Portsmouth city, Virginia: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Virginia by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 6 deaths in 6 fatal crashes in Portsmouth city in 2024.

FARS records 88 deaths in 83 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 9.1 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of Virginia in the same years is 10.1.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Portsmouth city was number 31 of 133 counties of Virginia.

Deaths in Portsmouth city rose by 131.6% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (38) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (88).

In the counties of Virginia the deaths rose by 5.1% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 0.0% of the fatal crashes in Portsmouth city with a known setting were rural, against 55.4% in Virginia.

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 Portsmouth city by year, 2015 to 2024

1 or 2

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.Portsmouth city: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	6	6	1 or 2
2023	12	11	3
2022	13	12	5
2021	12	11	1 or 2
2020	1 or 2	1 or 2	1 or 2
2019	6	6	3
2018	11	11	1 or 2
2017	13	12	3
2016	8	8	3
2015	5	4	1 or 2
2015 to 2024	88	83	25

Each year from 1975

Figure 2.Deaths in Portsmouth city by year, 1975 to 2024

Tallest column: 13 (2017)2024: 6

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

Table 2.Portsmouth city: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	6	6
2023	12	11
2022	13	12
2021	12	11
2020	1 or 2	1 or 2
2019	6	6
2018	11	11
2017	13	12
2016	8	8
2015	5	4
2014	5	5
2013	3	3
2012	3	3
2011	8	7
2010	1 or 2	1 or 2
2009	5	5
2008	4	4
2007	1 or 2	1 or 2
2006	5	5
2005	1 or 2	1 or 2
2004	11	11
2003	7	6
2002	9	8
2001	5	5
2000	4	4
1999	7	7
1998	12	10
1997	11	9
1996	9	9
1995	5	5
1994	9	8
1993	6	6
1992	8	8
1991	6	6
1990	4	4
1989	10	10
1988	6	6
1987	5	5
1986	8	8
1985	7	7
1984	1 or 2	1 or 2
1983	10	10
1982	6	6
1981	6	5
1980	11	10
1979	9	9
1978	10	10
1977	8	8
1976	6	6
1975	4	4

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.Portsmouth city beside Virginia and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Portsmouth city	Virginia	United States
2024	6.2	10.4	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	9.1	10.1	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. Portsmouth city had 96,845 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Portsmouth city: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Virginia
A driver recorded as drinkingof 83 fatal crashes	25	83 fatal crashes	30.1%	29.4%
A speeding-related driverof 83 fatal crashes	24	83 fatal crashes	28.9%	28.8%
No restraint usedof 53 occupant deaths with restraint use known	35	53 occupant deathswith restraint use known	66.0%	54.3%
Pedestriansof 88 deaths	15	88 deaths	17.0%	13.9%
Bicyclistsof 88 deaths	3	88 deaths	3.4%	1.6%
Motorcyclistsof 88 deaths	14	88 deaths	15.9%	12.3%
On a rural roadof 83 fatal crashes with the condition reported	0	83 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	0.0%	55.4%
In the darkof 83 fatal crashes with the condition reported	54	83 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	65.1%	45.4%

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.Portsmouth city: 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	1 or 2	1 or 2	3	13
Monday	1 or 2	1 or 2	6	1 or 2	11
Tuesday	3	3	1 or 2	4	11
Wednesday	1 or 2	1 or 2	0	6	9
Thursday	3	1 or 2	1 or 2	5	12
Friday	6	0	1 or 2	4	12
Saturday	6	1 or 2	4	3	15
All days	29	11	16	27	83

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.Portsmouth city: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Virginia
Interstate	26	31.3%	14.8%
Other freeways and expressways	11	13.3%	2.6%
Other principal arterial	16	19.3%	26.4%
Minor arterial	24	28.9%	24.4%
Major collector	3	3.6%	18.4%
Minor collector	0	0.0%	3.5%
Local	3	3.6%	10.0%
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.Portsmouth city: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	27
Dark, not lighted	5
Dark, lighted	48
Dawn	1 or 2
Dusk	1 or 2
Dark, lighting unknown	1 or 2
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Portsmouth city: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	0
Cloudy	4
Rain	5
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
Fog, smog or smoke	1 or 2
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	73

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Portsmouth city that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Portsmouth city	In all of Virginia
Interstate 64	Interstate	1 or 2	277
Interstate 264	Interstate	24	65
US Route 17	US highway	8	164
US Route 58	US highway	6	259

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 Virginia

Adjacent counties

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

Figure 3.Portsmouth city on the county map of Virginia

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

Fewer than 1039 counties
10 to 14.921 counties
15 to 19.925 counties
20 to 29.927 counties
30 or more15 counties
Count of 1 or 2, no rate shown6 counties
Portsmouth city: 9.1

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 Virginia

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Portsmouth city
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Chesapeake city	Virginia	19	177	7.2
Hampton city	Virginia	13	129	9.5
Newport News city	Virginia	19	167	9.2
Norfolk city	Virginia	20	203	8.5
Suffolk city	Virginia	14	110	11.6

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

Counties of similar population

These counties of Virginia have a population nearest to that of Portsmouth city. 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.
Virginia DMV Highway Safety OfficeThe highway safety office of Virginia.

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

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Portsmouth city, Virginia: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/va/portsmouth-city/. 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 Portsmouth city in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 38 deaths in Portsmouth city from 2005 to 2014. It records 88 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Portsmouth city in 2024?

The rate of Portsmouth city in 2024 was 6.2 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of Virginia was 10.4. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

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

FARS records a driver as drinking in 25 of 83 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 Portsmouth city?

4 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 39 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.