I-81 truck accidents in Virginia (2020-2024)

I-81 truck accident deaths in Virginia by year

Annual truck accident deaths on I-81 in Virginia fell from 26 in 2020 to 14 in 2021, rose to 16 in 2022 and 17 in 2023, then fell to 11 in 2024. The highest large-truck death count was 26 in 2020; the lowest was 11 in 2024. These annual figures count deaths in qualifying crashes, not the number of trucks involved.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

All deaths assigned to the route fell from 35 in 2020 to 33 in 2021, 32 in 2022 and 27 in 2023, then rose to 28 in 2024. For that measure, 2020 was highest and 2023 was lowest. Thus, the lowest years differ between the measures: 2024 for large-truck deaths and 2023 for all route deaths.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Crashes are placed on the route by the trafficway identifier recorded for each fatal crash. 2024 is the Annual Report File.

Counties along I-81 in Virginia

Truck accident deaths occurred in 14 counties on the Virginia segment. Among the listed rows, Wythe County had the highest death count, 14 (16.7%), followed by Montgomery County with 13 (15.5%) and Roanoke County with 10 (11.9%). Rockbridge County and Botetourt County each recorded 7 (8.3%).^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

Augusta County and Smyth County each recorded 6 (7.1%). Rockingham County, Frederick County and Washington County each recorded 4 (4.8%), tying for the lowest death count among the listed rows. Each percentage uses the segment's large-truck deaths as its denominator. County assignments identify where the fatal crashes occurred, not where the people killed lived. These rows describe deaths, not fatal-crash counts.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

How the truck crashes on I-81 happened

The manner-of-collision figures classify truck accident deaths by the crash's first harmful event. Rear-end recorded 24 deaths (28.6%), angle (side impact) 11 (13.1%), sideswipe 6 (7.1%) and head-on 9 (10.7%). Other recorded 3 (3.6%). The row "Not a collision with another moving vehicle" recorded 31 (36.9%). It means no collision with another motor vehicle in transport, including events such as striking a pedestrian, cyclist, parked vehicle or fixed object, or a rollover. A vehicle stopped in traffic can be in transport.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

Daytime (6 a.m. to 5:59 p.m.) accounted for 36 deaths (42.9%); nighttime (6 p.m. to 5:59 a.m.) accounted for 48 (57.1%). Urban locations recorded 27 (32.1%), and rural locations recorded 57 (67.9%). Work-zone deaths numbered 4. Each of these breakdowns counts people killed in qualifying crashes on I-81 in Virginia, rather than trucks or fatal crashes.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

I-81 in other states

Across all states, I-81 recorded 169 deaths in large-truck crashes during 2020 to 2024, with deaths recorded in 6 states. Virginia's 84 deaths represented 49.7% of that supplied route-wide total. The listed Pennsylvania segment recorded 55 deaths. Virginia's count was higher than Pennsylvania's count for the same period and measure.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

The other-state table provides a subset of state segments; its entries are not the route-wide total. These truck accident figures describe deaths assigned to I-81 through crash records. They are counts rather than population or mileage rates, and they cannot establish relative risk per trip or mile. Comparing Virginia with Pennsylvania therefore compares recorded deaths, without adjusting for traffic exposure.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

About these figures

For I-81 in Virginia, FARS supplies a census of fatal motor vehicle traffic crashes, excluding nonfatal crashes and injuries. Inclusion requires a motor vehicle on a trafficway customarily open to the public and a death within 30 days. State and county fields locate the crash; route-signing and trafficway-identifier fields assign it to I-81 without defining the highway's full geographic extent.^[8][6][7]

Large-truck involvement does not establish fault. Readers searching for a truck accident lawyer should distinguish the deaths counted here from the fatal crashes counted here. Virginia's I-81 figures use FARS Final Files for 2020 to 2023. The 2024 Annual Report File remains revisable when NHTSA replaces it with the Final File.^[8][6][7]

See also

• Virginia truck accident statistics (2020-2024)
• I-81 truck accidents in Pennsylvania (2020-2024)