Forsyth County, North Carolina: fatal crash statistics

Counties of North Carolina by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 39 deaths in 39 fatal crashes in Forsyth County in 2024.

FARS records 419 deaths in 394 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 11.0 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of North Carolina in the same years is 14.5.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Forsyth County was number 6 of 100 counties of North Carolina.

Deaths in Forsyth County rose by 30.9% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (320) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (419).

In the counties of North Carolina the deaths rose by 9.0% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 16.5% of the fatal crashes in Forsyth County with a known setting were rural, against 57.2% in North Carolina.

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 Forsyth 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.Forsyth County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	39	39	7
2023	51	45	12
2022	41	40	9
2021	47	45	6
2020	42	41	6
2019	31	28	9
2018	44	39	14
2017	42	42	12
2016	42	37	13
2015	40	38	11
2015 to 2024	419	394	99

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 52 (1980)2024: 39

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

Table 2.Forsyth County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	39	39
2023	51	45
2022	41	40
2021	47	45
2020	42	41
2019	31	28
2018	44	39
2017	42	42
2016	42	37
2015	40	38
2014	34	28
2013	27	26
2012	35	34
2011	31	31
2010	26	25
2009	27	25
2008	38	32
2007	33	28
2006	37	36
2005	32	32
2004	32	30
2003	40	37
2002	44	41
2001	29	28
2000	43	39
1999	35	32
1998	39	34
1997	25	23
1996	35	33
1995	42	34
1994	27	26
1993	34	31
1992	34	31
1991	40	35
1990	36	34
1989	22	21
1988	28	28
1987	45	40
1986	43	38
1985	29	28
1984	41	36
1983	39	37
1982	37	34
1981	49	45
1980	52	48
1979	41	40
1978	40	38
1977	35	33
1976	36	34
1975	38	34

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.Forsyth County beside North Carolina and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Forsyth County	North Carolina	United States
2024	9.8	14.6	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	11.0	14.5	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. Forsyth County had 397,836 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Forsyth County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in North Carolina
A driver recorded as drinkingof 394 fatal crashes	99	394 fatal crashes	25.1%	25.3%
A speeding-related driverof 394 fatal crashes	111	394 fatal crashes	28.2%	31.8%
No restraint usedof 270 occupant deaths with restraint use known	115	270 occupant deathswith restraint use known	42.6%	46.8%
Pedestriansof 419 deaths	70	419 deaths	16.7%	14.9%
Bicyclistsof 419 deaths	4	419 deaths	1.0%	1.7%
Motorcyclistsof 419 deaths	66	419 deaths	15.8%	13.5%
On a rural roadof 394 fatal crashes with the condition reported	65	394 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	16.5%	57.2%
In the darkof 394 fatal crashes with the condition reported	180	394 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	45.7%	46.3%

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.Forsyth 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	20	8	15	22	65
Monday	5	11	12	16	44
Tuesday	3	16	11	8	38
Wednesday	5	20	22	16	63
Thursday	3	8	17	15	43
Friday	13	7	22	30	72
Saturday	16	9	14	30	69
All days	65	79	113	137	394

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.Forsyth County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in North Carolina
Interstate	29	7.4%	9.7%
Other freeways and expressways	42	10.7%	4.1%
Other principal arterial	64	16.2%	27.0%
Minor arterial	58	14.7%	16.1%
Major collector	73	18.5%	15.1%
Minor collector	0	0.0%	5.7%
Local	128	32.5%	22.3%
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.Forsyth County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	196
Dark, not lighted	82
Dark, lighted	94
Dawn	5
Dusk	13
Dark, lighting unknown	4
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Forsyth County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	304
Cloudy	46
Rain	38
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	1 or 2
Fog, smog or smoke	3
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	1 or 2

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Forsyth County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Forsyth	In all of North Carolina
Interstate 40	Interstate	25	363
Interstate 74	Interstate	4	34
State Route 67	State highway	14	24
State Route 109	State highway	7	47
State Route 150	State highway	16	90
US Route 52	US highway	23	84
US Route 158	US highway	19	139
US Route 311	US highway	12	29
US Route 421	US highway	17	197

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 North Carolina

Adjacent counties

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

Figure 3.Forsyth County on the county map of North Carolina

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

Fewer than 106 counties
10 to 14.925 counties
15 to 19.934 counties
20 to 29.922 counties
30 or more13 counties
Forsyth County: 11.0

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 North Carolina

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Forsyth County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Davidson County	North Carolina	33	306	18.1
Davie County	North Carolina	10	69	16.0
Guilford County	North Carolina	74	649	12.1
Stokes County	North Carolina	6	70	15.4
Surry County	North Carolina	12	141	19.6
Yadkin County	North Carolina	11	91	24.2

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

Counties of similar population

These counties of North Carolina have a population nearest to that of Forsyth 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.
North Carolina Governor's Highway Safety ProgramThe highway safety office of North Carolina.

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

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Forsyth County, North Carolina: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/nc/forsyth/. 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/nc/forsyth/" title="Fatal crashes in Forsyth County, North Carolina" 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/nc/forsyth/">Fatal crashes in Forsyth County, North Carolina</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 Forsyth in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 320 deaths in Forsyth County from 2005 to 2014. It records 419 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Forsyth in 2024?

The rate of Forsyth County in 2024 was 9.8 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of North Carolina was 14.6. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

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

FARS records a driver as drinking in 99 of 394 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 Forsyth?

9 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 137 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.