Here are the 5 SC counties with the most deadly car crashes in 2023 as busy Christmas travel nears

Patrick McCreless
·2 min read

Driving around South Carolina can be a dangerous proposition even at the best of times, but particularly during the busy Christmas travel season.

According to the American Automobile Association, South Carolinians will be part of the second-highest nationwide Christmas holiday travel season since 2019. AAA projects there will be a total of 115.2 million travelers between Dec. 23 and Jan. 1, including 103.6 million car travelers and 7.5 million air travelers.

“As 2023 comes to a close, drivers can expect to pay about the same or less for a gallon of gas than they did last holiday season, when the South Carolina average on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day was $2.83 and $2.79, respectively,” AAA states.

The busy travel season comes as South Carolina continues to rank high among most deadliest states for freeway driving.

South Carolina ranks 10th among states with the highest rate of driver fatalities on freeways, according to a recent study from the Scott Vicknair injury law firm.

The study shows that between 2017 and 2021, South Carolina had 633 fatal accidents on freeways, a rate 12.37 deaths per 100,000 people. Wyoming took the top spot in the ranking with 24.62 deaths per 100,000 people. Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was used to perform the study.

But which South Carolina counties have had the most fatal car crashes in 2023?

5 SC counties with most fatal car crashes in 2023

According to the South Carolina Department of Public Safety, there have been 911 total vehicle fatalities this year as of Thursday. Here are the five counties that have had the most.

Top 5 counties

  1. Spartanburg: 74

  2. Greenville: 68

  3. Charleston: 59

  4. Horry: 58

  5. Richland: 48

Other SC vehicle fatality statistics

DPS statistics show that 1,093 people were reported killed in vehicle fatalities in South Carolina 2022, 1,195 in 2021 and 1,067 in 2020. Of those fatalities, 187 were pedestrians in 2020, followed by 194 in 2021 and 172 in 2022.

Also, statistics show there were 146 motorcycle fatalities in 2022, along with 161 in 221 and 116 in 2020.

Below are remaining counties with vehicle fatalities in 2023.

  • Abbeville: 4

  • Aiken: 34

  • Allendale: 2

  • Anderson: 21

  • Bamberg: 5

  • Barnwell: 5

  • Beaufort: 19

  • Berkeley: 53

  • Calhoun: 7

  • Cherokee: 15

  • Chester: 10

  • Chesterfield: 8

  • Clarendon: 13

  • Colleton: 16

  • Darlington: 26

  • Dillon: 11

  • Dorchester: 13

  • Edgefield: 1

  • Fairfield: 14

  • Florence: 21

  • Georgetown: 19

  • Greenwood: 15

  • Hampton: 5

  • Jasper: 13

  • Kershaw: 11

  • Lancaster: 12

  • Laurens: 26

  • Lee: 5

  • Lexington: 42

  • Marion: 14

  • Marlboro: 6

  • McCormick: 1

  • Newberry: 8

  • Oconee: 11

  • Orangeburg: 30

  • Pickens: 15

  • Saluda: 6

  • Sumter: 28

  • Union: 6

  • Williamsburg: 7

  • York: 26