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State highwaySR-56

Pennsylvania · state highway

State Route 56

Fatal crashes 2015–2024 31Deaths 33Counties 6Latest data year 2024

FARS data are based on police crash reports and other sources; the drunk-driving measure is based on the highest BAC of any driver in the crash. Latest data year: 2024. The route is the trafficway recorded for each crash (FARS TWAY_ID); the same route number in another state has its own page.

State Route 56 in Pennsylvania was the trafficway in 31 fatal crashes between 2015 and 2024, in which 33 people died.

That is 0.3% of the 10,864 fatal crashes in Pennsylvania over the same years. The ten-year crash count was about level between 2005–2014 (32) and 2015–2024 (31).

The crashes were concentrated in Westmoreland County (8), Armstrong County (7) and Cambria County (6) and 3 other counties.

38.7% of the crashes had a driver reported as drinking (Pennsylvania: 25.4%) and 29.0% had a speeding-related driver (40.2%); pedestrians were 3.0% and motorcyclists 21.2% of those killed.

31fatal crashes, 2015–2024-3% vs 2005–2014
33people killed1.1 per fatal crash
39%with a drinking driverPennsylvania: 25%
29%speeding-relatedPennsylvania: 40%

Fatal crashes per year

0482000200520102015202020242000: 8 crashes2001: 5 crashes2002: 4 crashes2003: 7 crashes2004: 1–2 crashes2005: 1–2 crashes2006: 0 crashes2007: 1–2 crashes2008: 6 crashes2009: 5 crashes2010: 6 crashes2011: 7 crashes2012: 1–2 crashes2013: 0 crashes2014: 4 crashes2015: 4 crashes2016: 1–2 crashes2017: 5 crashes2018: 3 crashes2019: 1–2 crashes2020: 3 crashes2021: 1–2 crashes2022: 1–2 crashes2023: 5 crashes2024: 4 crashes
Fatal crashes on State Route 56 (PA) by year, 2000–2024. Latest point: 2024, 4 crashes.

Route identification in FARS is consistent from 2000; earlier years are not shown. Shaded band: the ten-year window used for the shares below.

Compared with all fatal crashes in Pennsylvania

MeasureState Route 56Pennsylvania
Fatal crashes, 2015–20243110,864
Deaths, 2015–20243311,650
Deaths per fatal crash1.11.1
Share of state fatal crashes0.3%100%
Change vs previous ten years-3%-14%

Factor shares

Alcoholcrashes with a driver reported as drinking38.7%
Speedingcrashes with a speeding-related driver29%
Pedestriansshare of people killed3%
Motorcyclistsshare of people killed21.2%
Night (6pm–6am)share of crashes45.2%

tick marks the Pennsylvania share. Bars are shares of fatal crashes (alcohol, speeding, darkness, rural) or of people killed (pedestrians, motorcyclists, unrestrained occupants) over the ten-year window.

Counties along the route

#CountyFatal crashes on SR-56Share of routeCounty total, all roads
1Westmoreland County826%330
2Armstrong County723%84
3Cambria County619%103
4Bedford County413%81
5Somerset County413%104
6Indiana County26%108

Hour of day

12am0%
1am3.2%
2am3.2%
3am0%
4am3.2%
5am0%
6am6.5%
7am3.2%
8am3.2%
9am0%
10am3.2%
11am6.5%
12pm3.2%
1pm12.9%
2pm0%
3pm6.5%
4pm6.5%
5pm3.2%
6pm3.2%
7pm6.5%
8pm9.7%
9pm6.5%
10pm3.2%
11pm6.5%

Share of fatal crashes on State Route 56 beginning in each hour, 2015–2024; tick marks the Pennsylvania share for all roads.

Where along the route

Mile marker rangeFatal crashesShare
Mile 0–51445%
Mile 5–10929%
Mile 10–15619%
Mile 15–2026%

Five-mile bins by FARS milepoint, the six with the most fatal crashes; 100% of crashes on the route have a milepoint. Milepoints are as recorded by the state and can restart at county or district lines.

Other routes in Pennsylvania

All routes and counties in Pennsylvania

Questions and answers

How many fatal crashes have there been on State Route 56 in Pennsylvania?

31 fatal crashes with 33 deaths over 2015–2024, per NHTSA's FARS. The route is the trafficway recorded for the crash; the same numbered route in another state has its own page.

Which counties along State Route 56 had the most fatal crashes?

Westmoreland County (8), Armstrong County (7), Cambria County (6), Bedford County (4) and Somerset County (4).

What share of crashes on State Route 56 involved alcohol or speeding?

38.7% had a driver reported as drinking and 29.0% a speeding-related driver, against 25.4% and 40.2% for all fatal crashes in Pennsylvania.

When do fatal crashes happen on State Route 56?

45.2% of the crashes were between 6pm and 6am. The hour chart on this page shows the full distribution.

Provenance

Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System, annual national CSV files 2000–2024 (accident, vehicle and person tables), public domain. Route pages are built for signed Interstate, US and state routes with at least 20 fatal crashes in 2015–2024. Data through 31 Dec 2024; generated 30 Sep 2026. See methodology and corrections.