Caroline County, Maryland: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Maryland by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 10 deaths in 8 fatal crashes in Caroline County in 2024.

FARS records 75 deaths in 65 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 22.5 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of Maryland in the same years is 9.1.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Caroline County was number 18 of 24 counties of Maryland.

Deaths in Caroline County fell by 10.7% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (84) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (75).

In the counties of Maryland the deaths rose by 2.4% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 90.8% of the fatal crashes in Caroline County with a known setting were rural, against 18.6% in Maryland.

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 Caroline 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.Caroline County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	10	8	0
2023	12	8	0
2022	6	5	1 or 2
2021	3	3	1 or 2
2020	5	5	1 or 2
2019	5	5	1 or 2
2018	11	10	1 or 2
2017	8	8	1 or 2
2016	9	7	4
2015	6	6	3
2015 to 2024	75	65	14

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 18 (1985)2024: 10

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

Table 2.Caroline County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	10	8
2023	12	8
2022	6	5
2021	3	3
2020	5	5
2019	5	5
2018	11	10
2017	8	8
2016	9	7
2015	6	6
2014	12	12
2013	8	7
2012	4	4
2011	8	8
2010	8	8
2009	4	4
2008	11	10
2007	5	5
2006	14	13
2005	10	9
2004	11	10
2003	7	7
2002	7	7
2001	4	4
2000	9	7
1999	12	11
1998	6	5
1997	11	11
1996	4	4
1995	9	8
1994	4	4
1993	13	12
1992	9	9
1991	10	10
1990	7	6
1989	6	4
1988	6	6
1987	11	9
1986	7	7
1985	18	13
1984	10	8
1983	6	5
1982	3	3
1981	4	4
1980	3	3
1979	6	6
1978	6	6
1977	4	4
1976	6	5
1975	8	7

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.Caroline County beside Maryland and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Caroline County	Maryland	United States
2024	29.4	9.3	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	22.5	9.1	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. Caroline County had 34,059 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Caroline County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Maryland
A driver recorded as drinkingof 65 fatal crashes	14	65 fatal crashes	21.5%	27.9%
A speeding-related driverof 65 fatal crashes	14	65 fatal crashes	21.5%	26.2%
No restraint usedof 56 occupant deaths with restraint use known	22	56 occupant deathswith restraint use known	39.3%	43.4%
Pedestriansof 75 deaths	3	75 deaths	4.0%	23.1%
Bicyclistsof 75 deaths	1 or 2	75 deaths	1.3%	2.0%
Motorcyclistsof 75 deaths	6	75 deaths	8.0%	14.5%
On a rural roadof 65 fatal crashes with the condition reported	59	65 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	90.8%	18.6%
In the darkof 65 fatal crashes with the condition reported	22	65 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	33.8%	54.2%

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.Caroline 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	3	1 or 2	3	3	11
Monday	0	1 or 2	1 or 2	1 or 2	5
Tuesday	3	3	3	3	12
Wednesday	0	7	1 or 2	3	11
Thursday	1 or 2	1 or 2	1 or 2	1 or 2	4
Friday	4	1 or 2	5	0	11
Saturday	1 or 2	4	1 or 2	5	11
All days	12	21	16	16	65

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.Caroline County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Maryland
Interstate	0	0.0%	12.9%
Other freeways and expressways	0	0.0%	6.8%
Other principal arterial	12	18.5%	34.3%
Minor arterial	22	33.8%	21.2%
Major collector	13	20.0%	13.2%
Minor collector	6	9.2%	2.4%
Local	12	18.5%	9.0%
Not reported	0	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.Caroline County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	34
Dark, not lighted	18
Dark, lighted	3
Dawn	5
Dusk	4
Dark, lighting unknown	1 or 2
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Caroline County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	49
Cloudy	4
Rain	8
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
Fog, smog or smoke	1 or 2
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	1 or 2
Other or not reported	1 or 2

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Caroline County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Caroline	In all of Maryland
State Route 313	State highway	14	23
State Route 404	State highway	14	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 Maryland

Adjacent counties

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

Figure 3.Caroline County on the county map of Maryland

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

Fewer than 108 counties
10 to 14.910 counties
15 to 19.92 counties
20 to 29.94 counties
30 or more0 counties
Caroline County: 22.5

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 Maryland

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Caroline County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Kent County	Delaware	30	275	15.1
Sussex County	Delaware	35	389	16.2
Dorchester County	Maryland	7	49	15.1
Queen Anne's County	Maryland	7	73	14.4
Talbot County	Maryland	3	51	13.6

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

Counties of similar population

These counties of Maryland have a population nearest to that of Caroline 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.
Maryland Highway Safety OfficeThe highway safety office of Maryland.

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

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Caroline County, Maryland: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/md/caroline/. 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.

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 Caroline in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 84 deaths in Caroline County from 2005 to 2014. It records 75 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Caroline in 2024?

The rate of Caroline County in 2024 was 29.4 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of Maryland was 9.3. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

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

FARS records a driver as drinking in 14 of 65 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 Caroline?

FARS records 14 fatal crashes on State Route 313 in the county from 2015 to 2024. FARS records 14 fatal crashes on State Route 404 in the county from 2015 to 2024.