Washington County, Maryland: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Maryland by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 14 deaths in 14 fatal crashes in Washington County in 2024.

FARS records 166 deaths in 153 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 10.9 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, Washington County was number 11 of 24 counties of Maryland.

Deaths in Washington County fell by 18.2% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (203) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (166).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 27.6% of the fatal crashes in Washington 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 Washington 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.Washington County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	14	14	1 or 2
2023	18	16	1 or 2
2022	21	19	3
2021	12	12	4
2020	10	10	4
2019	28	22	5
2018	14	14	4
2017	14	14	3
2016	18	17	1 or 2
2015	17	15	8
2015 to 2024	166	153	36

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 32 (1979)2024: 14

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

Table 2.Washington County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	14	14
2023	18	16
2022	21	19
2021	12	12
2020	10	10
2019	28	22
2018	14	14
2017	14	14
2016	18	17
2015	17	15
2014	25	22
2013	21	20
2012	25	24
2011	12	12
2010	16	16
2009	15	13
2008	16	16
2007	21	19
2006	31	25
2005	21	21
2004	17	15
2003	27	25
2002	26	21
2001	13	12
2000	22	19
1999	16	16
1998	24	24
1997	28	23
1996	17	16
1995	13	11
1994	19	16
1993	14	14
1992	24	18
1991	18	18
1990	24	22
1989	16	14
1988	20	18
1987	27	24
1986	20	20
1985	23	23
1984	20	18
1983	15	15
1982	21	18
1981	21	19
1980	23	23
1979	32	28
1978	20	19
1977	19	18
1976	18	13
1975	23	20

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.Washington County beside Maryland and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Washington County	Maryland	United States
2024	8.9	9.3	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	10.9	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. Washington County had 157,140 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Washington County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Maryland
A driver recorded as drinkingof 153 fatal crashes	36	153 fatal crashes	23.5%	27.9%
A speeding-related driverof 153 fatal crashes	38	153 fatal crashes	24.8%	26.2%
No restraint usedof 88 occupant deaths with restraint use known	35	88 occupant deathswith restraint use known	39.8%	43.4%
Pedestriansof 166 deaths	30	166 deaths	18.1%	23.1%
Bicyclistsof 166 deaths	5	166 deaths	3.0%	2.0%
Motorcyclistsof 166 deaths	32	166 deaths	19.3%	14.5%
On a rural roadof 152 fatal crashes with the condition reported	42	152 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	27.6%	18.6%
In the darkof 152 fatal crashes with the condition reported	73	152 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	48.0%	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.Washington 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	7	3	4	8	22
Monday	3	4	3	6	16
Tuesday	3	3	9	3	18
Wednesday	0	5	6	7	18
Thursday	6	10	10	9	35
Friday	6	5	3	7	21
Saturday	6	5	7	5	23
All days	31	35	42	45	153

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.Washington County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Maryland
Interstate	49	32.2%	12.9%
Other freeways and expressways	0	0.0%	6.8%
Other principal arterial	28	18.4%	34.3%
Minor arterial	40	26.3%	21.2%
Major collector	21	13.8%	13.2%
Minor collector	1 or 2	0.7%	2.4%
Local	13	8.6%	9.0%
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.Washington County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	76
Dark, not lighted	43
Dark, lighted	26
Dawn	3
Dusk	0
Dark, lighting unknown	4
Other or unknown	1 or 2

Table 8.Washington County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	110
Cloudy	16
Rain	15
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	3
Fog, smog or smoke	1 or 2
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	1 or 2
Other or not reported	7

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Washington County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Washington	In all of Maryland
Interstate 68	Interstate	3	32
Interstate 70	Interstate	35	109
US Route 40	US highway	23	166

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.Washington 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
Washington County: 10.9

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 Maryland

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Washington County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Allegany County	Maryland	10	79	11.4
Frederick County	Maryland	23	236	8.8
Franklin County	Pennsylvania	21	207	13.3
Fulton County	Pennsylvania	1 or 2	44	30.3
Loudoun County	Virginia	14	133	3.2
Berkeley County	West Virginia	21	147	12.0
Jefferson County	West Virginia	11	79	13.6
Morgan County	West Virginia	1 or 2	23	13.1

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 Washington 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. Washington County, Maryland: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/md/washington/. 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 Washington in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 203 deaths in Washington County from 2005 to 2014. It records 166 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Washington in 2024?

The rate of Washington County in 2024 was 8.9 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 Washington had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 36 of 153 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 Washington?

FARS records 3 fatal crashes on Interstate 68 in the county from 2015 to 2024. FARS records 35 fatal crashes on Interstate 70 in the county from 2015 to 2024. FARS records 23 fatal crashes on US Route 40 in the county from 2015 to 2024.