What Happened
Suffolk and Nassau Counties together lead the entire New York metropolitan area in fatal crashes, according to new data released by the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council (NYMTC) and reported by Long Island Life & Politics on August 7, 2026. Suffolk ranked first in the region with 109 fatal crashes producing 118 fatalities in 2024, while Nassau tied Queens for second with 65 fatal crashes and 67 fatalities.
The NYMTC region covered by the data includes Nassau, Suffolk, the Bronx, Kings, New York, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, and Westchester Counties. Despite Suffolk’s top ranking, its numbers actually improved sharply year over year: in 2023, the county had 152 fatal crashes and 155 fatalities, meaning the 2024 figures represent a 28.3% decline. Nassau’s trajectory moved in the opposite direction — the county’s 65 fatal crashes in 2024 were up 6.2% from 61 in 2023, though the total number of people killed remained unchanged at 67.
Beyond fatal crashes, Nassau County’s overall road danger profile stands out. The county experienced approximately 39,000 crashes in 2024 and posted a crash rate of 360.5 crashes per 10,000 drivers — the second highest in the NYMTC region. As Long Island Life & Politics noted in its report by staff writer Hank Russell, Nassau County saw an increase in fatal crashes year over year even as most surrounding counties moved in a safer direction.
Alcohol-related crashes declined dramatically on both sides of the Nassau-Suffolk border. In Suffolk, 20 people were killed or injured in alcohol-related crashes in 2024 — six drivers, eight pedestrians, and one bicyclist — a 65.5% drop from 58 victims in 2023, when 29 drivers and 20 pedestrians alone were killed or injured by drunk drivers. Nassau saw an even steeper proportional decline: four people died in alcohol-related crashes in 2024, including one driver, one pedestrian, and one bicyclist, compared to 16 deaths in 2023 (three drivers and nine pedestrians). That amounts to a 75% year-over-year reduction in Nassau alcohol-related fatalities.
Bicyclist fatalities told a more complicated story. In Suffolk, 10 bicyclists were killed in 2024 — a figure the NYMTC described as a 30% decline from 2023, though the article notes that 2023 saw seven bicyclist deaths, and no alcohol-related data was available for that year. In Nassau, fatal crashes involving bicyclists dropped 25%, from four in 2023 to three in 2024; one of those three Nassau bicyclist deaths was alcohol-related, though comparable 2023 alcohol data for bicyclists was unavailable.
Pedestrian fatalities across Suffolk fell 10.6%, from 52 in 2023 to 47 in 2024, according to NYMTC data cited by Long Island Life & Politics. The leading attributed cause was “pedestrian error/confusion” at 48.65% of deaths, followed by driver inattention or distraction at 16.22%, and alcohol at 5.41%. Nassau’s pedestrian fatality count held flat at 26 both years. In Nassau, 39.29% of pedestrian deaths were attributed to “pedestrian error/confusion,” 21.43% to a driver’s failure to yield the right-of-way, and 10.71% to driver inattention or distraction.
NYMTC Executive Director Adam S. Levine commented on the release of the new Crash Data Explorer tool that generated these findings: “The Crash Data Explorer reflects our commitment to innovation and safety by making this data more easily accessible to planners, governments, researchers, and the public. It’s a key component in advancing informed investments that support safer transportation systems across our region.”
Location & Road Context
The data covers all roads across Nassau and Suffolk Counties — two of Long Island’s most heavily traveled jurisdictions, with a combined daily commuter population feeding into New York City via the Long Island Expressway (I-495), the Southern State Parkway, and dozens of arterial routes. Long Island Traffic’s own local incident database contains 1,005 recorded accidents in Nassau County alone. Recent crashes logged in the days immediately before this report include incidents on I-495, the Southern State Parkway, the Wantagh State Parkway, and the Northern State Parkway — underscoring that the regional fatality trends reflected in the NYMTC data play out on specific Long Island roads every day.
Broader Impact
Nassau County’s flat pedestrian fatality count — 26 deaths in both 2023 and 2024 despite region-wide improvement — combined with its rising fatal crash rate and second-highest-in-region crash density per driver suggests that pedestrian infrastructure and driver yielding behavior remain acute problems locally. The NYMTC’s Crash Data Explorer, now publicly accessible, allows municipal planners and residents to drill into specific contributing factors and geographic hotspots, offering a data foundation for targeted interventions on Nassau’s most dangerous corridors.