Traffic Deaths in This State Soared 32% Last Year
American traffic deaths dropped 2% in 2019. It was the third consecutive annual decline. But these deaths rose more than 32% in Wyoming.
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The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Safety Administration made its annual report on American traffic deaths. For 2019, the figure dropped 2% to 36,096. It was the third consecutive annual decline. However, the figures were very uneven by state. They ranged from an increase of over 32% to a drop of more than 31%.
Traffic deaths were spread among three categories. Those in which a car or truck was driven by an individual numbered 23,744 in 2019, down 2.4%. Motorcycle accidents killed 5,014 people, a decline of 0.5%. Pedestrian deaths, which have an official designation of “non-occupied fatalities,” dropped 1.7% to 7,338. Of these, 6,205 were pedestrians, while 846 were on bicycles.
These deaths rose 32.4% in Wyoming to 147. That was well ahead of the next state, Delaware, where the figure rose by 18.9% to 132. The only other state with a double-digit increase was Maine, where the number jumped 15.4% to 157.
At the other end of the spectrum was New Hampshire, where deaths dropped 31.3% to 101. The next largest decrease was in neighboring Vermont, down 30.9% to 47. The only other state where the decline was over 20% was South Dakota, where the number was 21.5% lower to 102.
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Among the largest states by population, traffic deaths in California declined 5.1% to 3,606. They slipped 0.9% in Texas to 3,615. The figure in Florida was 1.5% higher to 3,183. In New York, traffic deaths dropped 3.4% to 931.
These are the numbers by state:
| State | 2018 | 2019 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 953 | 930 | −2.4% |
| Alaska | 80 | 67 | −16.3% |
| Arizona | 1,011 | 981 | −3.0% |
| Arkansas | 520 | 505 | −2.9% |
| California | 3,798 | 3,606 | −5.1% |
| Colorado | 632 | 596 | −5.7% |
| Connecticut | 293 | 249 | −15.0% |
| Delaware | 111 | 132 | 18.9% |
| District of Columbia | 31 | 23 | −25.8% |
| Florida | 3,135 | 3,183 | 1.5% |
| Georgia | 1,505 | 1,491 | −0.9% |
| Hawaii | 117 | 108 | −7.7% |
| Idaho | 234 | 224 | −4.3% |
| Illinois | 1,035 | 1,009 | −2.5% |
| Indiana | 860 | 809 | −5.9% |
| Iowa | 319 | 336 | 5.3% |
| Kansas | 405 | 411 | 1.5% |
| Kentucky | 724 | 732 | 1.1% |
| Louisiana | 771 | 727 | −5.7% |
| Maine | 136 | 157 | 15.4% |
| Maryland | 512 | 521 | 1.8% |
| Massachusetts | 355 | 334 | −5.9% |
| Michigan | 977 | 985 | 0.8% |
| Minnesota | 381 | 364 | −4.5% |
| Mississippi | 663 | 643 | −3.0% |
| Missouri | 921 | 880 | −4.5% |
| Montana | 181 | 184 | 1.7% |
| Nebraska | 230 | 248 | 7.8% |
| Nevada | 329 | 304 | −7.6% |
| New Hampshire | 147 | 101 | −31.3% |
| New Jersey | 563 | 559 | −0.7% |
| New Mexico | 392 | 424 | 8.2% |
| New York | 964 | 931 | −3.4% |
| North Carolina | 1,436 | 1,373 | −4.4% |
| North Dakota | 105 | 100 | −4.8% |
| Ohio | 1,068 | 1,153 | 8.0% |
| Oklahoma | 655 | 640 | −2.3% |
| Oregon | 502 | 489 | −2.6% |
| Pennsylvania | 1,190 | 1,059 | −11.0% |
| Rhode Island | 59 | 57 | −3.4% |
| South Carolina | 1,036 | 1,001 | −3.4% |
| South Dakota | 130 | 102 | −21.5% |
| Tennessee | 1,040 | 1,135 | 9.1% |
| Texas | 3,648 | 3,615 | −0.9% |
| Utah | 260 | 248 | −4.6% |
| Vermont | 68 | 47 | −30.9% |
| Virginia | 820 | 831 | 1.3% |
| Washington | 539 | 519 | −3.7% |
| West Virginia | 294 | 260 | −11.6% |
| Wisconsin | 589 | 566 | −3.9% |
| Wyoming | 111 | 147 | 32.4% |
| U.S. Total | 36,835 | 36,096 | −2.0% |
| Puerto Rico | 308 | 289 | −6.2% |
Note: U.S. total excludes Puerto Rico.
Source: FARS 2018 Final File, 2019 ARF.
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