Located in the heart of Ohio, Clark County is named for General George Rogers Clark. Clark County lists the Township of Springfield as its most populous township as well as its county seat. Founded in 1818, Clark County has grown from a sparsely populated region to the home of just under 80,000 residents.
The vast bulk of Clark County’s population lives in one of four townships: Bethel (18,692), Springfield (13,424), Mad River (11,828), and Moorefield (11,402). Clark County has a surprisingly high number of traffic accidents per year, with a grand total of 1,651 traffic accidents recorded in 2007 and 1,375 reported in 2008. A decline of almost 300 traffic accidents per year almost brings Clark County into line with per capita averages for traffic statistics within Ohio, and may also underscore the need to carefully evaluate statistics when dealing with smaller data sets.The most dangerous place for motorists in Clark County during 2007 was the Township of Springfield, which reported a total of 407 traffic accidents and 6 fatalities. While the Township of Springfield led Clark County in terms of fatal traffic accidents in 2007, it was joined by German and Bethel in 2008, each with 3 traffic fatalities. 2008 also saw Springfield record the greatest number of traffic accidents in Clark County. Surprisingly, the Township of Bethel reported more alcohol-related accidents in both 2007 and 2008 with 30 and 29 respectively compared to Springfield’s 26 and 24.
The Township of Pike reported only a pair of alcohol-related traffic accidents in 2007, neither of which proved to be fatal. The Township of Pike did not report any traffic-related traffic accidents in 2008, which makes it one of the most sober townships for motorists within Clark County on a per capita basis. With nearly 3,900 residents, the Township of Pike did experience a total of 45 traffic accidents in 2007 and another 39 in 2008. Oddly enough, Mad River seemed to be a statistical anomaly when it came to unexplained and/or unattributable accidents in 2007 with a total of 4 qualifying accidents. For a township with nearly 12,000 residents, this figure is perhaps more alarming than the six such incidents recorded in Bethel during the same year. Fortunately, 2008 saw zero such incidents in Mad River, but a pair of incidents did occur within the Township of Bethel. Other townships in Clark County to experience unexplained and/or unattributable accidents in 2007 were: Springfield (3), Green (3), German (3), Harmony (1), Moorefield (1), and Pleasant (1). 2008 saw the following townships in Clark County experience unattributable traffic accidents: Moorefield (4), Springfield (4), Harmony (2), Pike (1), and German (1).
The smallest township within Clark County is Madison, which recorded only 17 traffic accidents in 2007 and another 11 traffic accidents in 2008. Given the fact that the Township of Madison has nearly 2,800 residents, these figures mark Madison as a beacon of road-safety within Clark County, especially considering the absence of traffic-related fatalities during 2007 and 2008. These statistics should be taken with a grain of salt without more context, given the low population figures, but it would generally be accurate to describe the Township of Madison as comparatively safe for motorists.
If you’ve been injured in a Bethel, Springfield, or Pike car crash, call the Clark County auto accident attorneys at Chester Law Group at 800-218-4243 or order your FREE BOOK entitled The Insider’s Guide to Handling Ohio Accident Claims at www.ChesterLaw.com.