Counties with the most motor vehicle accident fatalities in Oregon
Ken Lund // Wikimedia Commons
Counties with the most motor vehicle accident fatalities in Oregon
Media outlets were quick during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent lockdowns that defined the summer and fall of 2020 to note just how little traffic there was as a result. Simple logic would suggest that less traffic equals a lower likelihood of accidents and thus fewer injuries and fatalities. Sadly, this was not the case.
Nationwide, traffic fatalities rose 7.2% in 2020 to nearly 39,000. That number was the highest recorded since 2007. Qualifying this disturbing fact is a sticky wicket—common denominators behind traffic deaths such as impaired driving, failure to use a seat belt, and excessive speed were certainly contributing factors, but they alone do not account for a rise in deaths commensurate with a 430-million-mile drop in the number of miles people traveled across the course of the year. What can be qualified, however, is where fatal crashes took place.
Citing data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Stacker identified the counties in Oregon that had the most fatalities from motor vehicle crashes in 2020. The number of accident fatalities are ranked by the number of deaths per 100,000 people, with the raw number functioning as a tiebreaker. The analysis only looked at counties with at least five deaths during 2020. Additional data is included on pedestrian, bicyclist, and drunk-driving-related deaths. In counties where at least five fatalities happened on the same street or interstate, the road with the most deaths is also included.
M.O. Stevens // Wikimedia Commons
#23. Washington County, Oregon
– Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 3.9 per 100K people (#1,685 nationally, 23 deaths)
– 6 pedestrian deaths
– 0 bicyclist deaths
– 5 deaths involving drunk drivers
– No roads with at least five fatalities
Little Mountain 5 // Wikicommons
#22. Jackson County, Oregon
– Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 6.8 per 100K people (#1,560 nationally, 15 deaths)
– 2 pedestrian deaths
– 0 bicyclist deaths
– 1 death involving drunk drivers
– No roads with at least five fatalities
cpaulfell // Shutterstock
#21. Benton County, Oregon
– Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 7.4 per 100K people (#1,532 nationally, 7 deaths)
– 2 pedestrian deaths
– 0 bicyclist deaths
– 0 deaths involving drunk drivers
– No roads with at least five fatalities
Lauram12345 // Wikicommons
#20. Lane County, Oregon
– Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 7.9 per 100K people (#1,503 nationally, 30 deaths)
– 4 pedestrian deaths
– 2 bicyclist deaths
– 6 deaths involving drunk drivers
– No roads with at least five fatalities
Mrgadget51 // Wikimedia Commons
#19. Clackamas County, Oregon
– Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 8.6 per 100K people (#1,469 nationally, 36 deaths)
– 6 pedestrian deaths
– 0 bicyclist deaths
– 10 deaths involving drunk drivers
– Roads with most fatalities: US-26 ODOT 26, SR-224 ODOT 171 (5 fatalities each)
Stuart Seeger // Wikicommons
#18. Multnomah County, Oregon
– Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 10.4 per 100K people (#1,355 nationally, 84 deaths)
– 24 pedestrian deaths
– 5 bicyclist deaths
– 16 deaths involving drunk drivers
– Roads with most fatalities: NE GLISAN ST, I-84 (5 fatalities each)
Edmund Garman // Flickr
#17. Marion County, Oregon
– Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 10.5 per 100K people (#1,346 nationally, 36 deaths)
– 6 pedestrian deaths
– 3 bicyclist deaths
– 2 deaths involving drunk drivers
– No roads with at least five fatalities
Joseph Novak // Wikicommons
#16. Josephine County, Oregon
– Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 14.8 per 100K people (#1,061 nationally, 13 deaths)
– 1 pedestrian death
– 0 bicyclist deaths
– 3 deaths involving drunk drivers
– Road with most fatalities: US-199 ODOT 25 (7 fatalities)
Gancayco // Wikimedia Commons
#15. Umatilla County, Oregon
– Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 15.1 per 100K people (#1,036 nationally, 12 deaths)
– 3 pedestrian deaths
– 1 bicyclist death
– 0 deaths involving drunk drivers
– No roads with at least five fatalities
