National newspapers and cable TV networks are constantly giving us new traffic stats regarding the country as a whole. Those are useful, sure. They tell us about the dangerous trends affecting interstates and the roads we all share.
But local traffic data can be even more important as a revealing look at the not-so-famous roads you spend most of your drive time on. Unfortunately, local traffic data can be hard to come by for anyone outside of the country’s biggest cities.
Fortunately, we’ve managed to cull together a few highly relevant, Augusta-specific traffic reports, drawing on several different sources throughout the state.
Together, we think these stats tell a story about:
- How often auto accidents happen here (hint: it’s more than you might expect for our city population of less than 200,000);
- Where the majority of Augusta’s auto accidents are happening; and
- What you can do to protect yourself and your family on the roads.
Total Crashes, Injuries, and Deaths: Car Accident Statistics in Augusta
Because Augusta exists as a consolidated city-county (officially Augusta-Richmond County), the local traffic data for the city and county here are one and the same.
The Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GA GOHS) make car accident statistics in Augusta available publicly, dating back to 2012, as follows:
| Total Number of Crashes in Augusta | Number of Injuries | Number of Fatalities | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 333 | 101 | 40 |
| 2013 | 1,315 | 299 | 23 |
| 2014 | 8,879 | 1,838 | 27 |
| 2015 | 9,541 | 2,099 | 27 |
| 2016 | 9,957 | 2,214 | 17 |
Reviewing the data in the table above, we notice several unusual trends:
- The total number of crashes grew exponentially between 2012 and 2013, and then again between 2013 and 2014. (The rate of increase then begins to slow after 2014. Notably, though, the total number of accidents still continues to grow year after year.)
- The number of injuries saw similar rates of growth year after year, mirroring the total number of car accidents in Augusta.
- But even as the total number of crashes and injuries has skyrocketed, the number of traffic fatalities in Augusta has generally declined. The death toll in 2016 is less than half of what it was in 2012.
- Calendar years 2012 and 2013 appear to be an outlier. According to older traffic data made available by the county itself, between the years 1998 and 2005, August saw an average of 9,462 traffic accidents per year (with an average of 30.4 traffic deaths per year). Those averages are more in line with what we’ve seen since 2014.
The following table shows how the death toll grew month by month over the last three years. You will notice that the numbers begin to leap in the spring or summer of each year.
The Most Dangerous Intersections in Augusta
In June 2017, local Augusta news outlet WRDW (CBS 12) published an analysis of the car accident statistics in Augusta, identifying the ten most dangerous intersections in the city.
We’ve taken WRDW’s data and organized it in the following table, take note of which streets appear most often.
| Rank | Intersection | Number of Crashes (2014 – June 2017) |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Washington Rd. at I-20 | 203 |
| 2. | Bobby Jones Expressway at Gordon Highway | 188 |
| 3. | I-20 at Washington Rd. | 188 |
| 4. | Deans Bridge Rd. at Bobby Jones Expressway | 187 |
| 5. | Wrightsboro Rd. at Bobby Jones Expressway | 187 |
| 6. | Bobby Jones Expressway at Wrightsboro Rd. | 176 |
| 7. | Washington Rd. at Boy Scout Rd. | 166 |
| 8. | Tobacco Rd. at Windsor Spring Rd. | 165 |
| 9. | Peach Orchard Rd. at Bobby Jones Expressway | 163 |
| 10. | Windsor Spring Rd. at Tobacco Rd. | 162 |
Note the following:
- The Bobby Jones Expressway appears on this list more often than any other road in Augusta. It was involved in 901 of the 1,785 accidents recorded in the table above — more than half.
- The intersection of Washington Road and Interstate 20 appears twice on this list: at #1 (for collisions on Washington Rd.) and again at #3 (for collisions on I-20). Together, this single intersection accounts for 391 of the 1,785 accidents. In other words, about 22% of the car accidents in Augusta happen at this one intersection.
- A different study from 2013-2015, which looked at roads instead of intersections (and which focused more narrowly on traffic deaths instead of all traffic accidents), found that the Mike Padgett Highway is not only the deadliest road in Augusta but also the third deadliest road in all of Georgia. So even though the Mike Padgett Highway does not appear in the list of the most dangerous intersections above, it should still be considered one of the most treacherous commutes for Augusta drivers.
Traffic Deaths Due to Alcohol vs. Speeding in Augusta
The following image charts two types of car accident statistics in Augusta between 2012 and 2016: traffic deaths related to alcohol vs. those related to speeding.
As you can see, the number of deaths due to speeding has increased while the number of deaths due to drunk driving has been reduced by more than half. That said, with the relatively small number of deaths involved, the sample size may be too small for drawing any firm conclusions.
What About Texting and Driving?
Notably, the official car accident statistics in Augusta do not measure the role that texting while driving has played in car crashes here. Undoubtedly, “intextication” has emerged as a full-fledged epidemic nationwide, responsible for an ever-growing portion of traffic deaths across the country. There is every reason to suspect that smartphone use behind the wheel poses a similar threat here in Augusta.
If You’ve Been in an Augusta Car Crash, Call Us for a Free Consultation Today.
Alarmed by the car accident statistics in Augusta? We are too.
As Augusta auto accident lawyers, we’ve seen first-hand how devastating these car crashes can be. We’ve also seen how insurance companies routinely treat accident victims unfairly, making lowball offers or unduly delaying a claim while the victims are left to fend for themselves.
We’re here to stand against that. Our attorneys work aggressively to advance each client’s best interests, fighting to maximize their financial compensation at every turn. We’d like to fight toward that same goal for you.
You can talk to one of our experienced Augusta car accident lawyers at no cost and no obligation during a complimentary case review, either in person or over the phone.
If you choose to hire us, you will not have to pay us an attorney’s fee unless and until we get you money. Our fee will only be a portion of your total recovery.
To get started right away, call 706-724-2661 or contact us online.