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North Carolina Car Accident Statistics

Every year, hundreds of thousands of motor vehicle collisions occur across North Carolina, impacting drivers, passengers, cyclists, and pedestrians. To provide a comprehensive look at traffic safety across the state, this guide compiles recent historical benchmarks from the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) and localized municipal crash data.

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Content Reviewed by:

Gene Riddle

Content Last Updated:

June 16, 2026

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At Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers, we represent individuals who have been seriously injured or lost a loved one in a North Carolina auto accident. Our North Carolina car accident lawyers have over 171 years of combined experience and can help you get the justice you deserve after a collision. If you were injured in a car accident, please contact us at (800) 525-7111 for a free consultation with an experienced North Carolina car accident attorney at Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers.

North Carolina Statewide Traffic Accident Overview

Traffic safety remains a critical focus across the state. Recent annual data highlights the scale of motor vehicle accidents on North Carolina roadways:

  • Total Statewide Crashes: Traffic crashes reached 284,157 reported incidents in 2023 (a 3.8% increase from the prior year), while 2024 saw persistent challenges across state highway networks.
  • Injuries & Fatalities: The state averaged roughly 113,600 to 115,000 non-fatal traffic injuries annually, translating to about 13 people injured every single hour.
  • Fatal Incident Trends: Statewide traffic fatalities saw a 2.7% increase heading into 2024, rising to 1,732 deaths.
  • Peak Accident Windows: Across nearly all jurisdictions, approximately 72% to 75% of all motor vehicle wrecks occur during daylight hours between 7:00 a.m. and 6:59 p.m., directly aligning with daily commuter rush hours.

Charlotte Car Accident Statistics

As North Carolina’s largest metropolitan area, Charlotte logs the highest overall volume of traffic collisions in the state. According to Allstate Insurance driver safety metrics, Charlotte ranks 69th out of 100 cities for driver safety, a low position driven largely by frequent speeding and hard-braking events.

  • Three-Year Crash Volume: The city recorded over 125,000 traffic accidents from 2021 through 2023.

  • Annual Baseline (2023): Out of 32,932 total crashes, 32,455 involved standard single- or multi-vehicle passenger accidents.

  • Fatalities & Injuries: Collisions resulted in 105 fatal injuries and 16,066 non-fatal injuries.

  • Vulnerable Road Users: The city recorded 381 pedestrian accidents (resulting in 24 deaths and 397 injuries) and 96 bicycle accidents (resulting in 1 death and 95 injuries), averaging 1.1 casualties per incident.

Raleigh Car Accident Statistics & Commuter Patterns

Raleigh experiences the second-highest total volume of traffic accidents in North Carolina, with traffic heavily dictated by daily workforce commuting patterns.

  • Annual Crash Volume: Raleigh recorded 16,778 traffic accidents in 2023.

  • Casualty Breakdown: These incidents resulted in 44 deaths and 6,424 non-fatal injuries.

  • Vulnerable Road Users: Collisions involved 162 pedestrian accidents (9 fatalities, 165 injuries) and 50 bicycle accidents (1 fatality, 49 injuries).

  • Peak Danger Windows: The single most dangerous weekly period for Raleigh motorists is Friday afternoons between 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. Seasonally, accidents spike in October and November as daylight hours shorten and early holiday travel increases.

Greensboro Car Accident Statistics & Safety Rankings

While Charlotte and Raleigh log higher raw accident totals due to their larger populations, Greensboro stands out in state safety metrics for its disproportionate crash density.

  • The State’s Most Dangerous City: The NCDOT Traffic Crash Facts report series has repeatedly ranked Greensboro as North Carolina’s most dangerous city for road users based on population-adjusted crash rates and injury severity.

  • Annual Accident Totals: Greensboro recorded 8,893 total vehicle accidents in a single year.

  • Fatalities & Injuries: The city experienced 35 fatal crashes and 5,444 non-fatal injury incidents.

  • Vulnerable Road User Severity: Out of Greensboro’s 35 traffic deaths, 13 were pedestrians, and 2 were bicyclists. Statistically, every single pedestrian accident and all but one bicycle accident resulted in injury or death.

Winston-Salem Car Accident Statistics

Winston-Salem ranks among the top five North Carolina municipalities for overall collision volume, driven heavily by local highway merging points and commercial transit.

