District of Columbia, District of Columbia: fatal crash statistics

Counties of District of Columbia by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 47 deaths in 46 fatal crashes in the District of Columbia in 2024.

FARS records 335 deaths in 317 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 4.9 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

Deaths in the District of Columbia rose by 11.3% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (301) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (335).

To qualify as a FARS case, the crash had to involve a motor vehicle traveling on a trafficway customarily open to the public and must have resulted in the death of a motorist or a non-motorist within 30 days of the crash.
The set of first files, known as the Annual Report File (ARF), is released following the crash year. The ARF is replaced about a year later with a final file, which contains additional cases or updates to cases that had become available after the ARF was released.
NHTSA's words. Source: NHTSA, Fatality Analysis Reporting System Analytical User's Manual, 1975-2024 (DOT HS 813 794, April 2026), copied on 2 Oct 2026.

This page rests on the FARS 2024 annual file. NHTSA released it on 1 Apr 2026. NHTSA can revise the counts in the final file. Release dates

Figure 1.Deaths in District of Columbia by year, 2015 to 2024

Table 1 has the numbers. Go to the table

Since the last update: no figure of this county has a change on record.

Deaths and fatal crashes by year

Table 1.District of Columbia: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	47	46	7
2023	44	39	13
2022	32	28	8
2021	41	40	8
2020	36	34	9
2019	23	22	3
2018	31	30	5
2017	31	29	12
2016	27	26	10
2015	23	23	5
2015 to 2024	335	317	80

Each year from 1975

Figure 2.Deaths in District of Columbia by year, 1975 to 2024

Tallest column: 72 (1989)2024: 47

The columns with a stronger shade are the years 2015 to 2024.

Table 2.District of Columbia: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	47	46
2023	44	39
2022	32	28
2021	41	40
2020	36	34
2019	23	22
2018	31	30
2017	31	29
2016	27	26
2015	23	23
2014	23	21
2013	20	20
2012	15	14
2011	27	22
2010	24	24
2009	29	28
2008	34	32
2007	44	36
2006	37	33
2005	48	44
2004	43	41
2003	67	63
2002	47	43
2001	68	58
2000	48	45
1999	41	40
1998	53	49
1997	60	57
1996	62	58
1995	58	54
1994	69	65
1993	57	55
1992	50	47
1991	63	60
1990	48	46
1989	72	70
1988	61	56
1987	53	51
1986	44	44
1985	60	57
1984	64	56
1983	66	58
1982	35	34
1981	49	46
1980	41	38
1979	44	42
1978	49	47
1977	58	57
1976	56	52
1975	70	70

Note: a count of 1 or 2 is written "1 or 2". A death is in FARS when it occurs in 30 days or less after the crash.

Rate for each 100,000 residents

Table 3.District of Columbia beside District of Columbia and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	District of Columbia	District of Columbia	United States
2024	6.8	6.8	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	4.9	4.9	11.8

Note: the rate divides the deaths in the county by its residents. Persons who do not live in the county are in the deaths, not in the residents.

Population: Census Bureau estimates, vintage 2025. District of Columbia had 691,310 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.District of Columbia: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in District of Columbia
A driver recorded as drinkingof 317 fatal crashes	80	317 fatal crashes	25.2%	25.2%
A speeding-related driverof 317 fatal crashes	140	317 fatal crashes	44.2%	44.2%
No restraint usedof 93 occupant deaths with restraint use known	50	93 occupant deathswith restraint use known	53.8%	53.8%
Pedestriansof 335 deaths	128	335 deaths	38.2%	38.2%
Bicyclistsof 335 deaths	19	335 deaths	5.7%	5.7%
Motorcyclistsof 335 deaths	58	335 deaths	17.3%	17.3%
On a rural roadof 316 fatal crashes with the condition reported	0	316 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	0.0%	0.0%
In the darkof 316 fatal crashes with the condition reported	211	316 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	66.8%	66.8%

Note: FARS records a driver as drinking when police reported alcohol involvement or a test of the driver was positive for alcohol. It is not NHTSA's alcohol-impaired measure, which uses a blood alcohol concentration of .08 g/dL or higher. One crash can be in two or more rows. NHTSA's definitions

Note that alcohol data is often missing. For that reason, this data element may under-count the actual number of drinking drivers.

