According to crash data from Maryland’s Highway Safety Office, there were 213 traffic fatalities statewide as of July 20. By the same day in 2025, there were 252 deaths.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fewer people have died on Maryland\u2019s roads so far in 2026 compared to the same period last year, and state and local officials are hoping to continue that trend.<\/p>\n
According to crash data from Maryland\u2019s Highway Safety Office<\/a>, there were 213 traffic fatalities statewide as of July 20. By the same day in 2025, there were 252 deaths.<\/p>\n In the state\u2019s two largest counties, Prince George\u2019s recorded 40 traffic deaths year to date. Montgomery County had 28.<\/p>\n \u201cPrince George\u2019s County typically has more fatalities than Montgomery County does, largely because of the volume of traffic that goes through the population; it\u2019s a little bit bigger of a county, so there\u2019s more exposure,\u201d said Tim Kearns, the director of the Maryland Highway Safety Office at the state Motor Vehicle Administration. \u201cThere\u2019s more opportunities for people to be involved in motor vehicle crashes.\u201d<\/p>\n In Prince George\u2019s County, 15 of the 40 traffic fatalities involved impaired drivers.<\/p>\n Officials have noticed \u201ca little bit of reduction\u201d in fatalities around roads with work zones, speed feedback signs and speed cameras, Kearns said.<\/p>\n \u201cAnything that we can do, along with messaging, automated enforcement, and having our law enforcement partners on the street, just so they know we\u2019re out there, and that they can see that speed does kill,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n State officials are working with law enforcement and local governments to keep the downward trend going.<\/p>\n \u201cTo get better messages out there about how everybody needs to not drive impaired and to plan for a safe ride home is obviously one of our key goals,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Kearns also noted the number of fatalities where seat belts were not worn.<\/p>\n \u201cTypically, failure to wear a seat belt contributes to about half of the fatalities in an occupant vehicle for a motor vehicle crash. It\u2019s one of the main reasons that people are killed when they\u2019re involved in a crash,\u201d Kearns said.<\/p>\n Speed is another common factor that leads to more road deaths.<\/p>\n