Oklahoma City Car Accident Statistics 2024

An automobile accident is a traumatic and frightening event that can change your life instantly in the form of a serious injury. Unfortunately, they are also all too common, as our cities and modern lifestyles are designed around the mass use of powerful automobiles for personal transportation and commerce alike.

The crowded surface streets and fast-moving freeways in and around Oklahoma City see their share of these car accidents, both big and small, much like any other major city. It is, therefore, useful to look into some of the more interesting numbers that make up today’s auto accident landscape, putting the state of Oklahoma and Oklahoma City into a national context.

Oklahoma City Traffic by the Numbers

• Oklahoma has almost 4 million residents, with over 650,000 (or around 15%) located within Oklahoma City, the most populous city in the state.
• More than half of Oklahomans (around 2.5 million) are licensed drivers, and more than half of these licensed drivers are female (51.46% as of 2020).
• There are nearly 4.5 million registered vehicles in Oklahoma, which means that there are more vehicles than people.
• Oklahoma comprises almost 70,000 square miles, and that area contains over 100,000 miles of publicly accessible roadway.
• There were 169 car crashes on the average day in Oklahoma in 2020, representing nearly a 16% decrease from the previous year’s number, where there were over 200 crashes per day.
• In 2020, Oklahoma had 654 fatal car accidents, climbing to 681 in 2021.
• In 2020, Oklahoma had 27,418 injurious accidents out of a total of 61,739 crashes.
• Car accident injuries and total crashes saw double-digit reductions from their 2019 numbers, but automotive fatalities actually increased by 2.2% statewide.
• From 2019 to 2020, fatal car crashes involving alcohol in the state jumped from 165 to 199, an increase of over 20%. Injuries and total crashes involving alcohol decreased, however.
• In the same period (2019 to 2020), fatal accidents involving unsafe rates of speed also jumped significantly, from 112 to 185. Once again, however, injuries and total crashes involving unsafe speeds actually decreased.

Oklahoma Car Crash Statistics in Context: National Numbers

To get a better understanding of what these numbers actually mean, it’s important to put Oklahoma into a nationwide context.

An important (yet grim and sometimes hard to understand) number for comparative car crash statistics is each state’s “death per population” ranking. Oklahoma experiences 19.1 traffic deaths per every 100,000 people, putting us on par with states like Tennessee (19), Alabama (19.5), Kentucky (17.9), Montana (21.6), and Louisiana (21). The most dangerous driving state by this metric is Mississippi, with 26.2 deaths per 100,000 population.

19 people out of every 100,000 can seem like a small number, but compare this to “safe” roadways in a state like Rhode Island, which has only 5.7 annual car crash deaths for every 100,000 people.

Oklahoma traffic fatalities are evenly split between single-vehicle crashes versus multiple-vehicle crashes. Most states do have a fairly even breakdown (although not quite that even), save for a few outliers like New Hampshire, Hawaii, or Montana, where over two-thirds of fatal crashes are single-vehicle incidents.

Staying Safe & What to Do If You’ve Been Injured in a Car Crash

There are many ways to protect yourself from traffic accidents. It is key to follow all traffic laws and signs as well as drive with constant awareness. Central Oklahomans hoping to avoid the busiest (i.e., most dangerous) streets can use the online Transportation Data Management System provided by the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments (ACOG) to zoom in on detailed, street-level traffic information.

Unfortunately, these precautions are not always sufficient to keep someone safe from traffic incidents. If you have experienced a car accident, you should take the following steps:

• See to the immediate medical/first aid needs of yourself and those around you.
• Call emergency services (e.g., 911). This has a dual purpose in the case of a car crash: to get professional medical attention on the scene and also to report the crash to the authorities.
• If you’re able, document the scene of the crash extensively with photographs. These can be valuable to your lawyer later when you’re pursuing a claim for damages.
• Collect information (contact information, insurance policy info, etc.) from other drivers and/or witnesses to the crash
• Protect your rights and the strength of your future case by not discussing guilt or fault. Even if you know that the other driver was at fault, don’t make accusations or let heightened emotions dictate how you proceed. Allow the legal process to handle this.
• Contact the team at 222 Injury Lawyers of Oklahoma City for assistance in pursuing your personal injury claim and steering the case toward a positive outcome.

FAQs About Oklahoma City Car Accident Statistics 2024

What State Has the Most Car Accidents in 2024?

Because reporting systems and procedures vary from state to state, not every state has accurate partial-year data for 2024 publicly available. Speaking more generally, California sees the highest total number of serious automobile accidents from year to year, with nearly 4,000 fatal accidents reported in that state in 2021.

How Many Car Accidents Occur Each Year in Oklahoma?

Although the statistical numbers shift from year to year, Oklahoma currently sees around 60,000 reported automobile accidents in an average year. Just under half of these motor vehicle incidents (around 27,000 of them) result in injuries. Thankfully, only a small percentage of Oklahoma automobile accidents result in death.

How Many Car Accidents Happen Daily in Oklahoma?

The most recent data projects around 150-175 total traffic accidents on an average day in Oklahoma. This may seem like a lot for a relatively rural state, but it’s important to put this number in context with the following facts: 

• Many accidents occur within the busy OKC metro.
• There are over 2.5 million registered drivers in the state.
• Only around half of these crashes result in injuries.

This rate of accidents per day actually represents some good progress, as the number was over 200 daily crashes as recently as 2019.

What Time of Day Do Most Crashes Occur?

This can be a hard question to answer, as every area’s traffic can be quite different due to local civic planning and economic factors. For example, a major employer’s shift schedule can have a great influence on the time of day when accidents occur in a particular town. That being said, more accidents occur in Oklahoma during the 5:00 P.M. hour than any other time of day. For fatal accidents, the 3:00 P.M. hour also becomes noteworthy.

222 Injury Lawyers: Your Trusted OKC Car Accident Injury Team

When you’ve been injured in a car accident in Oklahoma City, you have the right to seek compensation for your injuries. Get the process started today with a no-pressure initial consultation from the compassionate injury team at 222 Injury Lawyers.