New Hanover County remains among the top four counties in the state ranked the most dangerous for vehicle collisions, according to a release from AAA Carolinas.
This is the third straight year that Pitt, New Hanover, Person and Watauga counties have topped the annual list, which is based on analysis of yearly crash data.
New Hanover ranked second, with 286.8 crashes per 100 million vehicle miles traveled in 2012, according to AAA Carolinas’ latest analysis. Pitt topped the list for the fifth consecutive year with 4,633 crashes in 2012, averaging 306.7 crashes per 100 million vehicle miles traveled.
Person averaged 266.6, while Watauga came in fourth with 259.3. The state average was 204.7—50 percent lower than Pitt’s crash average.
The rankings are based on the likelihood of a certain type of crash—fatal, injurious, motorcycle, tractor-trailer and the total number of crashes—based on vehicle miles traveled, the release states.
“AAA Carolinas’ annual Dangerous Counties analysis, inaugurated in 1995, is one of several ways to look at North Carolina traffic crash data and done to remind motorists of the need for safe and defensive driving, especially in counties with above-average traffic crashes, injuries and deaths,” the release states.
David E. Parsons, president and CEO of AAA Carolinas, is quoted in the release as saying: “Consistently high rankings for being one of the most dangerous counties in the state should be a wake-up call for better traffic enforcement or road design.”
For fatal crashes per vehicle miles traveled in 2012, Hoke, Warren, Gates, Robeson and Yancey counties ranked the most dangerous, with 81 fatal crashes combined—6.8 percent of the state’s total.
The release, including rankings by category, can be viewed in its entirety here.
