Car Accidents in Winston-Salem: 2023 Data and How a Claim Works

These figures are drawn from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), which the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration uses to track fatal crashes on public roads nationwide, counting any death within 30 days of the crash. Its 2023 file writes the city as Winston Salem, without the hyphen, and codes 32 fatal crashes to it, all in Forsyth County and all on roads classified as urban. Those crashes killed 36 people, 4 more than the number of crashes, so at least one took more than one life. Rain was recorded in just 1 crash and cloudy weather in 4; the other 27 happened in clear weather.

Road type stands out first. Eleven crashes, about a third, were on local streets, more than on any other functional class, followed by 7 on minor arterials, 5 on major collectors, 5 on other freeways and expressways, 3 on principal arterials other than freeways and 1 on an interstate. Twenty-one crashes happened at non-junction locations, meaning not at or tied to an intersection, ramp or driveway. Seven were at an intersection; the remaining 4 were split one apiece among an intersection-related spot, a ramp-related spot, another point inside an interchange area and a driveway.

Collisions between two moving vehicles started 13 crashes: 7 angle, 4 head-on and 2 rear-end. A pedestrian was struck first in 6, and those were also the only 6 crashes involving a pedestrian, cyclist or other non-motorist. Fixed objects started at least 12 more: 3 trees, 2 utility poles or light supports, 2 objects coded only as other fixed objects, and 1 each of a post or pole, an embankment, a fire hydrant, a ditch and a guardrail. The summary does not list the first event for the remaining crash.

Thirteen crashes came in the 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. stretch and 19 outside it. Fourteen happened in daylight and 16 after dark, 10 on lighted roads and 6 on unlit ones, with 1 at dawn and 1 at dusk. Friday had the most crashes, 8, and no fatal crash fell on a Thursday. December was the deadliest month, with 8, a quarter of the total, while the data shows none in January or February.

The list below covers 18 of the 32 fatal crashes; 14 others happened on roads outside it. US-52 is the only road in the list with more than 2. Because most of these roads had a single fatal crash, the list is a record of one year's deaths rather than a ranking of risk; traffic volume and chance both shape it, some crashes on a listed road may sit under a spelling not shown, and a year with small numbers can look quite different from the next.

North Carolina's entries in FARS often put a route number in front of a street name, which is why several roads below carry a number such as SR-150 or SSR-2456. One entry, SSR-2643, has a route number but no street name. Counts by road for 2023:

• US-52, 4 fatal crashes.
• I-40, 2 fatal crashes.
• SR-150 Peters Creek Parkway, 2 fatal crashes.
• SR-67, 2 fatal crashes.
• SSR-2456 North Liberty Street, SSR-1920 Stanleyville Drive and SSR-2679 Glenn Hi Road, 1 each.
• East 5th Street, Cleveland Avenue, Pleasant Street, Mt. Pleasant Drive and SSR-2643, 1 each.

The data used here has no speed, alcohol or distraction measures, so it cannot explain causes. Head-on crashes often involve a driver who crossed the center line, and crashes in which a vehicle leaves the road and strikes a tree or pole are commonly associated with speed, impairment, fatigue, distraction or an attempt to avoid something in the road. Any of those may lie behind Winston-Salem's 4 head-on crashes and at least 12 fixed-object crashes, but the counts cannot identify the cause of any single one.

North Carolina's fault rule makes those questions unusually important. It still applies contributory negligence, which few states do: if the defense proves an injured person was even 1 percent at fault, that person can be barred from recovering anything. After a head-on crash, the defense may claim the injured driver also drifted, was going a little too fast or reacted late; after a crash in which a driver swerved off the road, it may argue the swerve was an overreaction. Any such argument, if proven, can defeat the claim outright rather than reduce it.

The response is evidence gathered early: where each vehicle was in its lane, tire marks, debris, event data recorder downloads, phone records where relevant and independent witnesses. Passengers are generally less exposed to the defense because they were not driving, although insurers sometimes argue that a passenger knowingly rode with an impaired driver. When a crash is fatal, a wrongful death claim follows its own, shorter deadline, discussed below.

Suppose you were driving home on a two-lane street in Winston-Salem on a December evening when an oncoming pickup drifted across the center line and hit your car almost head-on. You suffered a fractured thigh bone and a broken wrist, with $90,000 in medical bills and $18,000 in lost wages over five months. The pickup's driver carried North Carolina's minimum liability limit of $50,000 per person, and a driver behind the pickup stopped to help.

