Car accident statistics for Oklahoma County, Oklahoma (2020-2024)

Car accident deaths in Oklahoma County by year

Car accident deaths rose from 63 in 2020 to 91 in 2021, fell to 81 in 2022, and rose to 94 in 2023. The count then fell to 89 in 2024. The highest count was 94 in 2023, and the lowest was 63 in 2020. The 2024 count was 26 deaths higher than the 2020 count.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

All traffic deaths followed the same sequence of increases and decreases: 74 in 2020, 107 in 2021, 93 in 2022, 110 in 2023 and 102 in 2024. The car accident share was 85.1%, 85.0%, 87.1%, 85.5% and 87.3%, respectively. That share was highest in 2024 and lowest in 2021.^{[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 Oklahoma County car accidents

People in cars, SUVs, pickups or vans accounted for 228 deaths, or 54.5% of car accident deaths during 2020 through 2024. This was the largest person category. People in other vehicles accounted for 51 deaths, or 12.2%, the smallest category. Nonoccupants (FARS person-type grouping) accounted for 139 deaths, or 33.3%.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Each category counts deaths in crashes involving a passenger vehicle. The category names describe the FARS grouping of the people killed; they do not restrict the count to passenger vehicle occupants. These figures are assigned to Oklahoma County by crash location, regardless of where those killed lived.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

How the fatal car crashes happened

Manner of collision describes the first harmful event in a car accident. Angle (side impact) accounted for 74 deaths (17.7%), Head-on for 39 (9.3%), Rear-end for 34 (8.1%) and Sideswipe for 15 (3.6%). Other accounted for 3 deaths (0.7%).^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Not a collision with a motor vehicle in transport accounted for 253 deaths (60.5%). This means the first harmful event was not a collision between motor vehicles in transport. Examples include striking a pedestrian, cyclist, parked vehicle or fixed object, or a rollover. A motor vehicle in transport can be stopped in traffic; physical movement is not the defining test.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Time of day and setting

For 2020 through 2024, daytime (6 a.m. to 5:59 p.m.) accounted for 164 car accident deaths (39.2%). Nighttime (6 p.m. to 5:59 a.m.) accounted for 247 deaths (59.1%), the majority. Time of day was unknown for 7 deaths (1.7%).^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

The land-use classification was urban for 394 deaths (94.3%) and rural for 20 deaths (4.8%). It was unknown for 4 deaths (1.0%). In a separate measure of vehicle involvement, crashes that also involved a large truck accounted for 36 car accident deaths, or 8.6% of the county's passenger-vehicle-involved death count.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Car accident death rate compared with Oklahoma and the United States

Oklahoma County's car accident death rate was 10.4 average annual deaths per 100,000 residents for 2020 through 2024. It was lower than Oklahoma's rate of 15.0 and the national rate of 10.5. The listed neighboring county, Cleveland County, had a rate of 8.2, lower than Oklahoma County's rate.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

The corresponding death counts were 418 for Oklahoma County, 3,016 for Oklahoma, 176,219 for the United States and 123 for Cleveland County. Rates divide deaths by the sum of annual Census population estimates and multiply by 100,000. They do not adjust for miles driven or visitors. The separately displayed 2024 population estimate of 818,198 is not the denominator used for Oklahoma County's rate.^{[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

Recorded characteristics cover all fatal crashes in Oklahoma County, of any vehicle type. Shares use all traffic deaths, rather than car accident deaths. Speeding-related crashes accounted for 143 deaths (29.4%); roadway departure, 162 (33.3%); at an intersection, 115 (23.7%); and pedestrian involved, 141 (29.0%).^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Motorcycle involved accounted for 85 deaths (17.5%); hit-and-run, 74 (15.2%); driver distraction reported, 39 (8.0%); and in a work zone, 20 (4.1%). A crash can have several recorded characteristics, so the rows overlap and their shares are not additive. These classifications are not findings of fault or cause.^{[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

FARS is a census of fatal motor vehicle traffic crashes involving a motor vehicle on a trafficway customarily open to the public and a death within 30 days. It excludes nonfatal crashes and injuries. For readers searching for a car accident lawyer, these counts group deaths by crash county, not home county.^[8][6][7]

Data for 2020 through 2023 use FARS Final Files; 2024 uses the revisable Annual Report File. Rates divide 2020 through 2024 deaths by summed annual Census Bureau population estimates from Vintage 2025, then multiply by 100,000 to express average annual deaths per 100,000 residents. They do not adjust for miles driven or visitors. The July 1, 2024 population estimate is displayed separately, not used as the rate denominator.^[8][6][7]

See also

• Oklahoma car accident statistics (2020-2024)