Yearly Traffic Safety Analysis

219 CRASHES IN
IOWA, IA
2021

All metrics benchmarked against2020

Total crashes in ADAIR County decreased by 4.78% year-over-year, from 230 crashes in 2020 to 219 in 2021. The most notable shift was a significant 66.67% reduction in total fatalities, falling from 6 in 2020 to 2 in 2021. This indicates an overall improvement in crash outcomes despite a relatively small decrease in crash volume.

219

▼ -4.8%was 230

Total Crash Events

2

▼ -66.7%was 6

Persons Killed

62

▼ -30.3%was 89

Persons Injured

1

▼ -80.0%was 5

Fatal Crash Events

Note: "Persons Killed" (2) counts individual fatalities across all crash events. "Fatal" in the severity table below (1) counts crash events where at least one fatality occurred. A single crash can result in multiple fatalities.

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2021-01-01 to 2021-12-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, crash data for ADAIR County shows a positive trend year-over-year. Total crashes decreased by 4.78% from 230 in 2020 to 219 in 2021. This reduction was accompanied by a substantial 66.67% decrease in total fatalities, falling from 6 to 2, and a 30.34% decrease in total injuries, from 89 to 62.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 0→0.0%

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 0→0.0%

2

Motorists Killed

Prior: 6↓-66.7%

1

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 0→%

1

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 0→%

60

Motorists Injured

Prior: 89↓-32.6%

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2021-01-01 to 2021-12-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The peak day for crashes shifted from Saturday in 2020, which recorded 39 incidents, to Friday in 2021, with 53 crashes. Similarly, the peak hour for crashes moved from 5 PM in 2020 (17 crashes) to 4 PM in 2021 (19 crashes). Monthly crash distribution showed fluctuations, with December experiencing the highest crash counts in both periods, 36 in 2020 and 31 in 2021.

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2021-01-01 to 2021-12-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2021-01-01 to 2021-12-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Fatal crashes significantly decreased from 5 in 2020 (2.2% of total crashes) to 1 in 2021 (0.5% of total crashes). This contributed to a 66.67% reduction in total fatalities, from 6 to 2. Conversely, the proportion of crashes resulting in no injury increased, accounting for 74.4% of incidents in 2021 compared to 69.6% in 2020.

Severity is per crash event (most severe injury). 1 fatal crash events resulted in 2 persons killed.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Fatal1fatal crashes0.5%
↓-80.0%prior 5
Serious Injury8serious injury crashes3.7%
↑14.3%prior 7
Minor Injury25minor injury crashes11.4%
↓-32.4%prior 37
Possible Injury22possible injury crashes10%
↑4.8%prior 21
No Injury163no injury crashes74.4%
↑1.9%prior 160

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2021-01-01 to 2021-12-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2021-01-01 to 2021-12-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The leading contributing factor, 'Animal', decreased by 18 incidents (31.03%) from 58 in 2020 to 40 in 2021. In contrast, 'Driving too fast for conditions' saw a 66.67% increase in count, rising from 15 to 25 crashes. 'Driver Distraction: Other interior distraction' also doubled, increasing from 5 to 10 incidents year-over-year.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Animal40 (18.3%)↓-31.0%prior 58
Lost Control28 (12.8%)↓-12.5%prior 32
Ran off road - straight26 (11.9%)↓-7.1%prior 28
Driving too fast for conditions25 (11.4%)↑66.7%prior 15
Ran off road - left10 (4.6%)↑25.0%prior 8
Driver Distraction: Other interior distraction10 (4.6%)↑100.0%prior 5
Other (explain in narrative): No improper action10 (4.6%)
Followed too close8 (3.7%)↑14.3%prior 7
Improper Backing5 (2.3%)
Driver Distraction: Inattentive/lost in thought5 (2.3%)

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2021-01-01 to 2021-12-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in 'Clear' weather conditions increased by 5.71%, from 105 in 2020 to 111 in 2021. There was a notable 69.23% increase in crashes on 'Ice/frost' road surfaces, rising from 13 to 22 incidents. Conversely, crashes during 'Rain' decreased by 41.18% from 17 to 10, and those on 'Wet' road surfaces decreased by 36% from 25 to 16.

Weather

Clear111 (58.1%)
↑5.7%prior 105
Cloudy32 (16.8%)
↑28.0%prior 25
Freezing rain/drizzle16 (8.4%)
↑33.3%prior 12
Rain10 (5.2%)
↓-41.2%prior 17
Snow10 (5.2%)
↓-28.6%prior 14
Blowing Snow8 (4.2%)
↑33.3%prior 6
Other (explain in narrative)2 (1.0%)
Fog, smoke, smog2 (1.0%)

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2021-01-01 to 2021-12-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight112 (59.3%)
↑8.7%prior 103
Dark - roadway not lighted56 (29.6%)
↓-6.7%prior 60
Dusk11 (5.8%)
↑57.1%prior 7
Dark - roadway lighted5 (2.6%)
↓-16.7%prior 6
Dawn4 (2.1%)
↓-42.9%prior 7
Dark - unknown roadway lighting1 (0.5%)

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2021-01-01 to 2021-12-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry125 (65.4%)
↑15.7%prior 108
Ice/frost22 (11.5%)
↑69.2%prior 13
Snow20 (10.5%)
↓-13.0%prior 23
Wet16 (8.4%)
↓-36.0%prior 25
Gravel6 (3.1%)
↓-50.0%prior 12
Slush2 (1.0%)

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2021-01-01 to 2021-12-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of persons involved in crashes decreased from 461 in 2020 to 393 in 2021. The 45-54 age group saw the largest decrease in person involvement, dropping from 61 to 40. While FORD remained the top vehicle make, its count decreased from 52 to 43, while KIA saw a significant 175% increase in representation, rising from 4 vehicles in 2020 to 11 in 2021.