NHTSA's words. Source: NHTSA, Fatality Analysis Reporting System Analytical User's Manual, 1975-2024 (DOT HS 813 794, April 2026), copied on 2 Oct 2026.

Weekday, time and road class

Table 5.District of Columbia: fatal crashes by weekday and time of day, 2015 to 2024
Weekday	Midnight to 6 a.m.	6 a.m. to noon	Noon to 6 p.m.	6 p.m. to midnight	All
Sunday	25	1 or 2	3	20	50
Monday	12	9	6	15	42
Tuesday	7	5	5	22	39
Wednesday	6	5	8	18	37
Thursday	12	6	12	13	43
Friday	17	5	12	20	54
Saturday	21	8	7	16	52
All days	100	40	53	124	317

Note: a cell with a stronger shade has a larger count. The table has the fatal crashes with a known hour and weekday.

Table 6.District of Columbia: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in District of Columbia
Interstate	20	6.3%	6.3%
Other freeways and expressways	9	2.8%	2.8%
Other principal arterial	55	17.4%	17.4%
Minor arterial	81	25.6%	25.6%
Major collector	26	8.2%	8.2%
Minor collector	1 or 2	0.6%	0.6%
Local	123	38.9%	38.9%
Not reported	1 or 2	n/a	n/a

Note: the classes are those of the Federal Highway Administration. The shares are of the crashes with a reported class. Road function classes

Light condition and weather

Table 7.District of Columbia: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	99
Dark, not lighted	10
Dark, lighted	199
Dawn	1 or 2
Dusk	5
Dark, lighting unknown	1 or 2
Other or unknown	1 or 2

Table 8.District of Columbia: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	292
Cloudy	1 or 2
Rain	21
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
Fog, smog or smoke	0
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	3

Routes in the county

No signed route in District of Columbia has a page. A route page needs 20 or more fatal crashes in a state from 2015 to 2024. Routes by state

Adjacent counties

These lists are for navigation. They are in name order.

Figure 3.District of Columbia on the county map of District of Columbia

Deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year, 2015 to 2024

Fewer than 101 county
10 to 14.90 counties
15 to 19.90 counties
20 to 29.90 counties
30 or more0 counties
District of Columbia: 4.9

The limits of the classes are the same for every state. A county with few residents can show a high rate from few deaths. A class is not a judgement of a county. The full map and the table of counties of District of Columbia

Table 9.Counties that share a boundary line with District of Columbia
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Montgomery County	Maryland	47	425	4.0
Prince George's County	Maryland	101	1,090	11.7
Alexandria city	Virginia	6	49	3.1
Arlington County	Virginia	1 or 2	45	1.9

Source of the list: Census Bureau county adjacency file, 2026 edition.

Official channels

NHTSA Fatality and Injury Reporting System Tool (FIRST)NHTSA's query tool for FARS counts.
NHTSA FARS EncyclopediaNHTSA's tables of FARS data.
District of Columbia Highway Safety OfficeThe highway safety office of the District of Columbia.

These links go to the sites of the agencies. They were checked on 2 Oct 2026.

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. District of Columbia, District of Columbia: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/dc/district-of-columbia/. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatality Analysis Reporting System, FARS 2024 annual file. Data to 31 Dec 2024.

The address of this page does not change.

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Source of the figures

Counts: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatality Analysis Reporting System, national files of 1975 to 2024. The factors use the vehicle and person files from 2015. Residents: Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, vintage 2025. Map: Census Bureau cartographic boundary file, 2021 edition. Data to 31 Dec 2024. The figures are totals. No page of this site is about one crash or one person.

How the figures are made. Data sources and licences. Corrections.

Questions

How many deaths did FARS record in the District of Columbia in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 301 deaths in the District of Columbia from 2005 to 2014. It records 335 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of the District of Columbia in 2024?

The rate of the District of Columbia in 2024 was 6.8 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

How many fatal crashes in the District of Columbia had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 80 of 317 fatal crashes from 2015 to 2024. This count is not NHTSA's alcohol-impaired measure. NHTSA says that alcohol data is often missing, so the count may be too low.

How many fatal crashes did FARS record on signed routes in the District of Columbia?

No signed route in the county has a page. A route page needs 20 or more fatal crashes in a state from 2015 to 2024. The county totals include crashes on all public roads.