By a Dover, DE Car Accident Injury Lawyer
The most recent traffic accident data compiled by the Delaware State Police for 2016 reveals that Sussex and Kent counties have higher fatal car accident rates than New Castle County. Interestingly, Sussex and Kent have similar fatal car accident rates, 3.3% and 2.7%, respectively.
Dover, Delaware Capital Building
With a population of about 175,000, Kent County is the smallest county by population in Delaware. Each year, there are about 4,000 car accidents in Kent County. It has a fatal car accident rate that is on par with the fatal car accident rate of Sussex County, even though Sussex County has a population of about 220,000.
The Delaware State Police data shows that out of the 4,000 car accidents in Kent County, 1,096 resulted in personal injuries in 2016. Of the personal injury car crashes, 2.7%, or 30, were fatal.
In Sussex County, there was a total of 1,031 personal injury car accidents in 2016. Of those, 3.3%, or 34, were fatal.
By way of comparison, in New Castle County (with a population of over half a million), there were over 3,100 personal injury car accidents, of which, only 1.7%, or 53, were fatal.
Sussex County is home to Delaware beach towns like Lewes, Rehoboth, and Dewey where pedestrian accidents and bicycle accidents are high. So, the highest fatal accident rate of 3.3% makes sense for Sussex County. However, what is it about Kent County, which again, has the lowest population, explains the second highest fatal car accident rate? Kent County is home to the state’s capital and second largest city, Dover, as well as the Dover Air Force Base. These two factors may help explain Kent County’s 2.7% fatal car accident rate.
Kent County, DE – Fatal Car Crashes Up in 2016; Rest of Delaware Down
Kent County is also interesting because it saw an increase in the total number of fatal car accidents in 2016, when numbers for the rest of the state dropped.
In 2016, there were fewer fatal car accidents in Delaware than in 2015. In 2016, there was a total of 117 fatal car accidents, a 9% drop from 2015, which saw 129 fatal accidents. Also, there was a 10% drop in the total number of traffic accident deaths between 2016 and 2015, across all of Delaware. There were 120 deaths in 2016 compared to 133 deaths in 2015.
Related: How to Get a Traffic Accident Report in Delaware, Wilmington, Dover, Newark, Middletown
In Sussex County, there was a similar decrease. In 2016, there were 34 fatal car accidents and 35 total deaths, and in 2015, there were 39 fatal accidents and 41 total deaths. This accounts for a decrease of 13% in the number of fatal car accidents and 15% in the total number of car accident deaths.
Kent County bucked the downward trend for fatal car accidents. In 2016, there was a total of 30 fatal car accidents and 31 deaths, and in 2015, there were 28 fatal car accidents and 28 deaths. This data reveals an increase of 7% in the number of fatal accidents and an 11% increase in the number of traffic accident deaths.
The total number of personal injury auto accidents in Delaware has continued to increase over the past few years. Since 2014, the number of personal injury car accidents has increased by about 250.
Dover, DE Car Accident Law Firm
Attorneys at Knepper & Stratton have been representing injured victims in Dover car accident lawsuits for over 30 years. Our lawyers handle car accidents, truck accidents and pedestrian/bicycle accidents in Kent County. Contact our Dover Car Accident Law Office or call for a free consultation. (302)736-5500
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