Which New York Counties Have the Best Drivers at Avoiding Car Accidents?

You can take every safety precaution as a driver, but you can’t control what other people do on the road. According to New York State data, drivers in some counties are getting into fewer serious car accidents than others, and we believe there are some factors that go into those rankings.

As long-time personal injury attorneys in the Hudson Valley, we’ve seen time and again how other drivers’ actions can cause massive damages to auto accident victims, including:

Texting while driving

Not yielding the right of way properly

Driving under the influence

Failing to obey traffic laws

Not being alert or vigilant

Sudden stops

Not signaling properly

The Top 10 Safest Counties for Driving in New York State

According to New York State crash statistics, the ten counties that have the fewest auto accident emergency room visits per 100,000 residents (excluding NYC) are:

Cortland – 303 Tioga – 319 Essex – 396 Tompkins – 410 Madison – 456 Saratoga – 462 Lewis – 471 Onandaga – 480 Cayuga – 496 Oswego 503

Why are these ten counties having the fewest car accidents per capita? Some factors that go into it include:

They have, on average, fewer total miles of road than other counties in New York State

They have fewer people sharing the roads

Their average commute times are lower

The Top 10 Most Dangerous Counties for Driving in New York State

According to the same data from NYS, the following ten counties have the most auto accident emergency room visits per 100,000 residents:

Suffolk – 1,172 Nassau – 911 Orange – 905 Sullivan – 871 Schenectady – 849 Dutchess – 844 Niagara – 832 Montgomery – 818 Ulster – 785 Erie – 781

Car Accidents in the Hudson Valley

Columbia County Car Accidents

Columbia County has 543 annual emergency room department visits caused by car accidents every year (per 100,000 residents), which is the 14th lowest number in the state.

They have 1,525 miles of road, which puts them at 25th fewest miles in the state, and they have 41 residents for each mile of road, which is 19th in the state.

Their average commute time is about 26 minutes, which is the 12th longest average in the state.

Greene County Car Accidents

Greene County has 592 annual emergency room department visits caused by car accidents every year per 100,000 residents, which is the 21st lowest number in the state.

They have 1,204 miles of road, which puts them at 16th fewest miles in the state, and they have 40 residents for each mile of road, which is 18th least in the state.

Their average commute time is about 28 minutes, which is the 10th longest average in the state.

Ulster County Car Accidents

Ulster County has 785 annual emergency room department visits caused by car accidents every year per 100,000 residents, which is the 9th most in the state.

They have 2,316 miles of road, which puts them at 13th most miles in the state, and they have 78 residents for each mile of road, which is 20th most in the state.

Their average commute time is about 27.6 minutes, which is the 11th longest average in the state.

Dutchess County Car Accidents

Dutchess County has 844 annual emergency room department visits caused by car accidents every year per 100,000 residents, which is the 6th most in the state.

They have 2,444 miles of road, which puts them at 11th most miles in the state, and they have 121 residents for each mile of road, which is 13th most in the state.

Their average commute time is about 31 minutes, which is the 6th longest average in the state.

Orange County Car Accidents

Orange County has 905 annual emergency room department visits caused by car accidents every year per 100,000 residents, which is the 3rd most in the state.

They have 2,792 miles of road, which puts them at 9th most miles in the state, and they have 134 residents for each mile of road, which is 11th most in the state.

Their average commute time is about 33 minutes, which is the 3rd longest average in the state.

What to know if you get in a car accident in the Hudson Valley

1. Understand how No-Fault Insurance Works

No-fault insurance covers all drivers and passengers in a car that’s legally on the road. If you’re a pedestrian or bicyclist, you are covered by the No-Fault insurance of the car that hit you. No-Fault insurance will pay up to $50,000 of an injured person’s medical expenses and lost wages, regardless of who’s at fault in the accident. If you’re a pedestrian or a bicyclist that’s been hit by a vehicle, then the vehicle’s no-fault insurance would cover up to $50,000 of medical expenses and lost wages. $50,000 may seem like a lot, but can be exhausted rapidly by medical bills and lost wages. If you’ve been injured in an automobile accident, give us a call at 845-600-0000 to schedule a free consultation.

2. Photos of the scene are critical

If you or someone with you is able to, take as many photographs of the scene and the damages to your vehicle as possible. You want to show:

How the cars came to rest

Any stains on the ground

Gouge marks on the pavement

Debris

Context with surroundings

3. Insurance companies are not your friends

If you are hurt in an accident, and no-fault insurance doesn’t cover all of your damages, insurance companies will do all they can to deny you additional restitution. If you’re considering suing for additional damages, you’d really be suing the insurance company, not the other person or people in the accident.

4. Don’t be stoic about your injuries

We hear from many people who were in accidents years ago and decided not to get checked out by a physician. Injuries that might not seem like a big deal can sometimes rear their ugly heads several years later, especially with nagging joint, back and neck pain. It’s much harder to obtain compensation for your pain and suffering years after the fact, so if you’re in an accident and injured, make sure to visit a physician, and at the very least, get a free consultation with a personal injury attorney.

Mainetti & Mainetti, P.C. is a Hudson Valley-based personal injury law firm with offices in Kingston and Poughkeepsie. Our attorneys, Alfred Mainetti, Alexander Mainetti and Michael Mainetti have combined decades of experience getting the maximum possible compensation for victims. If you’ve suffered an accident due to the negligence of another party, call 845-600-0000 to schedule a free consultation today.

Data sources:

NYS Crash Statistics

US Census Average Commute Times by County

Total Miles of Road per NYS County