Oregon’s Yearly Automotive Deaths Have Nearly Doubled since 2011
By Garrett Christensen on Thursday, March 9th, 2023 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
OREGON – In a previous examination of publicly available data from the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) and the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), it was indicated that Oregon’s rate of fatal crashes and traffic related deaths had steadily increased from 2011 to 2020. This increase coincided with a nationwide trend of increasing automotive fatalities. Recently, ODOT has provided preliminary data on fatal crashes for 2021, 2022 and January and February of 2023, showing a yet further increase in Oregon’s rate of fatal crashes.
Disclaimer, the data being examined is both preliminary and subject to change as well as being limited to traffic fatalities per month in a handful of victim categories. The actual number of incidents vs total deaths, geographic distribution of incidents and primary causes of incidents are not available past 2020.
Previously, Oregon’s number of traffic related deaths from 2011 to 2021 was 4,222. The lowest record year was 2011 at 331 deaths and the highest year being 2020 at 507. The average yearly deaths were 422 with an average yearly increase of 19.5 deaths. The only instances of a decrease in yearly deaths were between 2012-2013, 2016-2017 and 2018-2019.
Now, it is estimated by ODOT that the number of fatal crashes increase significantly to 599 in 2021 and then again slightly to 603 for 2022, nearly double the fatalities from 2011. The average number of deaths per year has subsequently increased to 452 and the average increase per year up to approximately 25. In total, 5,424 people have been killed in automotive related deaths in Oregon since 2011. Currently, it is estimated that approximately 80 Oregonians have died in 2023 due to automotive related incidents in January and February alone, though this number could change as data is revised.
Examining more recent data in specific categories, trends seem to show that pedestrian deaths have been steadily increasing while cyclist and motorcyclist deaths have remained somewhat consistent. ODOT’s quick fact sheets report that cyclist deaths have fluctuated between 12 and 19 per year from 2018-2022, coming in at 13 total in 2022, one less than the previous year. Motorcyclist deaths show a slight trend toward increase, going from 85 deaths in 2018 to 95 in 2021, though currently sit at 90 for 2022. Pedestrians meanwhile have been on a steady increase, going from 79 in 2018 to 129 in 2022.
Once again, all data beyond 2020 is considered preliminary and subject to change by ODOT. Public sources can be found at: Oregon Department of Transportation : Crash Statistics & Reports : Data & Maps : State of Oregon
