Car accident statistics for Berkeley County, South Carolina (2020-2024)

Car accident deaths in Berkeley County by year

Car accident deaths fell from 58 in 2020 to 30 in 2021, rose to 46 in 2022 and reached 53 in 2023. The count then fell to 33 in 2024. The highest count was 58 in 2020, and the lowest was 30 in 2021. The 2024 count was 25 deaths lower than the 2020 count.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

All traffic deaths numbered 60 in 2020, 33 in 2021, 49 in 2022, 61 in 2023 and 37 in 2024. The share attributed to car accidents was 96.7%, 90.9%, 93.9%, 86.9% and 89.2%, respectively. Although 2020 had the highest car accident death count, 2023 had the highest count of all traffic deaths.^{[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 Berkeley County car accidents

People in cars, SUVs, pickups or vans accounted for 152 deaths, or 69.1%, the largest share of car accident deaths in Berkeley County from 2020 through 2024. People in other vehicles accounted for 19 deaths, or 8.6%, the smallest of the listed person categories. Nonoccupants (FARS person-type grouping) accounted for 49 deaths, or 22.3%.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

The categories describe people killed in the selected passenger vehicle crashes, using FARS person and vehicle classifications. For readers searching for a car accident lawyer, the counting distinction is that these deaths are grouped by crash location rather than residence.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

How the fatal car crashes happened

Manner of collision describes the first harmful event in a crash. Head-on collisions accounted for 41 deaths, or 18.6%; Angle (side impact) for 34, or 15.5%; Rear-end for 19, or 8.6%; and Sideswipe for 9, or 4.1%.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

The largest category, Not a collision with a motor vehicle in transport, accounted for 117 car accident deaths, or 53.2%. 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 does not define the category.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Time of day and setting

Nighttime, defined as 6 p.m. to 5:59 a.m., accounted for 130 car accident deaths, or 59.1%, in Berkeley County during 2020 through 2024. Daytime, from 6 a.m. to 5:59 p.m., accounted for 90 deaths, or 40.9%. The nighttime death count was higher than the daytime count.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

The land-use classification recorded 96 deaths, or 43.6%, as urban and 124 deaths, or 56.4%, as rural. Rural deaths were the larger category. Crashes that also involved a large truck accounted for 27 car accident deaths, or 12.3% of the county's car accident deaths.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Car accident death rate compared with South Carolina and the United States

Berkeley County's rate was 17.8 average annual deaths per 100,000 residents for 2020 through 2024. South Carolina's rate was 18.4, and the United States rate was 10.5. The county's car accident death rate was lower than the state rate and higher than the national rate.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

Among the listed neighboring counties, rates were 14.9 in Charleston County, 47.8 in Orangeburg County and 13.0 in Dorchester County. Orangeburg County had the highest rate among the listed neighboring counties, while Dorchester County had the lowest. These 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, and the separate 2024 population estimate is not the denominator.^{[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 Berkeley County, of any vehicle type, rather than only car accident crashes. Shares use all traffic deaths: Speeding-related, 42.5%; Roadway departure, 51.7%; At an intersection, 14.2%; Pedestrian involved, 18.3%; Motorcycle involved, 13.3%; Hit-and-run, 3.8%; Driver distraction reported, 1.7%; and In a work zone, 1.7%.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Roadway departure had the largest listed share, with 124 deaths. Driver distraction reported and In a work zone each recorded 4 deaths. Characteristics can overlap within a crash, so the rows are not additive. These entries describe recorded characteristics and do not establish 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, with a death within 30 days. It excludes nonfatal crashes and injuries. County assignment follows crash location, not where the people killed lived.^[8][6][7]

The 2020 through 2023 figures use FARS Final Files. The 2024 figures use the Annual Report File and may change when the Final File replaces it. Car accident rates use deaths divided by summed annual Census Bureau population estimates, Vintage 2025, multiplied by 100,000. The separately displayed July 1, 2024 population estimate of 265,992 is not the rate denominator.^[8][6][7]

See also

• Car accident statistics for Charleston County, South Carolina (2020-2024)
• Car accident statistics for Orangeburg County, South Carolina (2020-2024)
• South Carolina car accident statistics (2020-2024)