23,180 CRASHES IN
OHIO, OH
JUNE 2021

Of the 111 total fatalities, motorists accounted for 94, while 17 were pedestrians. There were no cyclist fatalities recorded. Regarding injuries, 9,226 motorists and 167 pedestrians were injured. No cyclist injuries were reported in the dataset for this period.

Crash frequencies peaked during the midweek and afternoon commute hours. Wednesday was the busiest day with 4,093 crashes, followed by Tuesday with 3,871. The single hour with the most crashes was from 4:00 PM to 4:59 PM, which saw 2,074 incidents, part of a broader afternoon peak between 3:00 PM and 6:00 PM.

The vast majority of crashes, 71.7% (16,611), resulted in no injuries. Crashes involving injuries accounted for 27.9% of the total, broken down into serious injuries (2.7%), minor injuries (14.4%), and possible injuries (10.8%). There were 101 fatal crashes during this period, which resulted in a total of 111 fatalities.

Severity is per crash event (most severe injury). 101 fatal crash events resulted in 111 persons killed.

A substantial majority of crashes occurred in favorable conditions. Incidents in daylight accounted for 76.2% of the total (17,674), while 82.1% happened on dry roads (19,034) and 65.4% occurred in clear weather (15,156). Adverse conditions included 2,741 crashes in the rain and 3,947 crashes on wet road surfaces.

Analysis of the 53,015 people involved in crashes shows the 26-34 age group was the most represented, with 8,491 individuals. Among the 42,266 vehicles involved, domestic brands were most frequent, with Chevrolet appearing in 6,299 instances, Ford in 5,947, and Honda in 3,639. Passenger cars were the most common vehicle type, involved in 21,400 instances.

The majority of initial harmful events, 19,444 incidents, occurred on the primary roadway. However, a notable number of crashes originated off the main travel lanes, with 1,779 on the roadside, 744 on the shoulder, and 179 in the median. Combined, these run-off-road events represent 11.7% of all crashes.

Most crashes occurred at locations with no traffic control device present, accounting for 27,337 involved units. Locations with traffic signals were the site of 10,951 unit involvements, while intersections with stop signs accounted for 3,078. A smaller number of incidents occurred at locations with yield signs (189) or roundabouts (248).

Among contributing factors attributed to drivers, 'Following too Close / ACDA' was the most common, cited in 5,456 instances. This was followed by 'Failure to Yield' with 3,373 instances and 'Drove off Road' with 2,093. 'Improper Lane Change' (1,373) and 'Unsafe Speed' (884) were also frequently cited driver actions.

A total of 1,800 crashes involved a commercial truck. Of these, 990 incidents involved a semi-tractor trailer, while the remaining 810 involved other types of commercial vehicles. These incidents represent a key area of focus due to the potential for higher severity.

There were 881 crashes involving vulnerable road users or motorcyclists. Motorcyclists were involved in 552 incidents, while pedestrians were involved in 192 and bicyclists in 137. Combined, pedestrians and bicyclists accounted for 329 crashes.

A total of 1,427 crashes were attributed to collisions with animals. The vast majority of these, 1,340 incidents, involved deer. The remaining 87 crashes involved other, unspecified types of animals.

Impairment was a factor in 1,058 crashes, representing 4.6% of the total. Alcohol was the sole factor in 693 of these incidents, drugs were the sole factor in 252, and a combination of alcohol and drugs was noted in 113 cases.

Beyond impairment, other driver conditions were noted in 1,572 instances. These included driving under the influence of medications/drugs/alcohol (876), falling asleep or fatigue (292), emotional distress (154), physical impairment (156), and illness (94).

Among drivers for whom a distraction was recorded, the most common issues were internal and external distractions. There were 583 instances of 'other distraction inside the vehicle' and 427 of 'other distraction outside the vehicle'. Manually operating an electronic device was cited for 146 drivers, while talking on a hand-held device was noted for 48.

Most crashes (17,678) occurred on straight and level sections of roadway. However, road geometry played a role in a significant minority of crashes, with 3,218 occurring on a grade and 2,234 occurring on a curve. Crashes on sections with both a curve and a grade accounted for 1,023 incidents.

The highest crash volumes were concentrated in Ohio's largest urban centers. Cincinnati (1,443), Cleveland (1,397), and Columbus (1,235) together accounted for 4,075 crashes, or 17.6% of the statewide total. Other municipalities with over 200 crashes included Toledo (912), Akron (627), and Dayton (428).

Analysis of vehicle actions prior to collision shows that moving 'Straight Ahead' was the most common pre-crash action, recorded for 22,384 vehicles. The next most frequent actions were 'Slowing or Stopped In Traffic' (6,381 vehicles) and 'Making Left Turn' (3,451 vehicles).

Single-vehicle crashes, categorized as 'Not Collision Between Two Vehicles in Transport,' were the most frequent type of incident, accounting for 7,308 crashes (31.5%). Among multi-vehicle collisions, rear-end crashes were most common with 5,817 incidents (25.1%), followed by angle collisions with 5,467 incidents (23.6%).

Passenger cars were the most common vehicle type involved in crashes, accounting for 21,400 of the 42,266 total vehicles. Sport Utility Vehicles (9,511) and Pick-up trucks (4,637) were the next most frequent. Commercial vehicles were also present, including 1,075 Semi-Tractors and 576 Single Unit Trucks.

Of the 53,015 individuals involved in crashes, the majority were drivers (39,484). Vehicle occupants (passengers) constituted the second-largest group with 13,331 individuals. A smaller but notable group consisted of 200 pedestrians involved in collisions.

Among all 53,015 people involved in crashes, 111 sustained fatal injuries (0.2%) and 9,393 sustained non-fatal injuries (17.7%). The non-fatal injuries included 742 serious, 4,615 minor, and 4,036 possible injuries. The largest group, 41,767 people (78.8%), were not injured.

Shoulder and lap belts were reportedly used by 41,334 vehicle occupants. However, 2,404 occupants were recorded as using no safety equipment at all. Child restraints, including forward-facing, rear-facing, and booster seats, were used by a combined 2,011 children.

The most common type of crash involved two vehicles, accounting for 15,938 incidents. Single-vehicle crashes were the second most frequent, with 5,817 incidents. Multi-vehicle crashes involving three or more vehicles were less common, with 1,193 three-vehicle crashes and 186 four-vehicle crashes recorded.