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Car Accidents in Ohio: 2020 by the Numbers

Most of us in the Cincinnati area are glad to put 2020 behind us. Along with all the problems unique to last year, there were the usual issues, including serious and fatal car accidents.

Ohio highway crash data for 2020

Now that we are in 2021, it is a good time to look back at Ohio’s auto accident statistics to see if there is anything we can learn. Here is a brief overview, thanks to the <atarget=”_blank” href=”https://www.statepatrol.ohio.gov/ostats.aspx#gsc.tab=0″ rel=”noopener noreferrer”>Ohio State Highway Patrol:

  • There were a total of 236,709 crashes reported to OSHP from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2020.
  • OSHP reported 25,105 wrecks here in Hamilton County for the year.
  • Statewide, March and April had the fewest crashes out of any months — not surprising, given that those months were the beginning of the lockdown in Ohio.
  • By October, there were 23,728 accidents, surpassing February’s total of 23,310. Those were the two highest monthly totals of the year.
  • About 45 percent of the crashes were “youth-related” or “teen-related,” which presumably means involving a teenaged driver or one in their early 20s.
  • OSHP listed about 11.2 percent of the collisions as related to alcohol, drugs or OVI.
  • The agency blamed about 12.3 percent of 2020 crashes on speeding.

As with many other states, Ohio experienced fewer crashes in 2020 than in 2019, when there were 296,581 car accidents. However, fatal accidents went up year-over-year, from 1,041 to 1,124.

A problem every year

Dangers like speeding, drunk driving and distracted driving are unlikely to disappear from Cincinnati’s highways and roads anytime soon. While we hope that 2021 will be safer for motorists statewide, there will be serious car crashes in which innocent people get badly injured. Then they could need help from a personal injury attorney to get compensation from the responsible driver’s insurance company.