Where do you find SC car accident statistics? 

According to the SC Department of Public Safety’s most recent Traffic Collision Fact Book, there were 1006 traffic fatalities, 141,096 total collisions, 165 pedestrian deaths, and 27 bicyclist fatalities in SC in 2019. 

What other crash statistics are available? We’ll cover some of them below, including:

• Overall car accident stats, 
• Contributing factors to auto accidents, 
• Who is involved in car accidents, 
• The time and location of auto accidents, 
• The type of roads involved in crashes, 
• The type of vehicles, and
• The impact of weather and environmental factors. 

SC Car Accident Statistics 

Some quick facts about SC car accident statistics for the most recent years available (2019):

• 927 fatal collisions, 
• 1006 persons killed in fatal collisions,
• 2629 collisions with serious injuries, 
• 3237 persons with serious injuries from collisions,
• 35,903 collisions with other injuries, 
• 55,173 persons with injuries from collisions,
• 101,637 collisions with property damage only, and
• 141,096 total traffic accidents in SC. 

SC Collision Statistics Clock

What do SC car accident statistics look like on a daily, hourly, or per-minute basis? It’s a grim perspective…

There was:

• One crash every 3.7 minutes in SC, 
• One injury collision every 13.6 minutes, 
• One person injured every 9 minutes, 
• A crash with property damage every 5.2 minutes, 
• One death every 9.4 hours, 
• One death in a DUI accident where someone had a BAC of .08 or greater every 30.8 hours, 
• One motorcyclist killed every three days, 
• One bicyclist killed every 13.5 days, 
• One pedestrian killed every 2.2 days, 
• One teenaged driver in a fatal or injury collision every 1.4 hours, and
• One child under the age of eight seriously injured or killed every 5.4 days. 

SC Auto Accident Stats Primary Contributing Factors

According to the responding officer in each traffic incident, the most common primary contributing factors for traffic fatalities in SC, ranked from highest to lowest, include:

• Driving too fast for conditions, 
• Driving under the influence, 
• Failure to yield right of way, 
• Driving the wrong way,
• Running off the road, 
• Disregarding traffic signals, 
• Aggressive driving, and
• Distracted driving. 

94% of all primary contributing factors were driver-related, as opposed to road obstructions or weather conditions. 

Who is Involved in SC Car Accidents?

There was a huge disparity in male vs. female drivers in fatal traffic collisions. 69.3% of fatal traffic accidents involved a male driver, while 26.8% of fatal traffic collisions involved a female driver. 

Out of State Drivers

12.5% of all traffic collisions in SC involved out-of-state drivers, and most of those (54.5%) were from three states: North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. On the Interstates, 35.67% of all fatal crashes involved drivers with out-of-state licenses. 

Time and Location of Car Crashes

When and where did car accidents happen in SC? 

• The months with the most fatal traffic collisions were May (94), July (90), and September (84), while October had the most collisions,
• Slightly more traffic fatalities happened over the weekend (48.4% over three days), as opposed to weekdays (51.6% over four days), while Friday had the most collisions and the most fatal collisions,
• Thanksgiving had the highest traffic fatalities, with one death every 4.6 hours, and
• Most auto accidents happened between 3:01 and 6:00 pm, while most fatal crashes happened between 6:01 and 9:00 pm. 

SC Counties with the Most Car Accidents

Horry County (Myrtle Beach, Conway area) tied Charleston County for the most traffic fatalities, with 72 deaths in each county. Bamberg County had the fewest number of traffic deaths (0). 

Greenville County had the highest number of collisions (17,111). 

Type Roads

The highest number of collisions and fatalities occurred on secondary roads in SC, and the lowest number of collisions and fatalities happened on county roads.  

SC Car Accident Statistics Weather and Environmental Factors

Environmental conditions were a primary contributing factor in just 3.1% of all car accidents and 1% of all fatal crashes:

• The highest number of collisions happened in daylight, with clear weather and a dry roadway, 
• More than 87.7% of all collisions happened when the weather was clear or cloudy, 
• About 84.6% of all traffic collisions happened on dry roads, and
• 11 people were killed in crashes in work zones. 

Types of Vehicles Involved in Auto Accidents

What types of vehicles are involved in traffic fatalities in SC? For the most recent year reported:

• Automobiles (496),
• Pickup trucks (250),
• Truck tractor (82),
• Other trucks (31),
• Full sized vans (31), 
• Mini vans (50),
• SUVs (313),
• Motorcycles (125),
• Other motorbikes (33),
• Pedalcycles (27), 
• Trains (1), 
• School buses (2),
• Passenger buses (3),
• Other (11), and
• Unknown/ hit and runs (8). 

The economic loss from car accidents in SC in 2019 alone was $4.7 billion, with an injury rate of 100.82 injuries per 100 million miles traveled and a death rate of 1.74 deaths per 100 million miles traveled. 

Car Accident Attorneys in Myrtle Beach, SC

If you have been injured in an auto accident in SC caused by someone else’s negligence, our SC auto accident attorneys at Coastal Law may be able to help you recover full and fair compensation from the at-fault driver. 

Call us now at (843) 488-5000 or fill out our online form to schedule a free consultation and case evaluation.