Examining where traffic related deaths and serious injuries occur at a higher rate can help highlight communities that are disproportionately impacted and focus safety resources where they are needed most. The rate for this indicator is per 100,000 people by census tract. The findings are based on where crashes occurred, not otherwise tied to individuals involved in them. Census tract populations are used instead of traffic volume to highlight impacted communities near crash sites, rather than through travelers. Census tracts with industrial or large public use facilities, such as ports or sports stadiums, will have higher rates due to lower population and high traffic volume.
Please note: Under 23 U.S. Code § 148 and 23 U.S. Code § 407, safety data, reports, surveys, schedules, lists compiled or collected for the purpose of identifying, evaluating, or planning the safety enhancement of potential crash sites, hazardous roadway conditions, or railway-highway crossings are not subject to discovery or admitted into evidence in a federal or state court proceeding or considered for other purposes in any action for damages arising from any occurrence at a location mentioned or addressed in such reports, surveys, schedules, lists, or data.
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Safety Map
Per 100,000 people
Note: Major Roads can be toggled on/off using the box in the upper right hand corner. The lines represent the National Highway System layer that includes the highway system and other roads with higher volumes deemed important for travel to/from these highways.
Source(s): Washington Traffic Safety Commission; U.S. Census Bureau, Geography Division 2020 TIGER/Line Shapefiles
Insights & Analysis
- The census tract with the highest death and serious injury rate is in Pierce County and includes the Port of Tacoma and the Tacoma Dome (1314). King County has the census tracts with the second and third highest rates which includes Lumen Field and T-Mobile Park (832) and the tract to the south that includes Georgetown and Boeing Field (762). The next two census tracts with the highest rates includes part of Joint Base Lewis McChord and Spanaway McKenna Hwy to the east and part of I-5 (705, Pierce) and in northwest Auburn that includes the Auburn airport and part of HWY 167 (619, King).
- Pierce County has the highest death and serious injury rate (62), followed by King (45), Kitsap (43), and Snohomish (38).
- There are 94 census tracts in the region with with no traffic related deaths or serious injuries. For Kitsap County, 8% of census tracts (5) have a rate of zero, followed by King with 9% (46), Pierce with 10% (19), and Snohomish with 14% (24).
Safety Now
Source(s): Washington Traffic Safety Commission, 2020-2024 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Tables B02001, C17002, B22010, B11005, B11007, C16002
Note 1: Horizontal axis (low, medium, high) denotes concentrations of each community. See, "How is equity measured?" for more information.
Note 2: For Households with Limited English Proficiency, the low and low medium categories have the same value in Kitsap and Pierce counties. There are more census tracts in those places estimated to have 0 households with limited English proficiency than the number of tracts in the low quintile category. The values for the low and low medium categories were averaged.
Insights & Analysis
- As a region, communities with high concentrations of households with lower income or people with a disability are most disproportionately impacted by traffic related deaths and serious injuries.
- The counties with the largest gap between low and high concentrations of households with lower income are King (over 2x higher) and Pierce (over 5x higher) counties.
- The counties with the largest gap between low and high concentrations of people with a disability are King and Kitsap counties, over two times higher for both counties.
Safety Trend
Source(s): Washington Traffic Safety Commission, 2014, 2019, 2024; U.S. Census Bureau, 2010-2014, 2015-2019, 2020-2024 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Tables B02001, C17002, B22010, B11005, B11007, C16002
Note 1: Line categories (low, low-medium, etc.) denote concentrations of each community. See, "How is equity measured?" for more information.
Note 2: For Households with Limited English Proficiency, the low and low medium categories have the same value in Kitsap and Pierce counties. There are more census tracts in those places estimated to have 0 households with limited English proficiency than the number of tracts in the low quintile category. The values for the low and low medium categories were averaged.
Insights & Analysis
- Consistently from 2014 to 2024, areas disproportionately impacted by traffic related deaths and serious injuries have higher concentrations of households with lower income and people with disabilities.
- From 2014 to 2024, Pierce County had the largest rate increase in traffic related deaths and serious injuries impacting communities with higher concentrations of people of color and with higher concentrations of households with lower income.
- Between 2019 and 2024, the region saw the gap triple between communities with low and high concentrations of people with limited English proficiency.