The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that more than 39,000 people died in traffic accidents in 2024. That represents an improvement from 2023, when nearly 41,000 people died on the roads in this country. Nevertheless, highways and roadways in Oregon and across the U.S. remain dangerous, as the many collisions, injuries, and deaths attest. If you have suffered a serious injury or lost a loved one in a motor vehicle accident, there may be many people or entities whose negligence led to your harm, from other drivers to governmental entities responsible for the maintenance and repair of the road where the crash occurred. To find out more regarding holding negligent parties accountable, you should talk to an experienced Oregon motor vehicle accident lawyer.
Counties like Multnomah and Washington typically rank at the top in terms of the most crashes and deaths each year, based on raw numbers. That does not necessarily tell the whole story, however, as they are also among Oregon’s most populous counties. Recently, Stacker delved into this data and ranked Oregon’s counties not simply by tallying the number of deaths, but by assigning a fatality rate based on dividing the number of deaths by the county’s total population.
The county at the top of the list was Harney County. Harney is a large, sparsely populated county in southeast Oregon. Although it logged only six deaths, that number, given the county’s low population (less than 7,500), was enough to make its fatality rate (80.5 per 100,000 people) nearly double that of the #2 county, Malheur.
In neighboring Malheur County, one highway alone, U.S. 20, accounted for more than 1/3 of the deaths there. Of all 14 roadway deaths, five occurred on that highway. The third county was Baker, with a fatality rate of 41.4 per 100,000 people. That means that counties 1-3 are all located in far eastern Oregon.
On the geographic flip side, northwest Oregon was the home of counties 4 and 5. Tillamook had a fatality rate of 40.1 per 100,000 people. Columbia County had a rate of 35.2 per 100,000 people. More than half (11) of Columbia County’s 19 deaths occurred on U.S. 30.
The data showed that, in most instances, the roads with the highest number of deaths were U.S. highways, including U.S. 101 in Coos County (12 fatalities), U.S. 30 in Columbia County (11 fatalities), and U.S. 97 in Deschutes County (10 fatalities).
Multnomah County logged a total of 90 deaths, giving it a fatality rate of 11.3 per 100,000 people and ranking it 20th out of Oregon’s 36 counties. The deadliest Multnomah County road was Southeast Stark Street in Portland, which logged nine deaths.
Even as the U.S. Federal Highway Administration and the Oregon Department of Transportation conduct periodic safety audits and safety studies, particularly along especially deadly roads like U.S. 97, problems persist. These may include narrow shoulders, old, outdated guardrails (or no guardrails at all), and alignments that create short sight distances.
Be advised that, as we recently discussed, taking on the government in civil court is a highly technical, complex, and challenging endeavor. It is not, however, necessarily impossible. Skilled legal counsel can provide you with essential advice and advocacy when and if pursuing governmental agencies becomes necessary.
While not all motor vehicle accidents will involve taking action against an arm of the government, almost all will include a driver (or drivers) who drove negligently. This means dealing with at-fault parties, their insurance companies, and their lawyers. This can be even more complicated if you live somewhere outside of Oregon. Given the frequency with which major crashes occur on highways located in Oregon’s tourist “hot spots” — such as the state’s coastal areas — this is a very real concern.
For sound advice and reliable, personalized advocacy, look to the knowledgeable Oregon motor vehicle accident attorneys at Kaplan Law LLC. We have handled a wide array of auto accidents and possess the in-depth knowledge and firsthand experience with Oregon’s courts necessary to assist you in obtaining justice for the harm you suffered. To learn more about how we can help, call (503) 226-3844 today or contact us online to schedule your free consultation.