Pennsylvania crash deaths were near record lows in 2024, but drunk driving sill accounts for most of them

The number of people killed in car crashes fell to a near-record low in Pennsylvania last year, but speeding and alcohol remain the most common factors in fatal collisions across the state, according to data from PennDOT

The state's annual report on vehicle crashes breaks down trends in road behavior and the circumstances that most often result in crashes. Pennsylvania had 110,765 reportable traffic crashes in 2024, resulting in 1,127 deaths. Total crashes increased by 383 compared with 2023 — causing a higher number of injuries — but there were 82 fewer deaths.

Last year marked the second-lowest number of crash deaths in Pennsylvania since records were first kept in 1928. The record low was 1,059 fatalities in 2019. The state's peak in traffic fatalities occurred in 1973, when 2,444 p