  • Annual Crash Volume: The city recorded 9,195 traffic crashes causing at least $1,000 in property damage in 2023.

  • Casualty Breakdown: Wrecks resulted in 39 deaths and 3,389 non-fatal injuries.

  • High-Risk Vehicle Segments: Local data highlights high-injury modes of transit, including 256 commercial truck accidents and 110 motorcycle wrecks.

  • Pedestrian & Cyclist Impacts: Incidents included 81 pedestrian accidents (6 fatalities, 82 injuries) and 24 bicycle accidents (26 injuries).

Durham Car Accident Statistics

Durham experiences a dense volume of motor vehicle wrecks annually, closely pacing Winston-Salem and outpacing Greensboro in overall collision counts.

  • Three-Year Crash Volume: Durham saw 37,109 car accidents occur within the city limits over a recent three-year window, leading to 74 deaths and 6,883 injuries.

  • County-Wide Benchmarks: The greater Durham County area averages 34 traffic fatalities and 3,736 injuries each year.

  • Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) Hazards: Large trucks, semis, and buses account for 328 accidents annually in Durham County. In 2023, this included 106 tractor-trailer collisions, 97 single-unit truck wrecks, 65 commercial bus crashes, and 52 school bus collisions.

  • Impaired Driving Proportions: Approximately 2.45% of all Durham accidents involve alcohol impairment, averaging 301 DUI crashes per year within the city limits.

Wilmington Car Accident Statistic

Wilmington is North Carolina’s eighth most populous city, but its overall accident footprint is lower than its size suggests.

  • Favorable Safety Ranking: NCDOT ranks Wilmington 16th for overall crash risk, indicating a safer driving environment relative to population than many state peers.

  • Annual Collision Profiles: Wilmington had 3,765 total traffic crashes in 2023, including 51 motorcycle wrecks and 82 commercial truck crashes.

  • Casualty Metrics: Wrecks caused 9 fatal injuries and 1,593 non-fatal injuries (including 15 severe, debilitating injuries like fractures, severe burns, or internal trauma).

  • Vulnerable Road Users: Coastal corridors saw 45 pedestrian accidents (2 deaths, 53 injuries) and 39 bicycle accidents (1 death, 36 injuries).

Greenville Car Accident Statistics

As a major eastern hub for higher education and regional healthcare, Greenville’s traffic risks are heavily tied to student commuting routes and localized thoroughfares.

  • Annual Collision Profiles: Greenville recorded 3,309 traffic accidents in 2023, which included 28 motorcycle accidents and 19 commercial truck crashes.

  • Casualty Metrics: Local wrecks led to 10 fatalities and 1,617 non-fatal injuries.

  • Pedestrian & Cyclist Exposure: Greenville recorded 41 pedestrian accidents (5 deaths, 44 injuries) and 18 bicycle accidents (18 injuries).

Jacksonville Car Accident Statistics

Jacksonville’s local road safety data reflects a mix of commercial coastal transit and high-volume military base traffic commuting near Camp Lejeune.

  • Annual Crash Footprint: Jacksonville experiences over 1,450 traffic wrecks annually, a volume comparable to state suburbs like Kannapolis, Huntersville, and Matthews.

  • Casualty Summary: Annual totals show 4 fatal crashes and 569 injury-causing collisions.

  • Impaired Driving Baseline: The city recorded 59 crashes involving alcohol-impaired drivers in a single year, resulting in 1 death and 42 injuries.

Kinston Car Accident Statistics

Despite a modest population of just under 20,000 residents, Kinston handles a high proportion of traffic accidents and impaired driving claims relative to its size.

  • Annual Crash Baseline: Kinston recorded 1 fatal accident and 336 non-fatal injury accidents in 2023.

  • Vulnerable Road User Outcomes: Pedestrian impacts caused 8 non-fatal injuries, and bicycle collisions caused 1 non-fatal injury. Statistically, 100% of reported pedestrian and cyclist accidents in Kinston resulted in injuries.

  • DUI Footprint: Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol directly caused 4.73% of all collisions in Kinston.

Fayetteville & Cumberland County Car Accident Statistics

Recent geographic data from 2024 and 2025 singles out Cumberland County as one of the most high-risk environments for severe, high-speed impact collisions in North Carolina.

  • Per-Capita Fatality Leader: Recent data establishes Cumberland County as the state leader in per-capita traffic deaths.

