More Than 9 in 10 Georgia Highway Deaths Happened Without Bad Weather

A new analysis from Van Sant Law finds that most of Georgia’s highway deaths happen during completely ordinary driving conditions. Of the deaths on Georgia’s interstates, U.S. highways, and state highways in 2024, 74.1% occurred in clear weather and another 17.2% under cloudy skies, so more than nine in 10 happened with no adverse weather recorded. Rain was present in 7.5% of highway deaths, the largest share of any adverse condition, while fog, smoke, and smog appeared in less than 1%. The findings come from 2024 data from NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System and Crash Data Analysis Tool, which show Georgia recorded 12.5 traffic deaths per 100,000 residents, above the national rate of 11.5, with 1,403 people killed statewide.

The study notes that clear skies do not make driving more dangerous. Instead, the data shows how often fatal crashes happen on routine trips, with no storm, heavy rain, or other weather event changing the drive.

Driver behavior played a major role, though a smaller one than it does nationally. Speeding was linked to 24.2% of Georgia’s traffic deaths (339), compared with 28.8% nationwide. An estimated 23% of deaths (325) involved a driver with a blood alcohol concentration of at least 0.08 g/dL, compared with about 30% nationally. Distracted driving was linked to 5.1% of deaths (71), compared with 8.2% across the country. Georgia came in below the national share on all three measures, yet speeding and alcohol alone were still associated with more than 600 deaths in the state. The study suggests that Georgia’s high overall toll also reflects a road network carrying heavy commuter traffic, major freight corridors, crowded urban interstates, and long rural highways.

The vehicles involved also challenge the image of a typical fatal crash. Georgia’s 1,312 fatal crashes in 2024 involved 1,983 vehicles. Passenger cars were the most common single type at 645, but SUVs (493) and pickups (331) together totaled 824 vehicles, well above the passenger car count. Large trucks accounted for 189 vehicles and motorcycles for 187. Those statewide figures shift dramatically from road to road. Motorcycles were involved in just 1.7% of fatal crashes on I-75, but in 25% of fatal crashes on both SR-3 and SR-5. Pickups were involved in 46.2% of fatal crashes on SR-520, more than any other vehicle type on that road, and SUVs were involved in half of all fatal crashes on SR-53.

The human toll falls most heavily on working age adults and on men. Men accounted for 73% of Georgia’s traffic deaths (1,021), compared with 27% for women (375), nearly mirroring the national split of about 72% men. More men than women were killed in every month of the year. By age, Georgians 25 to 34 made up 18% of all deaths (252), the most of any age group, followed by those 35 to 44 with 221 deaths and those 55 to 64 with 212. Together, people aged 25 to 44 accounted for 473 deaths, more than one third of the statewide total. These are the years when people typically drive the most for work, commuting, and family responsibilities. At either end of the age range, 164 people under 21 were killed, including 48 children under 16 and 116 people aged 16 to 20, while 123 people aged 75 and older died.

The study concludes that Georgia’s traffic deaths are part of everyday life. Each entry in the fatality data represents someone who was traveling somewhere, often under clear skies, on a road thousands of other people used that same day.