA issues the final version. Rates divide five-year deaths by the summed annual population estimates for those years. A reader using this page as a car accident lawyer might note that these groupings are by crash location, not residency. FARS counts only fatal crashes, so nonfatal crashes and injuries are not part of these figures.^[8][6][7]

See also

• Ohio car accident statistics (2020-2024)