Somerset County, Maine: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Maine by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 15 deaths in 14 fatal crashes in Somerset County in 2024.

FARS records 97 deaths in 92 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 19.1 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of Maine in the same years is 11.7.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Somerset County was number 8 of 16 counties of Maine.

Deaths in Somerset County fell by 7.6% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (105) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (97).

In the counties of Maine the deaths rose by 0.2% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 94.6% of the fatal crashes in Somerset County with a known setting were rural, against 81.0% in Maine.

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 Somerset 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.Somerset County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	15	14	5
2023	6	6	1 or 2
2022	11	10	3
2021	8	8	1 or 2
2020	8	8	5
2019	9	8	1 or 2
2018	8	8	1 or 2
2017	10	9	3
2016	6	6	1 or 2
2015	16	15	7
2015 to 2024	97	92	30

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 20 (1981)2024: 15

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

Table 2.Somerset County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	15	14
2023	6	6
2022	11	10
2021	8	8
2020	8	8
2019	9	8
2018	8	8
2017	10	9
2016	6	6
2015	16	15
2014	8	7
2013	10	9
2012	9	9
2011	10	10
2010	8	7
2009	9	9
2008	7	7
2007	14	14
2006	16	14
2005	14	12
2004	8	6
2003	11	11
2002	8	7
2001	11	10
2000	13	10
1999	13	11
1998	14	13
1997	7	7
1996	10	8
1995	8	8
1994	11	7
1993	8	6
1992	19	15
1991	17	12
1990	10	10
1989	6	6
1988	12	10
1987	16	15
1986	13	10
1985	6	6
1984	7	7
1983	13	10
1982	7	6
1981	20	18
1980	18	17
1979	16	13
1978	6	6
1977	9	8
1976	11	10
1975	12	11

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.Somerset County beside Maine and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Somerset County	Maine	United States
2024	29.1	12.6	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	19.1	11.7	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. Somerset County had 51,490 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Somerset County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Maine
A driver recorded as drinkingof 92 fatal crashes	30	92 fatal crashes	32.6%	36.9%
A speeding-related driverof 92 fatal crashes	32	92 fatal crashes	34.8%	28.0%
No restraint usedof 81 occupant deaths with restraint use known	53	81 occupant deathswith restraint use known	65.4%	52.4%
Pedestriansof 97 deaths	7	97 deaths	7.2%	10.0%
Bicyclistsof 97 deaths	0	97 deaths	0.0%	1.1%
Motorcyclistsof 97 deaths	9	97 deaths	9.3%	16.3%
On a rural roadof 92 fatal crashes with the condition reported	87	92 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	94.6%	81.0%
In the darkof 91 fatal crashes with the condition reported	38	91 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	41.8%	38.5%

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.Somerset 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	0	3	8	4	15
Monday	1 or 2	3	5	1 or 2	11
Tuesday	4	1 or 2	6	3	15
Wednesday	1 or 2	4	1 or 2	0	7
Thursday	1 or 2	5	5	3	14
Friday	1 or 2	1 or 2	6	4	14
Saturday	3	1 or 2	4	7	16
All days	12	21	36	23	92

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.Somerset County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Maine
Interstate	5	5.4%	7.0%
Other freeways and expressways	0	0.0%	0.6%
Other principal arterial	31	33.7%	20.5%
Minor arterial	11	12.0%	18.3%
Major collector	22	23.9%	26.1%
Minor collector	1 or 2	2.2%	7.6%
Local	21	22.8%	19.9%
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.Somerset County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	51
Dark, not lighted	31
Dark, lighted	7
Dawn	1 or 2
Dusk	0
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	1 or 2

Table 8.Somerset County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	59
Cloudy	14
Rain	12
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	4
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 Somerset County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Somerset	In all of Maine
Interstate 95	Interstate	6	98
State Route 4	State highway	1 or 2	41
US Route 2	US highway	12	39
US Route 201	US highway	16	26

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 Maine

Adjacent counties

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

Figure 3.Somerset County on the county map of Maine

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

Fewer than 102 counties
10 to 14.97 counties
15 to 19.97 counties
20 to 29.90 counties
30 or more0 counties
Somerset County: 19.1

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 Maine

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Somerset County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Aroostook County	Maine	10	85	12.6
Franklin County	Maine	5	46	15.2
Kennebec County	Maine	20	155	12.5
Penobscot County	Maine	24	187	12.2
Piscataquis County	Maine	1 or 2	28	16.4
Waldo County	Maine	5	68	17.1

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

Counties of similar population

These counties of Maine have a population nearest to that of Somerset 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.
Maine Bureau of Highway SafetyThe highway safety office of Maine.

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

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Somerset County, Maine: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/me/somerset/. 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 Somerset in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 105 deaths in Somerset County from 2005 to 2014. It records 97 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Somerset in 2024?

The rate of Somerset County in 2024 was 29.1 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of Maine was 12.6. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

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

FARS records a driver as drinking in 30 of 92 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 Somerset?

4 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 35 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.