From Shane Smith Law
A recent study by the personal injury firm Shane Smith Law has identified the states with the highest rates of fatal hit-and-run crashes.
It analyzed hit-and-run data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) over five years, from 2018 to 2022. This data was scaled to local populations to calculate the hit-and-run rate per 100,000 people.
The research found that New Mexico has the highest rate of fatal hit-and-run crashes, with 7.73 incidents per 100,000 people. This equates to 8.43% of all fatal crashes that are classified as hit-and-run incidents.
Louisiana comes second, with a rate of 6.02 fatal hit-and-run crashes per 100,000 people. The state's percentage of fatal crashes involving hit-and-runs stands at 7.15%.
Tennesseetakes third, with 5.67 fatal hit-and-run crashes per 100,000 people, meaning 7.03% of the state’s fatal crashes involve drivers who flee the scene.
In fourth place is Arizona, with 5.63 fatal hit-and-run crashes per 100,000 people. The state has one of the highest percentages of fatal crashes involving hit-and-runs at 8.08%.
Rounding out the top five is Florida, with 5.60 hit-and-run fatal crashes per 100,000 people, equating to 7.73% of total fatal crashes.
The five states with the highest fatal hit-and-run rates
|
Rank
|
State
|
Hit-and-Run Fatal Crashes per 100,000 People
|
Hit-and-Run Fatal Crashes as a Proportion of all Fatal Crashes
|
|
1
|
New Mexico
|
7.73
|
8.43%
|
|
2
|
Louisiana
|
6.02
|
7.15%
|
|
3
|
Tennessee
|
5.67
|
7.03%
|
|
4
|
Arizona
|
5.63
|
8.08%
|
|
5
|
Florida
|
5.60
|
7.73%
|
On the other end of the scale, the states with the lowest rate of fatal hit-and-run crashes are New Hampshire and Maine.
Both states report 0.29 fatal hit-and-run crashes per 100,000 people, equating to 0.55% of total crashes in Maine and 0.71% of all fatal crashes in New Hampshire.
Idaho comes in third, with 0.70 fatal hit-and-run crashes per 100,000 people. This equates to 1.25% of the total 1,044 fatal crashes reported in the state between 2018 and 2022.
Fourth place goes to Wyoming, with 0.90% of its fatal crashes involving hit-and-run incidents. The state reports 0.86 fatal hit-and-run crashes per 100,000 people.
Iowa comes fifth, with 0.88 fatal hit-and-run crashes per 100,000 people. This equates to 1.81% of all fatal crashes reported in the state.
The five states with the lowest fatal hit-and-run rates
|
Rank
|
State
|
Hit-and-Run Fatal Crashes per 100,000 People
|
Hit-and-Run Fatal Crashes as a Proportion of all Fatal Crashes
|
|
1
|
New Hampshire
|
0.29
|
0.71%
|
|
2
|
Maine
|
0.29
|
0.55%
|
|
3
|
Idaho
|
0.70
|
1.25%
|
|
4
|
Wyoming
|
0.86
|
0.90%
|
|
5
|
Iowa
|
0.88
|
1.81%
|
Commenting on the findings, a spokesperson for Shane Smith Law said,"These statistics highlight a critical issue on our roads. The high rates of deadly hit-and-run crashes in certain states make it evident that increased public awareness and stronger community efforts to address this problem are required. Staying at the scene after an accident is not only a legal obligation but also a moral one, as it can significantly impact the chances of saving lives."
Methodology:
- Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) was taken via their Fatality and Injury Reporting System Tool (FIRST. The most recent available data was collected which was 2018 to 2022.
- The number of fatal hit-and-run crashes per state has been given as a per-100,000 figure adjusted to each state's population, and then states have been ranked with the highest rate of fatalities at the top. The percentage of fatal crashes that involved a hit-and-run has also been provided as a proportion of the total fatal collisions for the same period to offer an alternative ranking metric. The population figure used is an average of population figures between 2018-2022.
Sources:
