Delaware Crash Hot Spots: The Most Dangerous Roads and Intersections

Where Delaware Traffic Deaths Happen

In 2025, 116 people died on Delaware roads, down from 133 the year before, according to the Delaware State Police annual traffic report. Those deaths came in 113 fatal crashes. Pedestrians made up about one in four of the dead. Sussex County was the only county where deaths went up, from 35 to 40.

This year is running close to last year. The Delaware Office of Highway Safety counted 84 deaths from January 1 to October 7, 2026, an unofficial figure, against 87 at the same point in 2025. DelDOT’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan crash maps track eight problem areas: intersections, distraction, impaired driving, roadway departure, pedestrians, motorcycles, unbelted occupants and speeding.

Delaware’s Highest-Risk Corridors, Road by Road

A handful of highways carry most of Delaware’s traffic, and the same ones keep turning up in the crash data. Here’s what makes each one tricky, with published figures wherever they exist.

1. Interstate 95: Maryland Line to Pennsylvania Line

I-95 crosses northern New Castle County from the Maryland line near Newark to the Pennsylvania line past Claymont, with Christiana, Newport and downtown Wilmington in between. Commuters share it with long-haul trucks and travelers who don’t know the exits. The interchanges at DE 896 and DE 273 near Newark and DE 1 and DE 7 at Christiana are where lane changes and sudden braking set off rear-end crashes, especially around the Christiana Mall.

Through Wilmington the road rises onto a viaduct with tight ramps and quick merges. DelDOT installed queue detection along the Wilmington viaduct to warn drivers about stopped traffic ahead, and its 2024 safety report to the Federal Highway Administration says more than 40 miles of median barrier have gone up on I-95 and DE 1. The same report puts Delaware’s urban interstates at a five-year average of 11 deaths a year in its 2023 figures.

2. Interstate 495: Newport to Claymont

I-495 splits from I-95 near Newport and runs along the Delaware River past the Port of Wilmington and Edgemoor before rejoining I-95 near Claymont. Plenty of drivers use it to skip downtown Wilmington, and the port puts a lot of heavy trucks in the mix.

It’s fast, with long gaps between exits, so one crash or stalled truck backs traffic up quickly. Wrong-way drivers are a worry, too, and DelDOT’s 2024 report says design of a wrong-way detection system for I-495 has begun.

3. U.S. 13 (DuPont Highway): Wilmington to Dover

U.S. 13 runs from Claymont through Wilmington, then south as DuPont Highway past New Castle, Odessa and Smyrna to Dover, and on through Sussex County to the Maryland line at Delmar. In New Castle County it’s lined with shopping centers, gas stations and side streets, so drivers are constantly turning across traffic and people on foot have to cross several lanes of fast traffic.

In WILMAPCO’s 2021 to 2023 intersection ranking, U.S. 13 and DE 273 at Hares Corner, near New Castle, averaged 65.3 crashes a year and ranked second statewide on a combined score of crash frequency, severity and cost. Farther south, the Kent County Safety Action Plan found fatal crashes were especially concentrated along U.S. 13 and DE 1, and DelDOT has been adding pedestrian improvements on U.S. 13 in Dover after a pedestrian safety audit.

4. DE 2 (Kirkwood Highway): Wilmington to Newark

Kirkwood Highway heads southwest out of Wilmington past Elsmere and Prices Corner toward Newark. It’s a wide commercial road with a driveway every few hundred feet and bus stops on both sides.

That mix produces a lot of angle and turning crashes. Where Kirkwood Highway meets Limestone Road (DE 7), WILMAPCO counted an average of 64.0 crashes a year from 2021 to 2023, third in the statewide intersection ranking.

5. U.S. 40 (Pulaski Highway): Bear and Glasgow to Maryland

U.S. 40 heads west from U.S. 13 near New Castle through Bear and Glasgow to the Maryland line. The suburbs along it have grown fast, and so has the traffic.

Bear and Glasgow are where it shows. U.S. 40 and DE 7 in Bear averaged 43 crashes a year from 2021 to 2023 in WILMAPCO’s ranking. Acting on a U.S. 40 pedestrian safety audit, DelDOT began building a new signal with signalized pedestrian crossings at U.S. 40 and Rickey Boulevard.

6. DE 1: Christiana to Dover

DE 1 starts at I-95 in Christiana and runs south as a limited-access highway over the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, tolled from St. Georges to Dover, past Middletown and Smyrna and around the east side of Dover. It’s the fast way downstate, and on summer weekends it’s packed with beach traffic from Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Speed is the issue on the open stretches, along with crossover and wrong-way crashes. DelDOT has been lining DE 1 with median barrier, including a stretch south of Dover from Trap Shooters Road near Magnolia to DE 30 near Milford, and it has wrong-way detection on the northbound off-ramp at Bay Road, by Dover Air Force Base just south of Dover.

7. DE 1 (Coastal Highway): Lewes to Rehoboth Beach and Fenwick Island

Around Lewes, DE 1, known here as Coastal Highway, becomes a commercial strip that runs past the Five Points intersection with U.S. 9 and the outlets to Rehoboth Beach, then down the barrier island through Dewey Beach and Bethany Beach to Fenwick Island. From Memorial Day to Labor Day it’s a different road: beach traffic, delivery trucks, cyclists and people on foot crossing a highway that’s many lanes wide, often at night and sometimes after a few drinks.

Sussex County was the only Delaware county where traffic deaths went up in 2025, from 35 to 40, the State Police report shows. Through October 7, 2026, the Office of Highway Safety had counted 29 fatal crashes in Sussex, nearly matching New Castle County’s 30.

8. U.S. 113 and DE 24: Inland Sussex County

U.S. 113 is the inland route: it splits from DE 1 north of Milford and runs through Milford, Georgetown and Millsboro to Selbyville and the Maryland line, the stretch covered by DelDOT’s U.S. 113 study. DE 24 runs from DE 1 at Midway, between Lewes and Rehoboth Beach, past Love Creek and Long Neck to Millsboro. Both now carry residents of new subdivisions plus summer traffic looking for a way around Route 1.

The trouble spots are the intersections, where drivers pull out of side roads and developments into fast two-lane or four-lane traffic. DelDOT’s 2024 federal safety report lists intersection projects on DE 24 at Mount Joy Road, Bay Farm Road and Angola Road and where DE 24 meets DE 5 and DE 23. On U.S. 113, it lists intersection work at DE 14 in Kent County and a pedestrian safety audit underway in Milford.

More High-Crash Locations Across Delaware

WILMAPCO, the planning agency for New Castle County, publishes the New Castle County entries from a statewide 2021 to 2023 intersection ranking that scores how often crashes happen, how severe they are and what they cost. The top-ranked intersection statewide is outside New Castle County, so it isn’t on that list. Along with the Wilmington and Kent County safety plans, the ranking puts numbers on these locations.

Some of these roads are getting work. DelDOT’s 2024 safety report lists pedestrian improvements on DE 4 from DE 7 to Elkton Road, about 5.75 miles in the Newark and Christiana area. In Wilmington, WILMAPCO and the city are finishing a Safe Streets for All plan that aims to end fatal and serious-injury crashes in the city by 2040, with a draft open house set for November 9, 2026.

How to Stay Safe on Delaware’s Most Dangerous Roads

You don’t have to avoid these roads, just drive them knowing where the trouble is. A few habits help.

For Drivers:

1. Watch the turning traffic: On U.S. 13, U.S. 40 and Kirkwood Highway, cars pull out of shopping centers constantly. Leave room in front of you.
2. Pick your lane early on I-95: The Newark and Christiana interchanges and the Wilmington viaduct leave little room for last-second moves. Know your exit before you get there.
3. Ease off on DE 1: The toll road invites high speeds, and speeding is one of DelDOT’s eight safety priorities. Keep it at the limit.
4. Never drive impaired: Alcohol was involved in 21 Delaware traffic deaths in 2025. Plan a ride home, especially in the beach towns.
5. Buckle up, every seat: Seventeen people killed in Delaware crashes in 2025 weren’t wearing seat belts.

For Pedestrians:

1. Cross at signals: On wide roads like U.S. 13, U.S. 40 and Coastal Highway, crossing mid-block leaves drivers almost no time to react.
2. Be visible after dark: Wear something reflective and carry a light where street lighting is thin.

For Cyclists:

1. Use trails and bike lanes: Use paths like the Junction and Breakwater Trail between Lewes and Rehoboth Beach. Elsewhere, ride with traffic and as far right as is safe.
2. Light up: Run front and rear lights at night and wear bright colors so drivers can see you.
3. Watch for turning drivers: Drivers pulling out of driveways often don’t see cyclists. Never assume they’ll yield.

General Tips:

1. Time your beach trips: DE 1 and the roads around Lewes and Rehoboth Beach are at their worst on summer Friday evenings and Saturday mornings. Leave early or late if you can.
2. Plan around the Wilmington crunch: If you commute on I-95 or I-495, build in time for delays.

What to Do If You’re Injured in a Delaware Car Accident

A crash on I-95, U.S. 13 or Coastal Highway can leave you hurt and rattled. What you do in the first hours and days matters, for your health and your wallet.

1. Call 911. Even if nobody seems badly hurt, get police to the scene. They’ll write the official crash report, which is what insurers go by. If anyone is seriously injured, ask for an ambulance.
2. Get checked out. Concussions and internal injuries don’t always show up right away. Go to the ER or urgent care, then follow up with your doctor.
3. Document the scene if you can. If it’s safe, photograph the vehicles, damage, plates and road conditions. Get witnesses’ contact information, and swap insurance details with the other driver without admitting fault.
4. Be careful with adjusters. The other driver’s insurance company may call soon after the crash. You can politely decline a recorded statement until you have your crash report and understand your options.
5. Keep everything. Medical records, bills, repair estimates, missed work, and every letter or email from an insurer.

Delaware State Police took about 63% of the state’s reportable crashes in 2025, according to its annual traffic statistics. New Castle County Police and city and town police handle crashes in their own areas, and crashes on the Delaware Memorial Bridge go to the Delaware River and Bay Authority Police. Our Delaware crash report guide explains how to get a copy from each.

Don’t know which department responded, or would rather skip the paperwork? We can get a copy of your report for you at no cost.

Delaware Crash Hot Spot Questions

More Delaware Crash Guides

City crash guides: Wilmington, DE

County accident news: New Castle County · Kent County · Sussex County

Nearby states: Maryland crash hot spots · Pennsylvania crash hot spots · New Jersey crash hot spots

For the latest, crashes from around the state are posted in Delaware accident news and our recent accident alerts.