Virginia Beach city, Virginia: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Virginia by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 24 deaths in 23 fatal crashes in Virginia Beach city in 2024.

FARS records 271 deaths in 258 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 6.0 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, Virginia Beach city was number 4 of 133 counties of Virginia.

Deaths in Virginia Beach city rose by 7.5% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (252) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (271).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 11.6% of the fatal crashes in Virginia Beach 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 Virginia Beach city 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.Virginia Beach city: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	24	23	9
2023	37	37	13
2022	30	30	10
2021	35	34	17
2020	26	25	9
2019	22	19	5
2018	37	33	10
2017	25	24	11
2016	19	17	4
2015	16	16	7
2015 to 2024	271	258	95

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 50 (1986)2024: 24

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

Table 2.Virginia Beach city: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	24	23
2023	37	37
2022	30	30
2021	35	34
2020	26	25
2019	22	19
2018	37	33
2017	25	24
2016	19	17
2015	16	16
2014	29	26
2013	27	26
2012	15	15
2011	24	24
2010	19	18
2009	29	26
2008	31	29
2007	25	24
2006	22	20
2005	31	29
2004	22	21
2003	27	25
2002	28	25
2001	31	27
2000	24	24
1999	23	23
1998	20	19
1997	30	25
1996	32	30
1995	22	20
1994	26	22
1993	31	28
1992	25	21
1991	26	23
1990	30	27
1989	34	33
1988	31	29
1987	45	39
1986	50	47
1985	30	27
1984	35	32
1983	36	35
1982	29	28
1981	36	33
1980	31	30
1979	42	37
1978	33	31
1977	33	30
1976	34	33
1975	35	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.Virginia Beach city beside Virginia and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Virginia Beach city	Virginia	United States
2024	5.3	10.4	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	6.0	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. Virginia Beach city had 453,763 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Virginia Beach city: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Virginia
A driver recorded as drinkingof 258 fatal crashes	95	258 fatal crashes	36.8%	29.4%
A speeding-related driverof 258 fatal crashes	102	258 fatal crashes	39.5%	28.8%
No restraint usedof 142 occupant deaths with restraint use known	66	142 occupant deathswith restraint use known	46.5%	54.3%
Pedestriansof 271 deaths	42	271 deaths	15.5%	13.9%
Bicyclistsof 271 deaths	19	271 deaths	7.0%	1.6%
Motorcyclistsof 271 deaths	63	271 deaths	23.2%	12.3%
On a rural roadof 258 fatal crashes with the condition reported	30	258 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	11.6%	55.4%
In the darkof 258 fatal crashes with the condition reported	129	258 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	50.0%	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.Virginia Beach 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	10	1 or 2	8	21	40
Monday	4	4	6	12	26
Tuesday	4	7	16	12	39
Wednesday	4	6	11	12	33
Thursday	1 or 2	5	10	10	26
Friday	7	3	9	23	42
Saturday	17	10	11	14	52
All days	47	36	71	104	258

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.Virginia Beach city: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Virginia
Interstate	35	13.9%	14.8%
Other freeways and expressways	0	0.0%	2.6%
Other principal arterial	80	31.7%	26.4%
Minor arterial	80	31.7%	24.4%
Major collector	35	13.9%	18.4%
Minor collector	1 or 2	0.4%	3.5%
Local	21	8.3%	10.0%
Not reported	6	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.Virginia Beach city: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	116
Dark, not lighted	16
Dark, lighted	111
Dawn	5
Dusk	8
Dark, lighting unknown	1 or 2
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Virginia Beach city: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	0
Cloudy	16
Rain	18
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	1 or 2
Fog, smog or smoke	1 or 2
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	221

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Virginia Beach city that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Virginia Beach city	In all of Virginia
Interstate 64	Interstate	9	277
Interstate 264	Interstate	26	65
State Route 165	State highway	9	33
US Route 13	US highway	12	108
US Route 58	US highway	23	259
US Route 60	US highway	22	138

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.Virginia Beach 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
Virginia Beach city: 6.0

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 Virginia

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Virginia Beach city
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Currituck County	North Carolina	1 or 2	45	15.8
Chesapeake city	Virginia	19	177	7.2
Norfolk city	Virginia	20	203	8.5
Northampton County	Virginia	5	44	36.7

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 Virginia Beach 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. Virginia Beach city, Virginia: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/va/virginia-beach-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.

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/va/virginia-beach-city/" title="Fatal crashes in Virginia Beach city, Virginia" 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/va/virginia-beach-city/">Fatal crashes in Virginia Beach city, Virginia</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 Virginia Beach city in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 252 deaths in Virginia Beach city from 2005 to 2014. It records 271 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Virginia Beach city in 2024?

The rate of Virginia Beach city in 2024 was 5.3 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 Virginia Beach city had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 95 of 258 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 Virginia Beach city?

6 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 101 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.