We analyzed every reported motor vehicle crash in Ulster County from 2021 through 2024 — 20,029 crashes — using New York State’s official crash records. Unlike our regional highway map, these county-wide figures cover every road: state highways, the Thruway, and county, town, and city streets. Here’s how often crashes hurt people here, what kinds of crashes do the damage, and where the risk is highest — including the finding that puts Kingston at the center of the story.
Someone is injured on Ulster County roads every ten hours
Over the last four years, Ulster County averaged 894 injury crashes per year — a crash that sends someone to the hospital roughly every ten hours, all year long. And the trend is going the wrong way: injury crashes rose 12.1% from 2021 to 2024.
| Year | Total crashes | Injury crashes | Fatal crashes | Injury rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 4,646 | 811 | 14 | 17.5% |
| 2022 | 5,204 | 952 | 14 | 18.3% |
| 2023 | 4,999 | 906 | 14 | 18.1% |
| 2024 | 5,180 | 909 | 20 | 17.5% |
2024 was the deadliest year in the records: 20 fatal crashes, up from 14 in each of the three prior years.
How Ulster compares to its neighbors
| County | Injury crashes/yr | Fatal crashes/yr | Injury rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ulster | 894 | 15–16 | 17.9% |
| Orange | 2,446 | 33 | 21.8% |
| Dutchess | 1,580 | 26 | 21.4% |
Ulster has the fewest crashes of the three counties — but that’s a function of traffic volume, not safer roads.
The crashes that injure people here are the ones with clear fault
Among crashes with an identified collision type, the leaders in Ulster County (2021–2024):
| Collision type | Crashes | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Rear-end | 3,465 | Following too closely or distracted driving — fault is usually clear |
| Right angle | 2,144 | Intersection crashes — someone ran a light or stop sign |
| Overtaking | 2,056 | Passing maneuvers on two-lane rural roads |
| Left turn | 720 | Turning across oncoming traffic |
| Head-on | 332 | The rarest of the major types — and the most severe |
Rear-end and right-angle crashes dominate because Ulster’s road network mixes high-speed rural routes with busy commercial corridors like Route 9W and Ulster Avenue. These are exactly the collision types where fault is usually straightforward — and where injured people have the strongest claims. If you’ve been hit, a Kingston car accident lawyer can tell you quickly whether you have one.
The roads where Ulster County crashes happen
Geocoding every state-highway crash to its exact location shows where the county’s problem actually lives — and it lives in and around Kingston. US 9W is the county’s worst corridor by every measure: 2,355 crashes, 522 injury crashes, and — counting federal fatal-crash records on all its segments — 10 fatal crashes, the most of any road in the county.
| Corridor | Crashes (2021–24) | Injury | Fatal |
|---|---|---|---|
| US 9W | 2,355 | 522 | 10 |
| NY 32 | 1,678 | 345 | 2 |
| US 209 | 1,003 | 173 | 6 |
| NY 28 | 923 | 155 | 5 |
| NY 44 | 703 | 141 | 3 |
| NY 299 | 701 | 163 | 3 |
| NY 52 | 387 | 97 | 2 |
| NY 208 | 323 | 41 | 1 |
But the single most striking finding in the entire three-county dataset is local: the worst crash location in the whole Hudson Valley is the Kingston Traffic Circle — NY 28 at I-587 — with 145 reported crashes in four years, a crash roughly every ten days. And the corridor feeding it keeps the theme going:
- The Kingston Traffic Circle (NY 28 / I-587) — 145 crashes, the #1 location in the entire Hudson Valley.
- Washington Avenue, the arterial connecting the circle to uptown Kingston — 74 and 67 crashes at two points.
- US 9W in the Town of Ulster, near the Route 28 interchange and the Ulster Avenue retail strip — 67 and 55 crashes at two points, with 34 injury crashes between them.
- Ulster Avenue itself (Town of Ulster) — 55 crashes at a single location.