  • Severe Accident Volume: Cumberland County recorded 57 deadly crashes in 2024 alone, marking one of its deadliest years on record.

  • The Deadliest Stretch of Road in NC: State traffic data identifies Cliffdale Road (between Beverly Drive and Landsdowne Road) in Fayetteville as the single deadliest stretch of road in North Carolina.

  • Impaired Driving Spikes: As of 2025, Cumberland County ranks third statewide for total traffic deaths involving an impaired driver.

Garner & Wake County Car Accident Statistics

As a rapidly growing suburb in the Raleigh-Durham metroplex, Garner faces structural infrastructure pressures that mirror broader Wake County safety challenges.

  • High-Frequency Wrecks: Across Wake County, a car crash occurs approximately every 86 minutes, with a traffic injury reported every 3.8 hours.

  • Peak Suburban Commute Hours: Reflecting heavy worker transit along corridors like U.S. 70 and I-40, 72% of all Garner-area crashes occur during daytime hours (7:00 a.m. to 6:59 p.m.).

Goldsboro & Wayne County Car Accident Statistics

Wayne County road safety metrics point to persistent traffic risks across rural state highways, high-velocity shipping corridors, and dense city intersections alike.

  • High-Risk Corridors: State traffic safety data identifies SR-55 (specifically from Pineview Cemetery Road to Indian Springs Road) as one of the deadliest stretches of highway in North Carolina.

  • Annual Injury Baselines: Wayne County consistently records over 1,300 non-fatal traffic injuries every single year.

  • Vulnerable Road Users: Pedestrians and cyclists face heightened exposure in Goldsboro, particularly along the outer boundaries, where sidewalks are undeveloped or nighttime lighting is poor.

  • Primary Crash Dynamics: Speeding remains a destructive factor in local collisions, contributing to 21.4% of all fatal crashes and nearly 8,000 injuries across the wider regional tracking area.

Primary Driving Behaviors Causing North Carolina Accidents

While local infrastructure dictates where crashes happen, the behavioral causes remain uniform across North Carolina. NCDOT data identifies four primary negligent driving behaviors that cause the vast majority of statewide injuries and wrongful death claims:

1. Speeding and Failing to Reduce Speed

Speeding reduces a driver’s reaction window, increases stopping distances, and exponentially multiplies the physical forces released during an impact.

  • Statewide Impact: Failing to reduce speed to match road conditions or posted limits is the leading cause of state crashes, contributing to nearly 69,000 collisions in 2023 and 21.4% to 23% of all fatal crashes statewide through 2024.

2. Distracted Driving

Distracted driving occurs when physical, visual, or cognitive tasks take a driver’s focus off the road. Common culprits include adjusting navigation setups, eating, texting, or using mobile apps.

  • Statewide Impact: NCDOT data reports that approximately 17% of all recorded car wrecks in North Carolina involve a distracted driver. Because distraction relies heavily on self-reporting at crash scenes, traffic safety experts widely consider this percentage an undercount.

3. Impaired Driving (Alcohol and Drugs)

Driving under the influence of alcohol, illegal narcotics, or prescription medications severely compromises cognitive judgment, slows physical reflexes, and impairs visual depth perception.

  • Statewide Impact: Impaired driving accounts for over 10,000 annual crashes in North Carolina, causing an average of 275 fatal wrecks per year.

4. Failing to Yield the Right of Way

Failure to yield occurs when a motorist ignores traffic control devices, runs red lights, blows through stop signs, or turns left across oncoming traffic lanes without waiting for a safe gap.

  • Statewide Impact: Drivers failing to yield right-of-way boundaries caused more than 44,000 crashes across North Carolina in a single year, while running stop signs and red lights caused an additional 13,000 crashes. These actions frequently result in severe T-bone or angle collisions at intersections.

Need a North Carolina Car Accident Lawyer?

If you are injured in a car accident caused by another driver, you might be entitled to compensation. It is essential to consult with an attorney immediately after the incident to ensure that you receive the largest recovery possible.

Please call (800) 525-7111 to discuss your case directly with a North Carolina car accident attorney at Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers. We know what it takes to fight and win for our clients. We have recovered over $900 million in verdicts and settlements for North Carolinians since 2000 alone (see disclaimer below). Call us today and let’s talk.