What's the state's deadliest county?

Morganton, NC - If you want see the sights of spring on a long, relaxing drive — and you want to come home alive — you might want to avoid Charlotte or the Greenville area.
The deadliest North Carolina county, based on the number of fatalities, was Mecklenburg where 76 individuals died as a result of traffic accidents in 2008.
Pitt County, where Greenville is the county seat, was the most dangerous overall, based on traffic collisions in 2008. It was second-most dangerous the previous year, according to an analysis of traffic statistics by AAA Carolinas. Pitt County roads had 2 percent of all state crashes (4,259), although they carried only 1.3 percent of vehicle miles traveled in North Carolina.
Instead, consider touring the roadside beauty of McDowell County. Only four other N.C. counties recorded fewer auto accidents per vehicle mile traveled in 2008, says AAA Carolinas. McDowell County ranked 96th out of 100 in total crashes, 70th in fatalities, 86th in personal-injury accidents and 98th in damage-only accidents.
Burke County is safer than more than half the state's counties. It ranks 53rd overall in total crashes per vehicle mile traveled, 39th in fatalities, 46th in injury-causing crashes and 61st in property-damage accidents.
AAA Carolinas is an affiliate of the nonprofit American Automobile Association. It collects annual state traffic statistics from the N.C. Department of Transportation. AAA Carolinas then analyzes the data to pick out the most dangerous counties based on vehicle miles traveled.
Chances of being in a crash of any kind in 2008 were highest in Pitt, Mecklenburg, Person and Durham and New Hanover counties.
Odds of dying in a crash are highest in Hertford, Tyrrell, Columbus, Robeson and Lenoir — all rural counties.
Among Burke County's neighbors, Caldwell County is 16th in total crashes, Catawba County is 26th, Cleveland is 40th, Rutherford is 58th, Avery is 75th.
There is some good news in this year's edition of "Dangerous Counties." AAA Carolinas said fewer auto accidents occurred in 2008, partly because people drove 2 percent fewer miles due to the economic recession. Also, local and state law enforcement officers now make a greater effort to focus traffic enforcement on crash-prone roads and highways.
For all vehicles in North Carolina the total number of crashes decreased about 4 percent to 214,000; injury crashes dropped about 6 percent to fewer than 72,000; and traffic deaths dropped by 15 percent in 2008 to 1,452.
Since 1998, 2008 was the first year when North Carolina had fewer than 1,500 traffic fatalities.
"It is gratifying to see the decrease in fatalities, but dismaying to note that nearly four people die every day on North Carolina roads," said David E. Parsons, CEO and president of AAA Carolinas.
Transportation Secretary Gene Conti said, "Safety is our No. 1 priority, and we're working hard to make our roads as safe as possible. Motorists can do their part by slowing down, paying close attention, never drinking and driving and always wearing their seat belts, which is their best defense if they're in a crash."
AAA Carolinas' annual "Dangerous Counties" analysis, inaugurated in 1995, is one of several ways to look at N.C. traffic crash data.
The data files are on its website, www.aaa.com.