- NY 299 at Cherry Hill Road / New Paltz Plaza, New Paltz — 81 crashes, the county’s worst location outside the Kingston area.
- NY 32 in Kingston — 53 crashes, 15 injury, at a single location.
By municipality, the Town of Ulster leads the county with 1,776 state-highway crashes — add the City of Kingston’s 803 and the Kingston area alone accounts for roughly one in seven state-route crashes county-wide. (We ranked Kingston’s busiest streets separately — the traffic and the crashes line up.) Federal records add what state location data can’t see: 60 fatal crashes (62 deaths) on Ulster County roads of every type in 2021–2024, including 5 on NY 28 and 2 on the Thruway. Explore every location on our regional dangerous-highways map, or filtered to Ulster County below.
When crashes happen in Ulster County
- 65% of crashes happen in broad daylight. Darkness isn’t the main danger — distraction is.
- 19% happen on dark, unlighted roads — the highest share of the three counties, and a distinctly rural-Ulster risk on roads with no shoulders and no streetlights.
- Friday is the most dangerous day (3,361 crashes over four years); Sunday is the safest (2,378).
Pedestrians and cyclists: about 72 crashes a year
Ulster County averaged 72 pedestrian or bicyclist crashes per year. The three most common scenarios: walking or riding along the highway with traffic (64 over four years), crossing without a signal or crosswalk (63), and — notably — crossing in a marked crosswalk without a signal (50). Being in the crosswalk didn’t protect them.
What most people don’t know: New York’s no-fault insurance covers pedestrians and cyclists hit by a vehicle. If you were walking or biking and a car hit you, the driver’s insurance pays your medical bills and lost wages — even before fault is decided. Our Kingston pedestrian accident lawyers handle these cases regularly.
What to do after a crash in Ulster County
- Call 911 and get the police report number — every statistic on this page started as one of those reports.
- Get medical attention the same day, even if you feel fine; no-fault benefits require prompt treatment records.
- Photograph vehicles, road conditions, and lighting before anything moves.
- Don’t give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurer.
- Talk to a local lawyer before accepting any offer. Free consultation: 845-600-0000.
Mainetti & Mainetti’s results in Ulster County
The firm has handled injury cases in the Kingston courthouse for decades — in 2024 it appeared in more of Ulster County’s court-involved injury cases than any other firm (see what the court records show). Results include a $1.5 million recovery in an Ulster County tree-service wrongful death, $1.1 million for an Ulster County motorcyclist rear-ended by a State Trooper, and $1.1 million for a Saugerties woman injured in a head-on crash — see our verdicts and settlements.
Frequently asked questions
How many car accidents happen in Ulster County each year?
About 5,000 reported crashes per year, roughly 894 of which injure someone (2021–2024 average, NY State crash records).
What’s the most dangerous intersection in Ulster County?
The Kingston Traffic Circle (NY 28 at I-587) — 145 reported crashes in four years, the worst single location not just in the county but in the entire Hudson Valley. By deaths, US 9W is the county’s most dangerous road, with 10 fatal crashes.
What’s the most common type of car accident in Ulster County?
Rear-end collisions — 3,465 over the last four years, more than any other identified type.
Does no-fault insurance cover pedestrians in New York?
Yes. If a vehicle hits you while you’re walking or cycling, the driver’s no-fault coverage pays your medical bills and lost wages regardless of fault.
If you or someone you love was injured in a crash anywhere in Ulster County, call 845-600-0000 for a free consultation — our Kingston office is two blocks from the county courthouse. No fee unless we win.
Sources: New York State Open Data, “Motor Vehicle Crashes — Case Information” (2021–2024) and NHTSA FARS fatal-crash census, our own analysis. County-wide figures cover all roads; corridor and location figures cover state highways (New York publishes no location data for local roads); fatal-crash road counts cover all roads via federal records. Figures describe reported crashes and make no claim about fault.