Washington County, Rhode Island: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Rhode Island by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 10 deaths in 9 fatal crashes in Washington County in 2024.

FARS records 105 deaths in 101 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 8.2 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of Rhode Island in the same years is 5.6.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Washington County was number 2 of 5 counties of Rhode Island.

Deaths in Washington County fell by 7.9% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (114) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (105).

In the counties of Rhode Island the deaths fell by 14.0% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 58.0% of the fatal crashes in Washington County with a known setting were rural, against 18.7% in Rhode Island.

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	10	9	3
2023	7	7	1 or 2
2022	13	13	6
2021	12	12	7
2020	15	15	6
2019	7	7	4
2018	6	6	4
2017	14	13	9
2016	11	11	4
2015	10	8	4
2015 to 2024	105	101	48

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 31 (1980)2024: 10

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	10	9
2023	7	7
2022	13	13
2021	12	12
2020	15	15
2019	7	7
2018	6	6
2017	14	13
2016	11	11
2015	10	8
2014	6	6
2013	9	9
2012	14	14
2011	13	11
2010	11	11
2009	17	17
2008	11	11
2007	8	8
2006	10	10
2005	15	13
2004	12	12
2003	20	18
2002	13	13
2001	10	10
2000	8	8
1999	19	18
1998	13	12
1997	13	13
1996	9	9
1995	12	12
1994	9	9
1993	14	14
1992	12	9
1991	12	12
1990	16	16
1989	12	12
1988	30	27
1987	18	17
1986	23	21
1985	14	12
1984	16	15
1983	12	12
1982	19	18
1981	14	13
1980	31	27
1979	21	17
1978	15	14
1977	18	16
1976	23	18
1975	17	15

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 Rhode Island and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Washington County	Rhode Island	United States
2024	7.7	4.7	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	8.2	5.6	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 129,958 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 Rhode Island
A driver recorded as drinkingof 101 fatal crashes	48	101 fatal crashes	47.5%	39.1%
A speeding-related driverof 101 fatal crashes	49	101 fatal crashes	48.5%	44.0%
No restraint usedof 60 occupant deaths with restraint use known	27	60 occupant deathswith restraint use known	45.0%	53.4%
Pedestriansof 105 deaths	10	105 deaths	9.5%	18.8%
Bicyclistsof 105 deaths	1 or 2	105 deaths	1.9%	2.7%
Motorcyclistsof 105 deaths	26	105 deaths	24.8%	19.1%
On a rural roadof 100 fatal crashes with the condition reported	58	100 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	58.0%	18.7%
In the darkof 100 fatal crashes with the condition reported	38	100 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	38.0%	50.7%

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	5	1 or 2	7	7	20
Monday	1 or 2	4	8	3	17
Tuesday	0	1 or 2	6	3	10
Wednesday	0	1 or 2	5	1 or 2	9
Thursday	1 or 2	1 or 2	8	7	18
Friday	1 or 2	1 or 2	1 or 2	5	10
Saturday	3	3	5	6	17
All days	14	13	41	33	101

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 Rhode Island
Interstate	15	15.0%	16.9%
Other freeways and expressways	14	14.0%	8.5%
Other principal arterial	25	25.0%	35.2%
Minor arterial	14	14.0%	15.5%
Major collector	11	11.0%	6.9%
Minor collector	3	3.0%	1.1%
Local	18	18.0%	16.0%
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	52
Dark, not lighted	23
Dark, lighted	14
Dawn	1 or 2
Dusk	9
Dark, lighting unknown	1 or 2
Other or unknown	1 or 2

Table 8.Washington County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	84
Cloudy	7
Rain	7
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
Fog, smog or smoke	3
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	0

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 Rhode Island
Interstate 95	Interstate	15	68
US Route 1	US highway	13	27

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 Rhode Island

Adjacent counties

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

Figure 3.Washington County on the county map of Rhode Island

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

Fewer than 105 counties
10 to 14.90 counties
15 to 19.90 counties
20 to 29.90 counties
30 or more0 counties
Washington County: 8.2

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 Rhode Island

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
New London County	Connecticut	35	281	10.5
Suffolk County	New York	120	1,389	9.2
Kent County	Rhode Island	4	98	5.8
Newport County	Rhode Island	4	30	3.6

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

Counties of similar population

These counties of Rhode Island 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.
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. Washington County, Rhode Island: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/ri/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 114 deaths in Washington County from 2005 to 2014. It records 105 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Washington in 2024?

The rate of Washington County in 2024 was 7.7 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of Rhode Island was 4.7. 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 48 of 101 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 15 fatal crashes on Interstate 95 in the county from 2015 to 2024. FARS records 13 fatal crashes on US Route 1 in the county from 2015 to 2024.