Bristol County, Massachusetts: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Massachusetts by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 35 deaths in 33 fatal crashes in Bristol County in 2024.

FARS records 429 deaths in 403 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 7.5 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of Massachusetts in the same years is 5.3.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Bristol County was number 3 of 14 counties of Massachusetts.

Deaths in Bristol County fell by 9.7% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (475) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (429).

In the counties of Massachusetts the deaths fell by 4.0% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 0.5% of the fatal crashes in Bristol County with a known setting were rural, against 6.6% in Massachusetts.

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 Bristol County 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.Bristol County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	35	33	9
2023	42	38	14
2022	39	35	12
2021	46	44	20
2020	48	46	12
2019	51	47	13
2018	31	31	8
2017	45	44	17
2016	51	45	14
2015	41	40	8
2015 to 2024	429	403	127

Each year from 1975

Figure 2.Deaths in Bristol County by year, 1975 to 2024

Tallest column: 87 (1989)2024: 35

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

Table 2.Bristol County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	35	33
2023	42	38
2022	39	35
2021	46	44
2020	48	46
2019	51	47
2018	31	31
2017	45	44
2016	51	45
2015	41	40
2014	40	38
2013	36	35
2012	50	47
2011	57	53
2010	49	46
2009	37	34
2008	43	42
2007	52	48
2006	51	51
2005	60	58
2004	54	49
2003	56	54
2002	41	39
2001	52	50
2000	49	42
1999	51	46
1998	47	44
1997	48	43
1996	46	41
1995	44	42
1994	46	44
1993	58	53
1992	53	49
1991	44	40
1990	64	57
1989	87	78
1988	71	70
1987	59	58
1986	78	67
1985	63	60
1984	62	58
1983	61	58
1982	60	55
1981	67	56
1980	76	71
1979	63	56
1978	71	67
1977	73	68
1976	54	49
1975	76	71

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.Bristol County beside Massachusetts and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Bristol County	Massachusetts	United States
2024	5.9	5.1	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	7.5	5.3	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. Bristol County had 590,865 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Bristol County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Massachusetts
A driver recorded as drinkingof 403 fatal crashes	127	403 fatal crashes	31.5%	29.7%
A speeding-related driverof 403 fatal crashes	119	403 fatal crashes	29.5%	29.2%
No restraint usedof 233 occupant deaths with restraint use known	152	233 occupant deathswith restraint use known	65.2%	61.7%
Pedestriansof 429 deaths	68	429 deaths	15.9%	20.4%
Bicyclistsof 429 deaths	12	429 deaths	2.8%	2.3%
Motorcyclistsof 429 deaths	64	429 deaths	14.9%	15.6%
On a rural roadof 402 fatal crashes with the condition reported	1 or 2	402 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	0.5%	6.6%
In the darkof 402 fatal crashes with the condition reported	208	402 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	51.7%	48.5%

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.Bristol County: 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	29	5	13	25	72
Monday	5	7	11	15	38
Tuesday	7	12	16	13	48
Wednesday	6	11	20	11	48
Thursday	14	15	12	24	65
Friday	10	16	12	22	60
Saturday	23	7	17	22	69
All days	94	73	101	132	400

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.Bristol County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Massachusetts
Interstate	82	20.4%	15.9%
Other freeways and expressways	30	7.5%	4.3%
Other principal arterial	65	16.2%	30.6%
Minor arterial	121	30.1%	26.7%
Major collector	35	8.7%	10.0%
Minor collector	1 or 2	0.2%	0.9%
Local	68	16.9%	11.5%
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.Bristol County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	173
Dark, not lighted	98
Dark, lighted	103
Dawn	8
Dusk	13
Dark, lighting unknown	7
Other or unknown	1 or 2

Table 8.Bristol County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	298
Cloudy	48
Rain	36
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	3
Fog, smog or smoke	4
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	1 or 2
Other or not reported	12

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Bristol County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Bristol	In all of Massachusetts
Interstate 95	Interstate	16	88
Interstate 195	Interstate	41	51
Interstate 495	Interstate	22	148
State Route 18	State highway	11	29
State Route 24	State highway	21	58
State Route 138	State highway	13	21
State Route 140	State highway	23	45
US Route 1	US highway	4	45
US Route 6	US highway	24	48
US Route 44	US highway	16	20

Note: the table has each route with a page that has a fatal crash in the county, in name order. Local streets and county roads have no page. Their crashes are in the county totals. All routes in Massachusetts

Adjacent counties

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

Figure 3.Bristol County on the county map of Massachusetts

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

Fewer than 1013 counties
10 to 14.91 county
15 to 19.90 counties
20 to 29.90 counties
30 or more0 counties
Bristol County: 7.5

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 Massachusetts

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Bristol County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Barnstable County	Massachusetts	13	138	6.2
Dukes County	Massachusetts	1 or 2	10	5.2
Norfolk County	Massachusetts	37	368	5.1
Plymouth County	Massachusetts	40	370	7.0
Bristol County	Rhode Island	4	10	2.0
Newport County	Rhode Island	4	30	3.6
Providence County	Rhode Island	30	357	5.5

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

Counties of similar population

These counties of Massachusetts have a population nearest to that of Bristol County. The list is for navigation and is in name order. The number is the deaths from 2015 to 2024.

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.
Governors Highway Safety Association: State Highway Safety OfficesThe list of the highway safety offices of the states.

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

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Bristol County, Massachusetts: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/ma/bristol/. 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.

Embed this card on your site

Copy this code into your page. The card shows the figures above with their source. A line under the card links to this page.

<iframe src="https://fatalroads.com/embed/county/ma/bristol/" title="Fatal crashes in Bristol County, Massachusetts" width="100%" height="300" style="border:0;max-width:640px" loading="lazy"></iframe>
<p style="margin:4px 0 0;font-size:13px"><a href="https://fatalroads.com/county/ma/bristol/">Fatal crashes in Bristol County, Massachusetts</a>, from fatalroads.com</p>

How embedding works. It is free. Keep the link in the card and the link line under it.

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 Bristol in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 475 deaths in Bristol County from 2005 to 2014. It records 429 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Bristol in 2024?

The rate of Bristol County in 2024 was 5.9 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of Massachusetts was 5.1. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

How many fatal crashes in Bristol had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 127 of 403 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 Bristol?

10 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 191 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.