Bruce Fingerhood from Springfield, Oregon, US // Wikimedia Commons
#14. Polk County, Oregon
– Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 15.1 per 100K people (#1,035 nationally, 13 deaths)
– 2 pedestrian deaths
– 0 bicyclist deaths
– 1 death involving drunk drivers
– No roads with at least five fatalities
Ian Poellet // Wikimedia Commons
#13. Deschutes County, Oregon
– Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 15.4 per 100K people (#1,010 nationally, 30 deaths)
– 3 pedestrian deaths
– 0 bicyclist deaths
– 6 deaths involving drunk drivers
– Road with most fatalities: US-97 ODOT 4 (6 fatalities)
Debbie Tegtmeier // Wikimedia Commons
#12. Coos County, Oregon
– Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 17.0 per 100K people (#913 nationally, 11 deaths)
– 2 pedestrian deaths
– 2 bicyclist deaths
– 3 deaths involving drunk drivers
– Road with most fatalities: US-101 ODOT 9 (6 fatalities)
Jmabel // Wikimedia Commons
#11. Linn County, Oregon
– Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 22.8 per 100K people (#653 nationally, 29 deaths)
– 4 pedestrian deaths
– 2 bicyclist deaths
– 5 deaths involving drunk drivers
– Road with most fatalities: US-20 ODOT 16 (6 fatalities)
Bobjgalindo // Wikimedia Commons
#10. Klamath County, Oregon
– Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 26.1 per 100K people (#537 nationally, 18 deaths)
– 0 pedestrian deaths
– 0 bicyclist deaths
– 2 deaths involving drunk drivers
– Road with most fatalities: US-97 ODOT 4 (8 fatalities)
English: Gary Halvorson, Oregon State Archives // Wikimedia Commons
#9. Clatsop County, Oregon
– Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 27.0 per 100K people (#503 nationally, 11 deaths)
– 1 pedestrian death
– 0 bicyclist deaths
– 1 death involving drunk drivers
– Road with most fatalities: US-101 ODOT 9 (5 fatalities)
English: Gary Halvorson, Oregon State Archives // Wikimedia Commons
#8. Douglas County, Oregon
– Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 28.0 per 100K people (#476 nationally, 31 deaths)
– 0 pedestrian deaths
– 0 bicyclist deaths
– 11 deaths involving drunk drivers
– Road with most fatalities: SR-38 ODOT 45 (5 fatalities)
Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA // Wikimedia Commons
#7. Malheur County, Oregon
– Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 28.7 per 100K people (#449 nationally, 9 deaths)
– 0 pedestrian deaths
– 0 bicyclist deaths
– 2 deaths involving drunk drivers
– No roads with at least five fatalities
Finetooth // Wikimedia Commons
#6. Baker County, Oregon
– Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 30.2 per 100K people (#411 nationally, 5 deaths)
– 0 pedestrian deaths
– 0 bicyclist deaths
– 1 death involving drunk drivers
– No roads with at least five fatalities
Cacophony // Wikimedia Commons
#5. Wasco County, Oregon
– Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 33.8 per 100K people (#339 nationally, 9 deaths)
– 0 pedestrian deaths
– 0 bicyclist deaths
– 0 deaths involving drunk drivers
– No roads with at least five fatalities
EncMstr // Wikimedia Commons
#4. Lincoln County, Oregon
– Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 34.1 per 100K people (#333 nationally, 17 deaths)
– 0 pedestrian deaths
– 0 bicyclist deaths
– 3 deaths involving drunk drivers
– Roads with most fatalities: US-101 ODOT 9, US-20 ODOT 33 (5 fatalities each)
Finetooth // Wikimedia Commons
#3. Jefferson County, Oregon
– Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 37.1 per 100K people (#268 nationally, 9 deaths)
– 1 pedestrian death
– 0 bicyclist deaths
– 2 deaths involving drunk drivers
– No roads with at least five fatalities
USFWS Headquarters’ photostream // Wikimedia Commons
#2. Tillamook County, Oregon
– Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 51.6 per 100K people (#133 nationally, 14 deaths)
– 1 pedestrian death
– 0 bicyclist deaths
– 4 deaths involving drunk drivers
– Road with most fatalities: US-101 ODOT 9 (6 fatalities)
Ken Lund // Wikimedia Commons
#1. Lake County, Oregon
– Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 61.6 per 100K people (#84 nationally, 5 deaths)
– 0 pedestrian deaths
– 0 bicyclist deaths
– 1 death involving drunk drivers
– No roads with at least five fatalities