The pickup driver's insurer accepted that its driver crossed the line but argued that you were going 8 miles per hour over the limit and could have steered clear. Put numbers on it. If a jury found $240,000 in damages and put 15 percent of the blame on you, a comparative negligence state would trim the award to $204,000. North Carolina works differently: a finding of any fault on your part, even that 15 percent, could reduce your recovery to zero.

So the claim turned on your speed. Your car's event data recorder showed you at the limit and braking about two seconds before impact, and the driver who had been behind the pickup said it had been drifting for several seconds. With the fault argument answered, the problem became money: the $50,000 policy covered only part of the loss, and the next place to look would be your own underinsured motorist coverage. This example is entirely hypothetical, and only an attorney reviewing a real file can assess what a claim may be worth.

In a contributory negligence state, the questions an insurer asks about your own driving can decide the claim, so these steps aim to preserve proof of your own careful driving, not just the other driver's mistake. Passengers and pedestrians may face similar questions about their own conduct, so the list is for them too. Starting before you know how serious the injuries are helps, since some evidence disappears within days.

• Have the crash reported, and note which agency responded, Winston-Salem police or the State Highway Patrol, along with the report number.
• Keep conversation at the scene to the facts you are sure of; an offhand apology can later be framed as an admission of fault.
• Where safe, document the center line, each car's position in its lane, tire marks, and any tree or pole that was hit.
• Ask that neither vehicle be repaired or scrapped until its event data can be downloaded.
• Ask bystanders, including drivers who stopped, for a name and phone number before they leave, and look for dashcam or home security video nearby.
• Book follow-up appointments as the doctor directs and keep every bill, since medical records document the injury's course.
• Look at your own underinsured motorist limits early, because a $50,000 policy can run out quickly.
• Decline a recorded interview with the other driver's insurer until you have advice; in North Carolina, its questions may be aimed at finding any fault of your own.

North Carolina assigns payment by fault. Payment for injuries comes mainly from the liability insurance of the driver who caused the crash, not from the injured person's own policy, as happens in no-fault states like New York, Florida and Michigan. North Carolina's minimum liability limits are $50,000 per injured person, $100,000 per crash and $50,000 for property damage, and the limits that count are those on the policy in force on the crash date. When the at-fault driver's coverage falls short, the injured person's own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is usually where the claim turns next.

North Carolina gives three years for most injury lawsuits under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-52, while a wrongful death action must be brought within two years after the death (N.C.G.S. § 1-53(4)). If a government vehicle or a public road condition is involved, different procedures and immunity rules may apply, so that possibility should be raised with an attorney early. Superior Court is generally where North Carolina injury lawsuits are filed. Tennessee, by contrast, generally allows only one year for injury claims.

Contributory negligence is the rule that sets North Carolina apart. Alabama, Maryland and Virginia are the other states usually named alongside it as keeping this rule, under which proof of even 1 percent fault on the injured person's part can end the claim, whereas most states use comparative negligence and reduce the award by the injured person's share. The practical result is that proving the injured person's own care, not just the other driver's mistake, becomes the core of a Winston-Salem claim, since slight fault can matter as much as major fault.

Local streets, crashes away from intersections, head-on and fixed-object crashes and a December peak mark Winston-Salem's 2023 record. Under North Carolina law, most injury lawsuits must be filed within three years, or two years for wrongful death, minimum liability limits are $50,000 per person, and contributory negligence puts the injured person's own conduct under scrutiny. The early questions are what the evidence shows about each driver's actions and which insurers could be responsible for paying. Most personal injury attorneys work on contingency, so the fee depends on whether and how much is recovered.

As a lead-generation service rather than a law firm, Ask Legal Matters runs a free claim-review request service. Requests may be shared with independent attorneys and legal services partners who handle inquiries in North Carolina, and whether a claim can survive the contributory negligence rule is something only an attorney can judge after evaluating the facts. To have the facts of a Winston-Salem crash looked at, you can request a free claim review.

• Winston-Salem, North Carolina: local injury guide, court and deadlines
• Car Accident Claims in the United States: The Complete Guide
• Pedestrian Accident Claims: Rights, Fault and Compensation
• Wrongful Death Claims: Who Can File, Deadlines and Damages
• Car Accidents in Durham: 2023 Data and North Carolina Claims
• Car Accidents in Raleigh: 2023 Data and How a Claim Works
• Car Accidents in Greensboro, NC: 2023 Data and Claim Rules
• Car Accidents in Miami Gardens: 2023 Deaths and Florida Claims
• Child Injured in a Car Accident: How the Claim Works
• Hit by a Drunk Driver: Why the Claim Is Different, and Who Pays

Need local rules? Choose your state from the injury law guides hub or read the statute of limitations by state.