Top Vehicle Makes (320 vehicles)

1
FORD43 (13.4%)
↓-17.3%prior 52
2
CHEVROLET25 (7.8%)
↓-13.8%prior 29
3
CHEV24 (7.5%)
↓-4.0%prior 25
4
FREIGHTLINER19 (5.9%)
→0.0%prior 19
5
KIA11 (3.4%)
6
TOYOTA11 (3.4%)
→0.0%prior 11
7
DODGE10 (3.1%)
↓-9.1%prior 11
8
PETERBILT9 (2.8%)
↑80.0%prior 5
9
DODG9 (2.8%)
↓-18.2%prior 11
10
NISSAN8 (2.5%)
↓-11.1%prior 9

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2021-01-01 to 2021-12-31 · Vehicle unit records

43 persons with unknown or unrecorded age excluded from age chart.

Sex Distribution (258 persons with recorded sex)

Male196 (76.0%)
↑4.8%prior 187
Female62 (24.0%)
↓-12.7%prior 71

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2021-01-01 to 2021-12-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Data Sources & Methodology

Primary Data Source

All crash data in this report is sourced from Iowa Crash Data, accessed programmatically via the ArcGIS Open Data API (SODA). This dataset contains official police-reported motor vehicle traffic crash records maintained by the reporting jurisdiction's law enforcement agency. Records are published to the open data portal by the municipality and are subject to the portal's terms of use.

Data Retrieval

  • Access method: ArcGIS Open Data API (SoQL queries)
  • Data format: Structured JSON via REST API
  • Record types queried: Crash events, person records, and vehicle unit records
  • Date filter applied: 2021-01-01 through 2021-12-31
  • Report generated: September 9, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2021-01-01 through 2021-12-31 (365 days)
  • Geographic scope: iowa, IA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 219
  • Total persons involved: 393
  • Total vehicles involved: 320

Analytical Methodology

  • Severity classification: Uses the KABCO injury scale (K=Fatal, A=Incapacitating injury, B=Non-incapacitating injury, C=Possible injury, O=No injury/property damage only), the standard classification in U.S. Model Minimum Uniform Crash Criteria (MMUCC). Severity is assigned per crash event based on the most severe injury in that crash. A single fatal crash (K) may involve multiple fatalities; therefore the "Persons Killed" count in the headline KPIs may differ from the "Fatal" crash count in the severity breakdown.
  • Contributing factors: Reflect the officer-determined primary contributory cause recorded at the time of the crash report. These are preliminary determinations and may not reflect final investigation findings.
  • Hit-and-run classification: Based on the hit-and-run indicator field in the official crash report, as determined by the responding officer at the scene.
  • Temporal analysis: Day-of-week and hour-of-day distributions are computed from the crash date/time timestamp in each record.
  • Demographics: Age and sex distributions are drawn from person-level records linked to each crash event. A single crash may involve multiple persons.
  • Vehicle data: Make information is drawn from vehicle unit records linked to each crash event.
  • AI commentary: Narrative sections are generated by Google Gemini (large language model) based on the structured data. Commentary is descriptive, not predictive, and should not be interpreted as expert opinion.

Limitations & Disclaimers

  • Only crashes reported to and documented by law enforcement are included. Minor incidents, unreported crashes, and near-misses are not captured in this dataset.
  • Data reflects conditions at the time of the initial police report and may be subject to subsequent corrections, reclassifications, or supplements by the reporting agency.
  • Open data portal records may experience a publication lag - recently occurring crashes may not yet appear in the dataset at the time of report generation.
  • AI-generated commentary is produced by a large language model and is intended to highlight patterns in the data. It does not constitute legal, medical, or professional analysis.
  • Percentages are calculated from reported data and are subject to rounding.

Non-Affiliation Disclosure

This report is produced independently by ThatCarHitMe.com (Injuria.ai). It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or produced in partnership with any law enforcement agency, municipal government, state department of transportation, or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Data is sourced from publicly available government open data portals.

Data License

The underlying crash data is provided under the municipality's Open Data Terms of Use and is made available to the public for unrestricted use. This analysis and report is © 2026 Injuria.ai and may be cited with attribution using the suggested citation below.

Corrections & Feedback

If you believe any data in this report is inaccurate or have questions about our methodology, please contact: data@injuria.ai. We are committed to accuracy and will issue corrections promptly.

Suggested Citation

ThatCarHitMe.com (Injuria.ai). "iowa, IA Crash Intelligence Report: 2021." Published September 9, 2026. Reporting period: 2021-01-01 to 2021-12-31. Data source: Iowa Crash Data, ArcGIS Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/iowa/statewide/2021-annual-report

About the Publisher

ThatCarHitMe.com is a crash data intelligence platform developed by Injuria.ai, a legal technology company specializing in traffic safety analytics. We aggregate and analyze publicly available government crash data to produce structured intelligence reports for communities, researchers, journalists, and legal professionals. Our reports combine programmatic data retrieval from official open data portals with AI-assisted narrative analysis.

Questions about this report's data or methodology: data@injuria.ai

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