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

Car accident deaths in Florence County by year

Car accident deaths rose from 31 in 2020 to 39 in 2021, then fell to 37 in 2022, 30 in 2023 and 27 in 2024. The highest count was in 2021, while 2024 had the lowest count. The 2024 total was 4 deaths lower than the 2020 total.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

All traffic deaths followed the same direction of change: 32 in 2020, 41 in 2021, 39 in 2022, 30 in 2023 and 28 in 2024. The share attributed to car accidents was 96.9%, 95.1%, 94.9%, 100.0% and 96.4%, respectively. Although 2021 had the highest death count, the highest share was 100.0% in 2023. The lowest share was 94.9% in 2022.^{[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 Florence County car accidents

People in cars, SUVs, pickups or vans accounted for 112 deaths, or 68.3% of car accident deaths during 2020 through 2024. This was the largest person category. People in other vehicles accounted for 9 deaths, or 5.5%, the smallest category. Nonoccupants (FARS person-type grouping) accounted for 43 deaths, or 26.2%.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

These labels classify the people who died in the selected passenger-vehicle-involved crashes. They do not restrict the death count to occupants of passenger vehicles. Nonoccupants (FARS person-type grouping) follows the FARS classification rather than a literal test of whether someone was outside a vehicle.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

How the fatal car crashes happened

By manner of collision, Head-on accounted for 29 car accident deaths, or 17.7%; Angle (side impact) for 25, or 15.2%; Rear-end for 17, or 10.4%; and Sideswipe for 0, or 0.0%.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Not a collision with a motor vehicle in transport accounted for 93 deaths, or 56.7%. This describes the first harmful event, which can involve a fixed object, a parked vehicle or a rollover instead of a collision between motor vehicles in transport. A motor vehicle in transport can be stopped in traffic, so the classification does not depend on whether another vehicle was physically moving.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Time of day and setting

Nighttime, defined as 6 p.m. to 5:59 a.m., accounted for 92 car accident deaths, or 56.1%, during 2020 through 2024. Daytime, from 6 a.m. to 5:59 p.m., accounted for 72 deaths, or 43.9%. The nighttime count was higher than the daytime count.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

By land use, rural locations accounted for 93 deaths, or 56.7%, and urban locations for 71 deaths, or 43.3%. These categories describe crash locations in Florence County. Car accident deaths in crashes that also involved a large truck numbered 23, representing 14.0% of the selected deaths.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

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

Florence County's car accident death rate was 23.9 average annual deaths per 100,000 residents for 2020 through 2024. That rate was higher than South Carolina's 18.4 and the national rate of 10.5. Sumter County, the listed neighboring county, had a rate of 24.1, higher than Florence County's 23.9.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

The corresponding death counts were 164 in Florence County, 4,883 in South Carolina, 176,219 nationally and 126 in Sumter County. Rates divide each area's deaths by the sum of its annual Census population estimates and multiply by 100,000. They do not adjust for miles driven or visitors. These are average annual rates for the period, rather than rates calculated from the 2024 population alone.^{[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 Florence County, of any vehicle type, rather than only car accidents. Shares use all traffic deaths. Speeding-related crashes accounted for 64 deaths (37.6%); roadway departure, 82 (48.2%); at an intersection, 28 (16.5%); pedestrian involved, 37 (21.8%); motorcycle involved, 8 (4.7%); hit-and-run, 10 (5.9%); driver distraction reported, 6 (3.5%); and in a work zone, 0 (0.0%).^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

A crash can have several recorded characteristics, so these rows overlap and do not add to 100%. The entries are recorded characteristics, not findings of fault or cause. Roadway departure had the largest death count of the characteristics listed.^{[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. Inclusion requires a motor vehicle traveling on a trafficway customarily open to the public and a death within 30 days. Nonfatal crashes and injuries are excluded. Whether searching for a car accident lawyer or reviewing statistics, read these counts by crash location, not by where those killed lived.^[8][6][7]

The 2020 through 2023 figures use FARS Final Files; 2024 uses the revisable Annual Report File. Rates use summed annual Census Bureau population estimates from Vintage 2025, with deaths divided by that sum and multiplied by 100,000. The separate July 1, 2024 population estimate of 138,317 is not the denominator.^[8][6][7]

See also

• South Carolina car accident statistics (2020-2024)