Report: The Florida counties with the most numbers of car crashes

Florida driver can’t resist car carrier ramp, crashes near top, Image credit: Twitter)

Whether deserved or not, the Sunshine State has a reputation for having some of the worst drivers in the nation. Anecdotal reports of speeding, blowing through red lights, road rage and inconsiderate drivers are often the reasons provided for this negative view of Florida drivers. And Florida is no stranger to its fair share of car crashes.

A new study, conducted by personal injury attorneys Injured in Florida, analyzed Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles data to reveal the number of crashes in each county in Florida that have occurred so far in 2023. The data was gathered to determine the number of crashes that occur for every 10,000 people in each county.

Here in Florida, as of June 2nd there have been:
﹡160,804 car accidents
﹡102,952 injuries from car crashes
﹡1,282 deaths from accidents

Call the team at Distasio Law Firm for help when you're in an accident.https://t.co/M49RVRYJNU pic.twitter.com/ksLyT8I6sk
— Distasio Law Firm (@ScottDistasio) June 14, 2023

Spoiler alert: Seminole County is the most dangerous place to drive in Florida,
according to the new study.

Seminole County is at the top of the list of most dangerous places to drive in Florida. Compared to other counties with a larger population, Seminole County experienced 2,369 crashes between January 2023 and May 2023, resulting in 22 fatalities. This equates to 119 crashes per 10,000 residents, making it the most dangerous place to drive in Florida.

Hamilton County comes second, with 104 crashes for every 10,000 residents. The county has a population of 13,217 and experienced a total of 137 crashes from the beginning of the year to May; however, these crashes only resulted in one fatality.

Duval County is the third most dangerous place to drive in Florida. Duval County has a population of 1,016,536 and experienced 9,051 total crashes. This equates to 89 crashes per 10,000 residents. The total number of crashes resulted in 65 fatalities this year.

Miami-Dade County, the county with the most significant population throughout Florida, is the fourth most dangerous place to drive. The county has a population of 2,673,837 and has experienced 23,245 total crashes between January 2023 and May 2023. Per 10,000 residents, there have been 87 crashes, as well as a total of 149 deaths, making it the county with the highest death toll due to motor vehicle crashes.

The fifth most dangerous place to drive in Florida is Madison County, that experienced a total of 156 crashes between January 2023 and May 2023. The county has a population of 18,198 and this equates to 86 crashes per 10,000 residents. The total number of crashes also resulted in six deaths.

Commenting on these findings, a spokesperson from Injured in Florida says: “Despite this data only accounting for incidents occurring between January and May of this year, there has already been a 13% increase in motor vehicle incidents compared to last year. In 2022, there was a total of 391,901 motor vehicle incidents, averaging 1,074 incidents per day. As of January and May this year, there have been 146,064 motor vehicle incidents which resulted in 1,256 fatalities. This averages ten deaths per day and 1,217 incidents per day, revealing that the number of crashes so far this year is particularly high.”

Below, see the data regarding the car crashes for each county in the Great State of Florida.

Rank	County	Population	Total Crashes	Crashes per 10K	Total Fatalities
1	Seminole County	198,268	2,369	119	22
2	Hamilton County	13,217	137	104	1
3	Duval County	1,016,536	9,051	89	62
4	Miami-Dade County	2,673,837	23,245	87	149
5	Madison County	18,198	156	86	6
6	Leon County	297,369	2,390	80	12
7	Sarasota County	358,704	2,831	79	19
8	Bay County	185,134	1,459	79	12
9	Lee County	822,453	6,224	76	40
10	Hardee County	25,645	194	76	9
11	Escambia County	324,878	2,315	71	29
12	Broward County	1,947,026	13,732	71	68
13	Hillsborough County	1,513,301	10,573	70	69
14	Martin County	162,006	1,118	69	5
15	Jefferson County	15,042	103	68	1
16	Monroe County	81,708	558	68	6
17	Okeechobee County	40,412	273	68	3
18	Walton County	83,304	562	67	5
19	Orange County	1,452,726	9,779	67	67
20	Calhoun County	13,464	90	67	3
21	DeSoto County	35,312	233	66	5
22	Collier County	397,994	2,626	66	14
23	Jackson County	48,211	316	66	7
24	Palm Beach County	1,518,477	9,933	65	77
25	Marion County	396,415	2,563	65	35
26	Polk County	787,404	5,016	64	56
27	Alachua County	284,030	1,801	63	18
28	Suwannee County	45,411	275	61	12
29	Volusia County	579,192	3,449	60	48
30	Pinellas County	961,739	5,718	59	43
31	Manatee County	429,125	2,550	59	21
32	Gadsden County	43,403	257	59	8
33	Hendry County	41,339	235	57	7
34	Putnam County	74,731	418	56	10
35	Holmes County	19,651	109	55	1
36	Columbia County	71,908	397	55	10
37	Osceola County	422,545	2,290	54	37
38	Sumter County	144,970	783	54	12
39	Brevard County	630,693	3,350	53	28
40	Baker County	27,803	143	51	2
41	Washington County	25,414	126	50	2
42	Gilchrist County	18,992	94	49	4
43	Glades County	12,454	61	49	8
44	Lake County	410,139	1,997	49	30
45	Wakulla County	35,178	171	49	–
46	Levy County	45,260	215	48	6
47	Indian River County	167,352	788	47	5
48	Pasco County	608,794	2,850	47	34
49	Liberty County	7,603	35	46	–
50	Hernando County	206,896	942	46	15
51	St Lucie County	478,772	2,137	45	16
52	Taylor County	21,283	93	44	3
53	Flagler County	126,705	545	43	8
54	Okaloosa County	216,482	927	43	8
55	Clay County	226,589	961	42	8
56	Franklin County	12,498	52	42	4
57	Dixie County	17,124	71	41	3
58	Citrus County	162,529	670	41	8
59	Highlands County	105,618	433	41	10
60	Nassau County	97,899	393	40	7
61	Bradford County	27,313	99	36	3
62	Gulf County	15,314	51	33	2
63	Union County	15,460	48	31	–
64	St Johns County	462,286	1,387	30	16
65	Santa Rosa County	306,841	794	26	6
66	Charlotte County	202,661	488	24	11
67	Lafayette County	7,786	15	19	–

Methodology: Crash data was extracted from the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles database. Counties with populations over 1,000,000 will have a high number of crashes compared to smaller counties, so the number of crashes was determined based on every 10,000 residents in each county.

On a different note . . . as far as dangerous places to live or visit, Florida ranks 21st in the country for total crime per capita. There are many places in Florida where you can chill without much of a worry – but some parts of the State are considered very dangerous. For that story, see the video accompanying this article.