Yearly Traffic Safety Analysis

297 CRASHES IN
IOWA, IA
2021

All metrics benchmarked against2020

In Mahaska County, total traffic crashes increased from 260 in 2020 to 297 in 2021, a 14.2% rise. Despite the increase in overall collisions, the number of fatalities recorded decreased from 5 to 2. The number of people injured saw a slight increase from 91 to 100 over the same period.

297

▲ 14.2%was 260

Total Crash Events

2

▼ -60.0%was 5

Persons Killed

100

▲ 9.9%was 91

Persons Injured

2

▼ -60.0%was 5

Fatal Crash Events

Note: "Persons Killed" (2) counts individual fatalities across all crash events. "Fatal" in the severity table below (2) 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

Traffic crashes in Mahaska County showed an upward trend, increasing by 14.2% from 260 in 2020 to 297 in 2021. While the total number of collisions rose, fatalities decreased from 5 to 2. The number of people injured increased by 9.9%, from 91 in the prior year to 100 in the current year.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 0→0.0%

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 0→0.0%

2

Motorists Killed

Prior: 5↓-60.0%

3

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 2↑50.0%

2

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 1↑100.0%

95

Motorists Injured

Prior: 88↑8.0%

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 temporal patterns of crashes showed some shifts between the two periods. The peak hour for crashes remained consistent at 3 p.m. in both 2020 and 2021, with 27 incidents recorded in that hour each year. However, the peak day for crashes changed from a tie between Monday and Saturday (45 crashes each) in 2020 to Friday (51 crashes) 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

Crash severity saw a notable decrease in fatal outcomes, with fatal crashes dropping from 5 in 2020 to 2 in 2021, representing a decline in the fatal crash rate from 1.9% to 0.7% of all crashes. Conversely, the number of serious injury crashes increased from 4 to 11. The proportion of crashes resulting in any injury (serious, minor, or possible) remained relatively stable, moving from 26.5% in 2020 to 27.3% in 2021.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Fatal2fatal crashes0.7%
↓-60.0%prior 5
Serious Injury11serious injury crashes3.7%
↑175.0%prior 4
Minor Injury29minor injury crashes9.8%
↓-17.1%prior 35
Possible Injury41possible injury crashes13.8%
↑36.7%prior 30
No Injury214no injury crashes72.1%
↑15.1%prior 186

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 factors shifted between 2020 and 2021. While 'Failure to yield from a stop sign' was a top factor in both years (24 incidents in 2020, 23 in 2021), 'Lost Control' crashes more than doubled from 13 to 30. Conversely, crashes attributed to 'Driving too fast for conditions' saw a sharp decline, falling from 16 incidents in 2020 to just 2 in 2021. The most cited factor in 2021 was a generic 'Other' category, which grew from 12 to 43 incidents.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Other (explain in narrative): Other43 (14.5%)↑258.3%prior 12
Lost Control30 (10.1%)↑130.8%prior 13
FTYROW: From stop sign23 (7.7%)↓-4.2%prior 24
Followed too close21 (7.1%)↓-8.7%prior 23
FTYROW: Making left turn21 (7.1%)↑61.5%prior 13
Animal20 (6.7%)↓-13.0%prior 23
Ran off road - left15 (5.1%)→0.0%prior 15
Driver Distraction: Other interior distraction12 (4%)→0.0%prior 12
Ran Stop Sign12 (4%)↑33.3%prior 9
Made improper turn9 (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

The distribution of crashes across environmental conditions remained largely consistent year-over-year. Crashes on dry roads accounted for 72.4% of the total in 2021, nearly identical to the 73.5% reported in 2020. Similarly, the proportion of crashes occurring in clear weather was stable, at 66.0% in 2021 compared to 64.6% in 2020. There was a slight shift in lighting conditions, with a higher percentage of crashes occurring during daylight in 2021 (70.4%) compared to the prior year (61.9%).

Weather

Clear196 (70.8%)
↑16.7%prior 168
Cloudy55 (19.9%)
↑7.8%prior 51
Snow11 (4.0%)
→0.0%prior 11
Rain8 (2.9%)
↓-27.3%prior 11
Blowing Snow4 (1.4%)
Other (explain in narrative)1 (0.4%)
Freezing rain/drizzle1 (0.4%)
Fog, smoke, smog1 (0.4%)

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

Lighting

Daylight209 (74.6%)
↑29.8%prior 161
Dark - roadway not lighted30 (10.7%)
↓-28.6%prior 42
Dark - roadway lighted30 (10.7%)
↑25.0%prior 24
Dusk9 (3.2%)
↑28.6%prior 7
Dawn2 (0.7%)
↓-71.4%prior 7

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

Road Surface

Dry215 (77.3%)
↑12.6%prior 191
Wet19 (6.8%)
↓-17.4%prior 23
Snow19 (6.8%)
↑137.5%prior 8
Ice/frost15 (5.4%)
↑87.5%prior 8
Gravel6 (2.2%)
↓-50.0%prior 12
Other (explain in narrative)2 (0.7%)
Slush2 (0.7%)

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

Vehicles & Demographics

The most common vehicle makes involved in crashes remained consistent, with Chevrolet (110 vehicles), Ford (85), and Dodge (40) leading in 2021. This represents an increase in involvement for Chevrolet and Dodge compared to 2020, when 88 Chevrolet and 32 Dodge vehicles were in crashes. Analysis of persons involved shows a significant increase in the 21-44 age range; for instance, the number of individuals aged 21-25 involved in crashes rose from 61 in 2020 to 89 in 2021.

Top Vehicle Makes (511 vehicles)

1
FORD85 (16.6%)
↓-2.3%prior 87
2
CHEV69 (13.5%)
↑4.5%prior 66
3
CHEVROLET41 (8%)
↑86.4%prior 22
4
JEEP22 (4.3%)
↑22.2%prior 18
5
DODGE21 (4.1%)
↑133.3%prior 9
6
DODG19 (3.7%)
↓-17.4%prior 23
7
GMC19 (3.7%)
↑18.8%prior 16
8
TOYT18 (3.5%)
↑12.5%prior 16
9
NISS15 (2.9%)
10
HONDA14 (2.7%)
↑133.3%prior 6

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

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

Sex Distribution (452 persons with recorded sex)

Male277 (61.3%)
↑19.9%prior 231
Female175 (38.7%)
↑7.4%prior 163

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: 297
  • Total persons involved: 626
  • Total vehicles involved: 511

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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