April 09, 2015
The number of traffic-related deaths in Pennsylvania hit a record low in 2014.
According to a press release from PennDOT on Wednesday, the total number of deaths was 1,195, the lowest since the department began keeping such records in 1928.
While fatalities resulting from unbuckled, drinking-driver-related and hit-tree crashes all decreased, those resulting from hit utility poles and drowsy or sleeping drivers increased. Fatalities involving drivers ages 65 and over also rose from 277 in 2013 to 300 in 2014. PennDOT offers Mature Driver Improvement courses to promote safety for older drivers.
PennDOT also released the Pennsylvania Crash Information Tool, which allows users to access data about crashes in Pennsylvania. The site can be sorted by time, type of crash and by county and municipality.
Using the data, here's a look at the total number of crashes leading to fatalities in Philadelphia County and the surrounding counties over the past five years.
| 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | |
| Philadelphia | 84 | 83 | 97 | 84 | 89 |
| Delaware | 22 | 19 | 28 | 25 | 26 |
| Chester | 29 | 35 | 29 | 33 | 33 |
| Montgomery | 30 | 42 | 41 | 37 | 38 |
| Bucks | 43 | 59 | 60 | 43 | 43 |
Note that these totals are crashes that resulted in fatalities and not the total number of fatalities resulting from crashes. So, hypothetically, multiple people could have died from each individual incident.
Use the Pennsylvania Crash Information Tool to look up more data here.
