Yearly Traffic Safety Analysis

10,469 CRASHES IN
IOWA, IA
2025

All metrics benchmarked against2024

Total crashes in Polk County, IA decreased by 1.72% year-over-year, from 10652 in the prior period to 10469 in the current period. The most significant change was a 53.19% reduction in total fatalities, decreasing from 47 to 22.

10,469

▼ -1.7%was 10,652

Total Crash Events

22

▼ -53.2%was 47

Persons Killed

3,286

▼ -7.8%was 3,564

Persons Injured

21

▼ -47.5%was 40

Fatal Crash Events

Note: "Persons Killed" (22) counts individual fatalities across all crash events. "Fatal" in the severity table below (21) counts crash events where at least one fatality occurred. A single crash can result in multiple fatalities. 1 crash with unreported severity is not shown in the severity breakdown.

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

Trend Summary

Overall, crash data for Polk County, IA indicates a declining trend year-over-year. Total crashes decreased by 1.72%, from 10652 to 10469. Fatalities saw a substantial decrease of 53.19%, from 47 to 22, while total injuries also fell by 7.80%, from 3564 to 3286.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

5

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 8↓-37.5%

1

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 0→%

16

Motorists Killed

Prior: 39↓-59.0%

0

Other Killed

Prior: 0→0.0%

92

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 88↑4.5%

83

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 90↓-7.8%

3,096

Motorists Injured

Prior: 3,372↓-8.2%

15

Other Injured

Prior: 14↑7.1%

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 peak day for crashes shifted from Friday (1780 crashes) in the prior period to Wednesday (1743 crashes) in the current period. The peak hour remained 4 p.m., with crashes increasing slightly from 1032 to 1053 during this hour. Monthly crash totals varied, with January experiencing a notable decrease from 1061 crashes in the prior period to 814 crashes in the current period.

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

The fatal crash rate decreased from 0.38% in the prior period to 0.2% in the current period. Fatal crashes decreased by 47.5%, from 40 to 21, and serious injuries decreased from 143 to 127. The proportion of crashes resulting in no injury increased from 67.2% to 69.8% year-over-year.

Severity is per crash event (most severe injury). 21 fatal crash events resulted in 22 persons killed.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Fatal21fatal crashes0.2%
↓-47.5%prior 40
Serious Injury127serious injury crashes1.2%
↓-11.2%prior 143
Minor Injury909minor injury crashes8.7%
↓-7.4%prior 982
Possible Injury2,101possible injury crashes20.1%
↓-9.9%prior 2,332
No Injury7,310no injury crashes69.8%
↑2.2%prior 7,155

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

The top contributing factor, 'Followed too close,' saw a slight increase in count from 1717 to 1721. Crashes attributed to 'Driving too fast for conditions' increased from 584 to 645, while 'Ran Traffic Signal' incidents decreased from 597 to 527. 'FTYROW: Making left turn' also decreased in count from 672 to 594.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Followed too close1,721 (16.4%)↑0.2%prior 1,717
Other (explain in narrative): Other647 (6.2%)↓-5.1%prior 682
Driving too fast for conditions645 (6.2%)↑10.4%prior 584
Ran off road - left625 (6%)↑2.5%prior 610
FTYROW: Making left turn594 (5.7%)↓-11.6%prior 672
Ran Traffic Signal527 (5%)↓-11.7%prior 597
FTYROW: From stop sign483 (4.6%)↑5.7%prior 457
Improper or erratic lane changing445 (4.3%)↓-4.9%prior 468
Operating vehicle in an reckless, erratic, careless, negligent manner442 (4.2%)↓-8.5%prior 483
Driver Distraction: Other interior distraction408 (3.9%)↑7.9%prior 378

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

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in 'Clear' weather conditions decreased from 7773 to 7483, while crashes in 'Rain' decreased from 596 to 470. Conversely, crashes in 'Snow' conditions increased from 283 to 448. Similarly, crashes on 'Dry' road surfaces decreased from 8370 to 8013, but those on 'Snow' surfaces increased from 440 to 625.

Weather

Clear7,483 (73.3%)
↓-3.7%prior 7,773
Cloudy1,562 (15.3%)
↓-2.4%prior 1,600
Rain470 (4.6%)
↓-21.1%prior 596
Snow448 (4.4%)
↑58.3%prior 283
Freezing rain/drizzle85 (0.8%)
↑60.4%prior 53
Blowing Snow74 (0.7%)
↑25.4%prior 59
Fog, smoke, smog38 (0.4%)
↓-11.6%prior 43
Severe Winds21 (0.2%)
↑133.3%prior 9
Other (explain in narrative)19 (0.2%)
↑46.2%prior 13
Sleet, hail6 (0.1%)
↓-40.0%prior 10

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

Lighting

Daylight7,416 (72.5%)
↓-1.5%prior 7,527
Dark - roadway lighted2,012 (19.7%)
↓-3.0%prior 2,074
Dark - roadway not lighted349 (3.4%)
↓-5.2%prior 368
Dusk245 (2.4%)
↓-3.2%prior 253
Dawn180 (1.8%)
↓-12.6%prior 206
Dark - unknown roadway lighting30 (0.3%)
↑7.1%prior 28

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

Road Surface

Dry8,013 (78.4%)
↓-4.3%prior 8,370
Wet1,065 (10.4%)
↓-11.2%prior 1,199
Snow625 (6.1%)
↑42.0%prior 440
Ice/frost431 (4.2%)
↑31.4%prior 328
Slush63 (0.6%)
↓-29.2%prior 89
Gravel8 (0.1%)
↓-46.7%prior 15
Water (standing or moving)6 (0.1%)
↑20.0%prior 5
Sand3 (0.0%)
Other (explain in narrative)2 (0.0%)
↓-60.0%prior 5
Mud, dirt1 (0.0%)

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

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of vehicles involved in crashes decreased from 20605 in the prior period to 20149 in the current period. Ford and Chev remained the most involved makes, with Ford decreasing from 2809 to 2765 and Chev from 2782 to 2643. The age group 16-20 saw an increase in persons involved from 2398 to 2517, while the 26-34 age group decreased from 3636 to 3491.

Top Vehicle Makes (20,149 vehicles)

1
FORD2,765 (13.7%)
↓-1.6%prior 2,809
2
CHEV2,643 (13.1%)
↓-5.0%prior 2,782
3
TOYT1,125 (5.6%)
↑3.8%prior 1,084
4
HOND1,072 (5.3%)
↑1.8%prior 1,053
5
JEEP1,011 (5%)
↑3.8%prior 974
6
NISS918 (4.6%)
↑7.2%prior 856
7
NR851 (4.2%)
↓-11.8%prior 965
8
CHEVROLET796 (4%)
↓-15.0%prior 937
9
KIA638 (3.2%)
↑3.7%prior 615
10
HYUN587 (2.9%)
↑5.8%prior 555

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

2,352 persons with unknown or unrecorded age excluded from age chart.

Sex Distribution (14,796 persons with recorded sex)

Male8,477 (57.3%)
↓-0.3%prior 8,506
Female6,319 (42.7%)
↑0.3%prior 6,299

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: 10,469
  • Total persons involved: 20,864
  • Total vehicles involved: 20,149

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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