Ohio’s Deadliest Roads and Fatal Accident Statistics

Over three years, 3,189 car crashes in Ohio resulted in fatalities. From 2018 to 2020, MoneyGeek found several factors involved in these accidents, including drunk driving, speeding and distracted driving. The study examined accidents on 1,940 roads out of the state's 262,492 miles of road and broke down crash statistics by county.

Of the 3,189 fatal accidents that occurred in Ohio between 2018 and 2020, 32.3% were drunk driving-related. In most states, drunk driving contributes more to fatal car crashes than other factors like distracted driving, speeding and winter conditions. MoneyGeek’s study shows Ohio follows a similar pattern.

Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) measures the percentage of alcohol in a person’s bloodstream at a given time. In Ohio, a BAC of 0.08% makes you legally intoxicated, but consuming even a small amount of alcohol can impair your driving abilities.

Drunk driving also causes other repercussions outside of a fatality. The legal costs of drunk driving in Ohio are long-term and extensive, ranging from a license suspension to possible jail time.

If your license is suspended after a DUI conviction, you'll need to file an SR-22 certificate in Ohio to have it reinstated. An SR-22 tells car insurance providers you're a high-risk driver, which means higher rates. Some insurers do offer cheaper options after a DUI, but you'll still pay more than you did before the conviction.

Speeding was involved in 875 (27.4%) of all fatal crashes in Ohio from 2018 to 2020.

Speeding gives drivers less time to react, makes sudden stops harder and raises the risk of deadly crashes.

From 2018 to 2020, 164 fatal accidents in Ohio involved distracted driving, making up 5.1% of all fatal crashes in the state. That's still a high count, but MoneyGeek's worst states for distracted driving study ranked Ohio 35th in the nation. Ohio had lower distracted driving accident rates than 69% of states.

MoneyGeek found that August had the most fatal accidents from 2018 to 2020, with 345 crashes (10.8%). July had the second-highest fatal crash count at 338, or 10.6% of all deadly accidents. September came in third with 325 (10.2%) deadly crashes.

You can help keep Ohio’s roads safe by being a responsible driver. Safe driving keeps your record clean and saves you hundreds of dollars a year on car insurance.

No matter how you drive, car insurance provides financial protection after an accident. If you cause a crash in Ohio, state law requires you to cover the other driver's bodily injury and property damage costs. Full coverage auto insurance also pays for damage to your own vehicle and covers medical expenses for you and your passengers.

The average auto insurance policy in Ohio costs $803 a year, but premiums vary by location. A car insurance policy in Toledo costs $837 annually. Auto coverage in Akron is $113 less than in Toledo. The average auto insurance plan in Columbus, Ohio’s most populated city, is $793 yearly.

Your premium will vary based on your age, driving experience and driving record. Comparing quotes from multiple insurers helps you find the most affordable car insurance rates.

Fatal crashes from Ohio’s top five counties accounted for 30.3% of all fatal accidents, or 967 crashes. Franklin County had the most deadly crashes at 302, with most of these happening on I-270. MoneyGeek’s analysis found that most fatal crashes in the county involved drunk driving (92 accidents) and speeding (70 accidents).

MoneyGeek analyzed fatality data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Fatal Accident Reporting System’s (FARS) database for 2018, 2019 and 2020.