Yearly Traffic Safety Analysis

53,706 CRASHES IN
IOWA, IA
2022

All metrics benchmarked against2021

In 2022, Iowa recorded 53,706 total traffic crashes, a 1.7% decrease from the 54,624 crashes in 2021. This downward trend was accompanied by a 5.6% reduction in fatalities and a 2.2% drop in injuries. One of the most notable year-over-year shifts was a significant 24.7% decrease in the number of crashes occurring in the city of Davenport.

53,706

▼ -1.7%was 54,624

Total Crash Events

336

▼ -5.6%was 356

Persons Killed

16,870

▼ -2.2%was 17,245

Persons Injured

305

▼ -7.3%was 329

Fatal Crash Events

Note: "Persons Killed" (336) counts individual fatalities across all crash events. "Fatal" in the severity table below (305) counts crash events where at least one fatality occurred. A single crash can result in multiple fatalities.

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

The overall trend indicates a slight year-over-year improvement in traffic safety metrics for Iowa. Total crashes decreased by 1.7%, from 54,624 in 2021 to 53,706 in 2022. Concurrently, the number of fatalities fell by 5.6% from 356 to 336, and the total number of injuries declined by 2.2% from 17,245 to 16,870.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

16

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 31↓-48.4%

4

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 11↓-63.6%

315

Motorists Killed

Prior: 313↑0.6%

1

Other Killed

Prior: 1→0.0%

383

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 338↑13.3%

286

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 260↑10.0%

16,160

Motorists Injured

Prior: 16,601↓-2.7%

41

Other Injured

Prior: 46↓-10.9%

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The temporal patterns of crashes remained largely consistent between 2021 and 2022. Friday was the day with the most crashes in both periods, with 9,310 incidents in 2022 compared to 9,441 in 2021. There was a slight shift in the daily peak, moving from the 5 PM hour in 2021 (4,375 crashes) to the 3 PM hour in 2022 (4,315 crashes).

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

The overall distribution of crash severity remained stable year-over-year. Fatal crashes accounted for 0.6% of all incidents in both 2022 and 2021, though the absolute count of these events decreased from 329 to 305. The proportion of crashes resulting in any injury (Serious, Minor, or Possible) was also consistent, moving from 27.5% in 2021 to 27.3% in 2022.

Severity is per crash event (most severe injury). 305 fatal crash events resulted in 336 persons killed.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Fatal305fatal crashes0.6%
↓-7.3%prior 329
Serious Injury1,185serious injury crashes2.2%
↓-3.4%prior 1,227
Minor Injury5,069minor injury crashes9.4%
↓-0.6%prior 5,102
Possible Injury8,437possible injury crashes15.7%
↓-3.2%prior 8,719
No Injury38,710no injury crashes72.1%
↓-1.4%prior 39,247

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The top contributing factors for crashes were consistent across both years, with collisions involving an animal being the most frequent cause in both 2022 (7,601 incidents) and 2021 (7,717 incidents). The count of crashes attributed to 'Followed too close' decreased from 5,466 to 5,125. Conversely, crashes where 'Driving too fast for conditions' was cited as a factor saw a notable increase in count, rising from 2,714 in 2021 to 2,959 in 2022.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Animal7,601 (14.2%)↓-1.5%prior 7,717
Followed too close5,125 (9.5%)↓-6.2%prior 5,466
Ran off road - left3,448 (6.4%)↓-1.5%prior 3,502
Other (explain in narrative): Other3,418 (6.4%)↑0.9%prior 3,388
Driving too fast for conditions2,959 (5.5%)↑9.0%prior 2,714
Lost Control2,795 (5.2%)↓-3.9%prior 2,908
FTYROW: From stop sign2,732 (5.1%)↑1.1%prior 2,702
FTYROW: Making left turn2,274 (4.2%)↑2.4%prior 2,220
Ran Traffic Signal1,842 (3.4%)↑5.6%prior 1,745
Ran off road - straight1,821 (3.4%)↓-0.5%prior 1,830

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

The proportion of crashes occurring under different environmental conditions remained largely stable year-over-year, with most incidents happening in clear weather and on dry roads. In 2022, 61.6% of crashes occurred in clear weather, compared to 62.1% in 2021. However, the absolute number of crashes during adverse winter weather increased; incidents in snow rose from 1,786 to 2,405, and crashes on snowy or icy roads increased from a combined 5,367 to 5,869.

