Yearly Traffic Safety Analysis

211 CRASHES IN
IOWA, IA
2025

All metrics benchmarked against2024

In 2025, Clarke County recorded 211 total crashes, a 2.4% increase from the 206 crashes reported in 2024. While the overall crash volume remained relatively stable, the number of fatalities rose from one in 2024 to three in 2025. This increase was accompanied by a rise in the number of fatal crashes from one to three over the same period.

211

▲ 2.4%was 206

Total Crash Events

3

▲ 200.0%was 1

Persons Killed

56

▼ -9.7%was 62

Persons Injured

3

▲ 200.0%was 1

Fatal Crash Events

Note: "Persons Killed" (3) counts individual fatalities across all crash events. "Fatal" in the severity table below (3) counts crash events where at least one fatality occurred. A single crash can result in multiple fatalities.

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Crash trends in Clarke County showed a slight increase year-over-year, with total crashes rising from 206 in 2024 to 211 in 2025. While total injuries saw a decrease from 62 to 56, the number of fatalities increased from one to three during this period, indicating a rise in crash severity.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 0→0.0%

2

Motorists Killed

Prior: 1↑100.0%

1

Other Killed

Prior: 0→%

1

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 1→0.0%

55

Motorists Injured

Prior: 61↓-9.8%

0

Other Injured

Prior: 0→0.0%

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The timing of crashes in Clarke County shifted between 2024 and 2025. The peak day for crashes moved from Friday (38 crashes) in 2024 to Tuesday (38 crashes) in 2025. Similarly, the peak hour for collisions shifted slightly earlier, from 5 p.m. in the prior year to 4 p.m. in the current year, which saw 23 crashes. The afternoon commute hours of 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. saw a higher concentration of crashes in 2025 compared to 2024.

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Crash severity increased notably in 2025 compared to 2024. The number of fatal crashes tripled from one to three, and the fatal crash rate rose from 0.49% to 1.42%. Crashes resulting in serious injuries also doubled, increasing from four in 2024 to eight in 2025. While minor injury crashes decreased from 24 to 20, the proportion of crashes with no injuries slightly declined from 78.2% to 75.8%.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Fatal3fatal crashes1.4%
↑200.0%prior 1
Serious Injury8serious injury crashes3.8%
↑100.0%prior 4
Minor Injury20minor injury crashes9.5%
↓-16.7%prior 24
Possible Injury20possible injury crashes9.5%
↑25.0%prior 16
No Injury160no injury crashes75.8%
↓-0.6%prior 161

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

While collisions involving an 'Animal' remained the top contributing factor in both periods, their count decreased from 43 in 2024 to 26 in 2025. Conversely, crashes attributed to 'Failure to yield right-of-way from a stop sign' doubled in count, increasing from 8 to 16 incidents. The count for 'Lost Control' crashes rose slightly from 18 to 20, and 'Followed too close' held steady with 15 incidents in both years. 'Ran off road - straight' also saw a minor increase from 15 to 16 crashes.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Animal26 (12.3%)↓-39.5%prior 43
Lost Control20 (9.5%)↑11.1%prior 18
FTYROW: From stop sign16 (7.6%)↑100.0%prior 8
Ran off road - straight16 (7.6%)↑6.7%prior 15
Followed too close15 (7.1%)→0.0%prior 15
Other (explain in narrative): Other12 (5.7%)↑20.0%prior 10
Driving too fast for conditions12 (5.7%)↑50.0%prior 8
Driver Distraction: Other interior distraction11 (5.2%)↑57.1%prior 7
Made improper turn10 (4.7%)↑100.0%prior 5
FTYROW: Making left turn7 (3.3%)↓-12.5%prior 8

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

In both 2024 and 2025, the majority of crashes occurred in clear weather, during daylight hours, and on dry roads. The proportion of crashes happening in daylight increased from 57.3% in 2024 to 63.0% in 2025. There was an increase in crashes on adverse road surfaces (wet, snow, or ice), which rose from 31 incidents in 2024 to 44 in 2025. Crashes in clear weather conditions also increased, from 124 to 143 incidents year-over-year.

Weather

Clear143 (76.1%)
↑15.3%prior 124
Cloudy17 (9.0%)
↓-10.5%prior 19
Rain14 (7.4%)
↑55.6%prior 9
Snow9 (4.8%)
↑80.0%prior 5
Blowing Snow2 (1.1%)
Fog, smoke, smog1 (0.5%)
Blowing sand, soil, dirt1 (0.5%)
Severe Winds1 (0.5%)

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight133 (70.4%)
↑12.7%prior 118
Dark - roadway not lighted25 (13.2%)
↓-7.4%prior 27
Dark - roadway lighted17 (9.0%)
↑70.0%prior 10
Dawn7 (3.7%)
↑40.0%prior 5
Dusk7 (3.7%)
↓-22.2%prior 9

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry133 (70.7%)
↑3.1%prior 129
Wet26 (13.8%)
↑62.5%prior 16
Snow11 (5.9%)
↑22.2%prior 9
Gravel11 (5.9%)
↑57.1%prior 7
Ice/frost3 (1.6%)
↓-40.0%prior 5
Slush3 (1.6%)
Mud, dirt1 (0.5%)

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Ford and Chevrolet were the most common vehicle makes involved in crashes in both years, with their counts remaining relatively stable. In 2025, 55 Fords and 55 Chevrolets were involved, compared to 53 Fords and 58 Chevrolets in 2024. Involvement of Freightliner commercial trucks increased from 5 in 2024 to 15 in 2025. Analysis of persons involved shows an increase in the 45-54 age group (from 41 to 54 individuals) and the 65+ age group (from 51 to 60 individuals).

Top Vehicle Makes (339 vehicles)

1
FORD55 (16.2%)
↑3.8%prior 53
2
CHEV36 (10.6%)
↓-14.3%prior 42
3
CHEVROLET19 (5.6%)
↑18.8%prior 16
4
DODG18 (5.3%)
↑100.0%prior 9
5
JEEP16 (4.7%)
↑45.5%prior 11
6
FREIGHTLINER15 (4.4%)
↑200.0%prior 5
7
RAM14 (4.1%)
↑100.0%prior 7
8
BUIC10 (2.9%)
↑66.7%prior 6
9
HOND9 (2.7%)
↓-25.0%prior 12
10
TOYO9 (2.7%)
→0.0%prior 9

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (230 persons with recorded sex)

Male159 (69.1%)
↑18.7%prior 134
Female71 (30.9%)
↑9.2%prior 65

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · 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: 2025-01-01 through 2025-12-31
  • Report generated: September 9, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2025-01-01 through 2025-12-31 (365 days)
  • Geographic scope: iowa, IA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 211
  • Total persons involved: 349
  • Total vehicles involved: 339

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: 2025." Published September 9, 2026. Reporting period: 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31. Data source: Iowa Crash Data, ArcGIS Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/iowa/statewide/2025-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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