23,458 CRASHES IN
OHIO, OH
DECEMBER 2021

Of the 99 total fatalities, 21 were pedestrians, representing a significant portion of those killed in traffic violence. An additional 230 pedestrians were injured. While the data indicates no cyclists were killed or injured, motorists accounted for the largest number of casualties with 78 fatalities and 7,538 injuries.

Crash frequency peaked mid-week, with Wednesday recording the most incidents (4,177), followed by Friday (3,984) and Thursday (3,863). The single hour with the most crashes was the 5 PM evening commute, which saw 2,275 incidents. A smaller peak occurred during the morning commute at 7 AM, with 1,084 crashes.

The majority of crashes (76.6%) resulted in no injuries and were property-damage-only events. Incidents involving some level of injury—serious, minor, or possible—accounted for 23.0% of the total. There were 97 fatal crashes recorded, which resulted in 99 total fatalities, indicating that some crashes involved more than one death.

Severity is per crash event (most severe injury). 97 fatal crash events resulted in 99 persons killed.

A significant portion of crashes occurred in seemingly ideal conditions, with 68.1% on dry roads and 50.0% in clear weather. However, only 46.4% of crashes happened during daylight hours. Crashes in adverse weather included 3,686 in rain and 578 in snow, while 6,455 incidents occurred on wet road surfaces.

The 26-34 age group was the most frequently involved demographic in crashes, accounting for 8,280 of the 51,924 people involved. Among the 41,537 vehicles with a recorded type, passenger cars were the most common. The vehicle makes most often documented in crashes were Chevrolet (6,311), Ford (5,894), and Honda (3,655).

The vast majority of crashes, 19,606, had their first harmful event occur on the main roadway. However, a notable number of incidents were run-off-road events, with a combined 3,416 crashes (14.6%) originating on the roadside, shoulder, median, or outside the designated trafficway.

Analysis of traffic controls where vehicles crashed indicates that a majority of vehicles (64.9%) were involved in incidents where no traffic control device was present. Crashes at signalized intersections involved 26.2% of vehicles, while those at locations with stop signs involved 6.8%.

The most frequently cited contributing factor for drivers was 'Following too Close / ACDA,' which was noted in 5,048 instances. This was followed by 'Failure to Yield' with 3,444 instances and 'Drove off Road' with 2,189 instances. Other common factors included 'Improper Lane Change' (1,314) and 'Unsafe Speed' (1,007).

A total of 1,602 commercial trucks were involved in crashes during this period. Of these, 906 were identified as semi-tractor trailers, while 696 were classified as other types of commercial vehicles.

Crashes involving vulnerable road users included 260 incidents with pedestrians and 43 with bicyclists, for a combined total of 303 crashes. An additional 65 crashes involved motorcyclists. These crashes collectively represent about 1.5% of all incidents.

There were 2,241 crashes involving animals, accounting for 9.5% of all reported incidents. The vast majority of these, 2,086 crashes, specifically involved deer. Collisions with other animals accounted for the remaining 155 incidents.

Impairment was a factor in 1,113 crashes, representing 4.7% of the total. Among these, alcohol was the most common substance, cited in 823 incidents. Drug impairment was noted in 169 cases, and a combination of alcohol and drugs was a factor in 121 crashes.

Beyond impairment from substances, other driver conditions were noted in a smaller number of records. These included 214 instances of falling asleep or fatigue, 150 cases of physical impairment, and 138 instances of emotional distress. An additional 929 drivers were noted as being under the influence of medications, drugs, or alcohol.

Among drivers for whom distraction information was available, specific distractions were identified in a minority of cases. The most common were general distractions inside the vehicle (508 drivers) and outside the vehicle (414 drivers). Electronic device use was explicitly cited for 291 drivers, including 136 who were manually operating a device.

While most crashes (17,620) occurred on straight and level road segments, road geometry was a factor in a notable share of incidents. Approximately 10.0% of crashes (2,355) happened on curves. Roadways with a grade were the site of 19.3% of crashes, including 1,088 incidents that occurred on a segment that was both curved and graded.

The geographic distribution of crashes is concentrated in Ohio's major urban centers. Cincinnati reported the highest number of crashes with 1,305 incidents, followed by Columbus (1,197) and Cleveland (1,111). Together, these three cities accounted for approximately 15.4% of all crashes statewide during this period.

Analysis of vehicle actions prior to collision shows that the majority of vehicles (54.2%) were proceeding straight ahead. A significant number of vehicles were either slowing or stopped in traffic (14.1%) or in the process of making a left turn (8.6%) when the crash occurred.

The most common crash type was a single-vehicle incident, categorized as 'Not Collision Between Two Vehicles in Transport,' which accounted for 35.1% of all crashes. Among multi-vehicle crashes, angle collisions were the most frequent type, representing 23.5% of incidents, followed closely by rear-end collisions at 22.7%.

Passenger cars were the most common vehicle type involved in crashes, accounting for 50.8% of all vehicles, followed by Sport Utility Vehicles at 24.2%. Commercial vehicles, including semi-tractors, single-unit trucks, and buses, collectively made up approximately 5.3% of the vehicles involved in these incidents.

A total of 51,924 individuals were involved in crashes during this period. Drivers constituted the largest group, accounting for 75.2% of all persons involved. Vehicle occupants (passengers) made up another 24.2%, while pedestrians accounted for 281 individuals, or 0.5% of the total.

Of the 51,924 people involved in crashes, 99 sustained fatal injuries, representing 0.19% of all individuals. A total of 7,768 people sustained non-fatal injuries, categorized as serious (545), minor (3,587), or possible (3,636). The majority of people involved, 42,407, were not injured.

Among over 51,000 vehicle occupants for whom safety equipment use was recorded, 41,415 were reported as using a shoulder and lap belt. However, 2,366 occupants were documented as using no safety equipment at all, representing 4.6% of this group. An additional 1,722 individuals were secured by various child restraint systems.

The most common type of collision involved two vehicles, accounting for 15,146 crashes or 64.5% of the total. Single-vehicle crashes were the next most frequent, with 6,990 incidents, representing 29.8% of all crashes. Multi-vehicle incidents involving three or more vehicles were less common, though one crash involved as many as 11 vehicles.