Weather

Clear33,071 (69.8%)
↓-2.5%prior 33,913
Cloudy7,571 (16.0%)
↓-9.4%prior 8,360
Snow2,405 (5.1%)
↑34.7%prior 1,786
Rain2,216 (4.7%)
↑0.1%prior 2,213
Blowing Snow789 (1.7%)
↑54.7%prior 510
Freezing rain/drizzle707 (1.5%)
↓-11.2%prior 796
Severe Winds230 (0.5%)
↑47.4%prior 156
Fog, smoke, smog197 (0.4%)
↓-27.6%prior 272
Other (explain in narrative)116 (0.2%)
↑19.6%prior 97
Sleet, hail34 (0.1%)
↓-45.2%prior 62

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight32,692 (68.8%)
↓-1.6%prior 33,221
Dark - roadway lighted7,249 (15.3%)
↓-0.2%prior 7,262
Dark - roadway not lighted5,126 (10.8%)
↓-4.2%prior 5,348
Dusk1,278 (2.7%)
↓-4.3%prior 1,336
Dawn919 (1.9%)
↓-3.2%prior 949
Dark - unknown roadway lighting222 (0.5%)
↓-5.9%prior 236

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry35,442 (74.6%)
↓-3.2%prior 36,621
Wet4,798 (10.1%)
↓-1.5%prior 4,869
Snow3,080 (6.5%)
↑13.8%prior 2,707
Ice/frost2,789 (5.9%)
↑4.8%prior 2,660
Gravel904 (1.9%)
↑3.4%prior 874
Slush346 (0.7%)
↓-17.6%prior 420
Mud, dirt65 (0.1%)
↑18.2%prior 55
Other (explain in narrative)60 (0.1%)
↑3.4%prior 58
Sand15 (0.0%)
↓-37.5%prior 24
Water (standing or moving)5 (0.0%)

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The top vehicle makes involved in crashes, primarily Chevrolet and Ford models, remained consistent between 2021 and 2022. Demographically, despite a decrease in total crashes, the number of persons involved in them increased from 115,520 to 122,324. A notable shift occurred in the 65+ age group, where the number of people involved in crashes grew from 11,777 in 2021 to 13,469 in 2022.

Top Vehicle Makes (91,492 vehicles)

1
FORD14,535 (15.9%)
↓-2.6%prior 14,928
2
CHEV12,533 (13.7%)
↑19.7%prior 10,472
3
CHEVROLET4,973 (5.4%)
↓-34.8%prior 7,627
4
TOYT4,369 (4.8%)
↑21.3%prior 3,603
5
JEEP3,672 (4%)
↑6.0%prior 3,463
6
DODG3,492 (3.8%)
↑17.6%prior 2,970
7
HOND3,432 (3.8%)
↑27.2%prior 2,699
8
GMC3,234 (3.5%)
↑2.0%prior 3,172
9
NISS2,843 (3.1%)
↑28.6%prior 2,210
10
NR2,557 (2.8%)
↓-4.1%prior 2,666

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Vehicle unit records

15,753 persons with unknown or unrecorded age excluded from age chart.

Sex Distribution (82,088 persons with recorded sex)

Male47,305 (57.6%)
↑9.3%prior 43,291
Female34,783 (42.4%)
↑8.3%prior 32,132

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · 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: 2022-01-01 through 2022-12-31
  • Report generated: September 9, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2022-01-01 through 2022-12-31 (365 days)
  • Geographic scope: iowa, IA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 53,706
  • Total persons involved: 122,324
  • Total vehicles involved: 91,492

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: 2022." Published September 9, 2026. Reporting period: 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31. Data source: Iowa Crash Data, ArcGIS Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/iowa/statewide/2022-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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