New study shows fatal vehicle crashes are rising across the DC region
Vehicle crashes in the D.C. region remain below pre-pandemic levels but have been rising since 2020, and crash-related fatalities have increased almost continuously since 2015, according to the findings of the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board’s 2025 Roadway Safety Study.
“Crashes have become more severe,” said Janie Nham, a transportation planner who contributed to the report.
Nham works for the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ Transportation Planning Board, and she presented the findings at a board meeting Wednesday.
The analysis covers five years of regional crash data through 2023, and builds on a 2020 report that analyzed 2013-17 data.
“The fatality rate is highest in the inner suburbs, while the serious injury rate is highest in the inner urban core,” Nham said.
Both data points are also well above the transportation board’s five-year targets. Fatalities are 38% higher; and the rate of serious injuries, though trending lower, is 29% over the target.
The report also looked at local efforts to identify and address road safety problems since the 2020 study.
Bad driver behaviors were the main issue in both reports.
“Speeding, impaired driving and unbelted driving remain top contributing factors to fatal and serious injury crashes in the region,” said Nicole Waldheim, a transportation safety expert with Fehr & Peers who also assisted with the safety study.
According to the report, speeding is involved in 9% of crashes, but is a factor in 32% of fatal crashes and 22% of crashes causing serious injuries.
Local jurisdictions have been working on reducing speeding through traffic calming projects, which include speed tables and narrowing roadways. But those efforts often face funding shortfalls and public and political pushback, Waldheim said.
Enforcement measures such as automated speed and red light cameras are another safety tool, and an effective one, Waldheim said.
“Montgomery County reported a nearly 40% reduction in KSI (killed or seriously injured) crashes on enforced corridors. And then both Alexandria and Fairfax have seen early improvements in their localized crash risk,” Waldheim said.
Vehicle sizes and weights were not included in the crash study, and the board said further research is needed “to understand the dynamics that are resulting in a rise in fatalities while serious injuries are decreasing.”