FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, April 2, 2026
Contact:
Rocky Moretti (202) 262-0714 (cell)
Carolyn Bonifas Kelly (703) 801-9212 (cell)
Click here for the full report, infographics and news conference recording.
OKLAHOMA TRAFFIC CRASHES KILLED 4,127 PEOPLE SINCE 2020; STATE’S TRAFFIC FATALITY RATE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER THAN NATIONAL AVERAGE. SPEEDING IS KEY FACTOR IN FATAL CRASHES IN WORK ZONES AND OVERALL.
Oklahoma City, OK – Traffic fatalities in Oklahoma continue to occur at a rate far higher than the national average, with the state’s 2025 traffic fatality rate 19 percent higher than the national average. A new report entitled “Getting Home Safely: Examining traffic safety in Oklahoma and further steps needed to improve traffic safety in the Sooner State,” was released today by TRIP, a Washington, DC based national transportation research nonprofit. TRIP’s report examines highway safety in Oklahoma, describes efforts the state has made to reduce traffic fatalities in the state, and includes steps that can be taken to further improve traffic safety.
According to the report, from 2020 to 2025, 4,127 people were killed in traffic crashes in Oklahoma, including motorists, motorcyclists, pedestrians and bicyclists. During that period, crashes resulted in 76,661 injuries, including 12,715 serious injuries. Oklahoma’s fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled remains consistently above the national average. In 2025, Oklahoma’s traffic fatality rate was 1.31 per 100 million miles of travel — 19 percent higher than the national average of 1.1.
A disproportionate share of fatalities take place on Oklahoma’s rural, non-Interstate roads. The traffic fatality rate on Oklahoma’s rural non-Interstate routes is 62 percent higher than on all other roadways in the state. In 2023, the rate of traffic fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles of travel on Oklahoma’s non-Interstate rural roads was 2.08, while the fatality rate on all roads and highways in Oklahoma was 1.28.
Pedestrians and bicyclists account for a significant share of fatalities in Oklahoma. From 2020 to 2025, 14 percent of those killed in traffic crashes in the state were pedestrians or bicyclists, a total of 520 pedestrians and 77 bicyclists.
From 2020 to 2025, crashes in Oklahoma work zones resulted in 141 fatalities. Unsafe speeds were cited as a factor in 33 percent of fatal work zone crashes, the highest contributing factor in these crashes. Other factors included large truck involvement at 25 percent, driver inattention at 17 percent, and alcohol or drug impairment at 12 percent. The Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) has found average vehicle speeds in several major work zones were approximately one-third higher than posted limits.
“Data drives everything we do at the Oklahoma Highway Patro,” said Lt. Mark Southall, public affairs officer for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. “By analyzing trends and identifying risk factors, we’re able to focus our efforts where they matter most. But we know this mission cannot be accomplished alone. Through strong partnerships with our local, state, and federal agencies, we are committed to protecting not only Oklahomans, but everyone traveling to and through our state.”
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2024, 86.4 percent of Oklahomans wore seat belts, compared to a national average of 91.2 percent. Of passenger vehicle occupants killed in traffic crashes in Oklahoma in 2023, 44 percent were unrestrained, the same percentage as the national average. Fifty-five percent of motorcyclists killed in traffic crashes in Oklahoma in 2023 were not wearing helmets, significantly higher than the national average of 34 percent. In 2023, 25 percent of drivers in fatal traffic crashes in Oklahoma were alcohol impaired, lower than the national average of 30 percent. In 2023, 32 percent of 2023 traffic fatalities in Oklahoma were speed related, compared to 29 percent nationally.
Beyond the human toll, traffic crashes impose a significant economic burden. TRIP estimates that fatal and serious traffic crashes in Oklahoma in 2024 resulted in a total cost of $17 billion in the value of societal harm, which includes $4.2 billion in economic costs and $12.8 billion in quality-of-life costs. The economic costs of traffic crashes include medical care, lost productivity, legal and court costs, insurance administrative costs, workplace costs, congestion impacts (travel delay, excess fuel consumption and pollution), emergency services, and property damage. The lost quality-of-life costs include the loss of remaining lifespan, extended or lifelong physical impairment, or physical pain.
ODOT is implementing a Strategic Highway Safety Plan to meet its goal of reducing traffic-related fatalities and serious injuries, emphasizing the following eight areas: lane departures; impaired driving; occupant protection; unsafe speeds; intersections; commercial motor vehicles crashes and work zones; motorcycle crashes and all-terrain vehicles; and vulnerable road users. ODOT invested $39 million in 2025 on projects designed to improve roadway safety for motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists. Sixty-four percent of that funding was designated for projects to reduce roadway/lane vehicle departures, 16 percent to improve intersection safety, and 20 percent to improve safety for vulnerable road users (pedestrians and bicyclists). ODOT is also implementing a rural two-lane advancement and management plan to address 5,160 miles of two-lane roadways with deficient shoulders, with a goal of reducing the number of miles of two-lane roadways with deficient shoulders by ten percent every four years.
The report emphasizes the importance of implementing the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Safe System approach, which is based on the principle that traffic deaths and serious injuries are unacceptable and that roadway systems should be designed to anticipate human mistakes without resulting in severe outcomes. The Safe System approach focuses on five elements: safer people, safer roads, safer vehicles, safer speeds and post-crash care.
“Reducing the number of traffic fatalities in Oklahoma, including in work zones, will require further investment by ODOT, coordinated enforcement and education efforts and a comprehensive commitment to roadway safety,” said Dave Kearby, TRIP’s executive director.