South Carolina fatal crashes in 1988
FARS records 1,031 deaths in 908 fatal crashes in South Carolina in 1988.
In 1987 it records 1,086 deaths in 968 fatal crashes.
This site gives no rate for the years before 2000.
Deaths in South Carolina fell by 5.1% from 1987 to 1988. In the United States they rose by 1.5%.
In 1988, a driver was recorded as drinking in 24.9% of fatal crashes in South Carolina and 40.1% in the United States.
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 .
This site reads the years before 2015 from one fixed copy. It does not track later revisions of these years. Release dates
1988 beside 1987
| Figure | South Carolina, 1988 | South Carolina, 1987 | United States, 1988 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deaths | 1,031 | 1,086 | 47,087 |
| Fatal crashes | 908 | 968 | 42,130 |
| Deaths for each 100,000 residents | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Fatal crashes with a driver recorded as drinking | 226 | 350 | 16,912 |
Note: this site has no rate for the years before 2000.
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. NHTSA's definitions
For the years before 2015 the count is from the FARS element DRUNK_DR. It counts a blood alcohol concentration of .01 g/dL or more. From 2015 the count is from DR_DRINK and counts .001 g/dL or more.
Counties in 1988
| County | Deaths | Fatal crashes |
|---|---|---|
| Abbeville County | 6 | 5 |
| Aiken County | 44 | 35 |
| Allendale County | 9 | 5 |
| Anderson County | 37 | 36 |
| Bamberg County | 7 | 5 |
| Barnwell County | 8 | 5 |
| Beaufort County | 20 | 20 |
| Berkeley County | 44 | 37 |
| Calhoun County | 7 | 4 |
| Charleston County | 60 | 55 |
| Cherokee County | 13 | 11 |
| Chester County | 14 | 14 |
| Chesterfield County | 9 | 9 |
| Clarendon County | 14 | 12 |
| Colleton County | 18 | 16 |
| Darlington County | 22 | 22 |
| Dillon County | 7 | 7 |
| Dorchester County | 15 | 12 |
| Edgefield County | 13 | 12 |
| Fairfield County | 14 | 14 |
| Florence County | 39 | 35 |
| Georgetown County | 24 | 19 |
| Greenville County | 62 | 60 |
| Greenwood County | 18 | 16 |
| Hampton County | 5 | 5 |
| Horry County | 55 | 47 |
| Jasper County | 7 | 7 |
| Kershaw County | 12 | 10 |
| Lancaster County | 24 | 19 |
| Laurens County | 16 | 14 |
| Lee County | 9 | 8 |
| Lexington County | 40 | 38 |
| Marion County | 18 | 12 |
| Marlboro County | 16 | 11 |
| McCormick County | 1 or 2 | 1 or 2 |
| Newberry County | 16 | 14 |
| Oconee County | 15 | 12 |
| Orangeburg County | 36 | 28 |
| Pickens County | 20 | 18 |
| Richland County | 54 | 48 |
| Saluda County | 8 | 8 |
| Spartanburg County | 69 | 65 |
| Sumter County | 17 | 17 |
| Union County | 3 | 3 |
| Williamsburg County | 25 | 21 |
| York County | 37 | 32 |
Note: a county with no fatal crash in 1988 is not in the table. A count of 1 or 2 is written "1 or 2".
Time of day and weekday
| Time of day | Fatal crashes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Midnight to 6 a.m. | 219 | 24.2% |
| 6 a.m. to noon | 137 | 15.2% |
| Noon to 6 p.m. | 232 | 25.7% |
| 6 p.m. to midnight | 316 | 35.0% |
| Weekday | Fatal crashes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday | 145 | 16.0% |
| Monday | 105 | 11.6% |
| Tuesday | 99 | 10.9% |
| Wednesday | 77 | 8.5% |
| Thursday | 109 | 12.0% |
| Friday | 157 | 17.3% |
| Saturday | 215 | 23.7% |
Note: the tables have the fatal crashes with a known hour or weekday.
Cite this page
Fatal Roads. South Carolina fatal crashes in 1988. https://fatalroads.com/state/south-carolina/1988/. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatality Analysis Reporting System, FARS 2024 annual file. Data to .
The address of this page does not change.
Source of the figures
Counts: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatality Analysis Reporting System, national file of 1988. This site reads the years before 2015 from one fixed copy. It does not track later revisions of these years. Residents: Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, vintage 2025. Data to .
How the figures are made. Data sources and licences. Corrections.
Questions
Which file does the 1988 page use?
This site reads the years before 2015 from one fixed copy. It does not track later revisions of these years.
What part of the deaths in the United States in 1988 was in South Carolina?
South Carolina had 1,031 of the 47,087 deaths in the United States in 1988. That is 2.2 percent.
In how many counties of South Carolina did FARS record a fatal crash in 1988?
FARS records one or more fatal crashes in 46 counties of South Carolina in 1988.
How many fatal crashes in South Carolina in 1988 had a driver recorded as drinking?
FARS records a driver as drinking in 226 of 908 fatal crashes in 1988.