Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

5,168 CRASHES IN
IOWA, IA
FEBRUARY 2021

All metrics benchmarked againstFebruary 2020

Total crashes increased from 3,766 in February 2020 to 5,168 in February 2021, a 37.2% year-over-year rise. This increase was accompanied by a significant shift in collision circumstances, with crashes on snow or ice-covered roads climbing from 604 incidents to 2,751. Despite the surge in total crashes, fatalities declined from 17 to 14.

5,168

▲ 37.2%was 3,766

Total Crash Events

14

▼ -17.6%was 17

Persons Killed

1,303

▲ 15.7%was 1,126

Persons Injured

12

▼ -20.0%was 15

Fatal Crash Events

Note: "Persons Killed" (14) counts individual fatalities across all crash events. "Fatal" in the severity table below (12) counts crash events where at least one fatality occurred. A single crash can result in multiple fatalities.

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2021-02-01 to 2021-02-28 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Traffic crashes showed a significant upward trend in February 2021 compared to the same month in 2020. The total number of crashes rose by 37.2%, from 3,766 to 5,168. Total injuries also increased by 15.7% from 1,126 to 1,303, while total fatalities decreased from 17 to 14.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

1

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 1→0.0%

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 1↓-100.0%

13

Motorists Killed

Prior: 15↓-13.3%

17

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 27↓-37.0%

2

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 11↓-81.8%

1,284

Motorists Injured

Prior: 1,085↑18.3%

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2021-02-01 to 2021-02-28 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The temporal patterns of crashes shifted year-over-year. In February 2021, the peak day for crashes was Thursday with 952 incidents, a change from the prior year's peak on Friday, which saw 681 crashes. The peak hour for collisions remained the 3 p.m. hour in both periods, with counts increasing from 333 to 388.

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2021-02-01 to 2021-02-28 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2021-02-01 to 2021-02-28 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Although total crashes rose, the overall severity of crashes decreased in February 2021 compared to the previous year. The fatal crash rate dropped from 0.4% to 0.23%, with 12 fatal crashes compared to 15 in the prior period. The proportion of crashes resulting in any injury also fell from 25.7% to 23.0%, while the share of crashes with no injuries increased from 73.9% to 76.7%.

Severity is per crash event (most severe injury). 12 fatal crash events resulted in 14 persons killed.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Fatal12fatal crashes0.2%
↓-20.0%prior 15
Serious Injury53serious injury crashes1%
↓-8.6%prior 58
Minor Injury362minor injury crashes7%
↑22.3%prior 296
Possible Injury776possible injury crashes15%
↑26.6%prior 613
No Injury3,965no injury crashes76.7%
↑42.4%prior 2,784

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2021-02-01 to 2021-02-28 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2021-02-01 to 2021-02-28 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The primary contributing factors for crashes changed notably year-over-year. "Driving too fast for conditions" surged to become the top factor in February 2021, with its crash count increasing by 282% from 225 to 860. In contrast, "Animal" collisions, the leading factor in February 2020 with 399 incidents, saw a 27.3% decrease in count to 290, dropping its rank to fifth. The count of crashes involving a vehicle that "Ran off road - left" also more than doubled from 256 to 602.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Driving too fast for conditions860 (16.6%)↑282.2%prior 225
Ran off road - left602 (11.6%)↑135.2%prior 256
Followed too close339 (6.6%)↑1.2%prior 335
Lost Control299 (5.8%)↑39.1%prior 215
Animal290 (5.6%)↓-27.3%prior 399
Other (explain in narrative): Other284 (5.5%)↑28.5%prior 221
FTYROW: From stop sign257 (5%)↑19.5%prior 215
Ran off road - straight219 (4.2%)↑53.1%prior 143
FTYROW: Making left turn196 (3.8%)↑28.1%prior 153
Ran Stop Sign168 (3.3%)↑44.8%prior 116

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2021-02-01 to 2021-02-28 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

A substantial increase in crashes under adverse conditions was observed in February 2021 compared to February 2020. Crashes on road surfaces with snow or ice increased from 604 to 2,751, raising their share of total crashes from 16.0% to 53.2%. Similarly, collisions occurring in snow or blowing snow weather conditions rose from 319 to 1,112. The proportional distribution of crashes by lighting condition remained relatively stable, despite higher absolute numbers in all categories.

Weather

Clear2,710 (55.1%)
↑13.2%prior 2,394
Cloudy958 (19.5%)
↑65.5%prior 579
Snow872 (17.7%)
↑239.3%prior 257
Blowing Snow240 (4.9%)
↑287.1%prior 62
Freezing rain/drizzle40 (0.8%)
↓-23.1%prior 52
Fog, smoke, smog38 (0.8%)
↑137.5%prior 16
Severe Winds22 (0.4%)
↑100.0%prior 11
Other (explain in narrative)17 (0.3%)
↑70.0%prior 10
Sleet, hail15 (0.3%)
↑66.7%prior 9
Rain4 (0.1%)
↓-87.1%prior 31

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2021-02-01 to 2021-02-28 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight3,375 (68.5%)
↑51.6%prior 2,226
Dark - roadway lighted797 (16.2%)
↑28.5%prior 620
Dark - roadway not lighted483 (9.8%)
↑19.3%prior 405
Dusk136 (2.8%)
↑44.7%prior 94
Dawn109 (2.2%)
↑65.2%prior 66
Dark - unknown roadway lighting24 (0.5%)
↓-7.7%prior 26

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2021-02-01 to 2021-02-28 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry1,558 (31.6%)
↓-36.5%prior 2,454
Snow1,526 (31.0%)
↑381.4%prior 317
Ice/frost1,225 (24.8%)
↑326.8%prior 287
Wet397 (8.1%)
↑53.9%prior 258
Slush182 (3.7%)
↑171.6%prior 67
Other (explain in narrative)16 (0.3%)
Gravel14 (0.3%)
↓-51.7%prior 29
Sand9 (0.2%)
Mud, dirt3 (0.1%)
↓-72.7%prior 11

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2021-02-01 to 2021-02-28 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The top vehicle makes involved in crashes remained consistent, with Ford, Chev, and Chevrolet leading in both periods. The number of involved vehicles increased for all top makes, with Ford increasing from 984 to 1,471 and Chevrolet from 390 to 802. The age distribution of persons involved in crashes did not change significantly; for instance, the 26-34 age group represented 16.6% of persons in the current period versus 15.7% in the prior period.

Top Vehicle Makes (8,990 vehicles)

1
FORD1,471 (16.4%)
↑49.5%prior 984
2
CHEV948 (10.5%)
↑7.0%prior 886
3
CHEVROLET802 (8.9%)
↑105.6%prior 390
4
JEEP369 (4.1%)
↑38.7%prior 266
5
TOYT326 (3.6%)
↑5.5%prior 309
6
GMC305 (3.4%)
↑58.0%prior 193
7
DODG298 (3.3%)
↓-1.0%prior 301
8
TOYOTA278 (3.1%)
↑74.8%prior 159
9
KIA247 (2.7%)
↑63.6%prior 151
10
DODGE247 (2.7%)
↑84.3%prior 134

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2021-02-01 to 2021-02-28 · Vehicle unit records

1,486 persons with unknown or unrecorded age excluded from age chart.

Sex Distribution (8,100 persons with recorded sex)

Male4,825 (59.6%)
↑47.6%prior 3,269
Female3,275 (40.4%)
↑26.6%prior 2,587

Source: Iowa Crash Data · ArcGIS Open Data · 2021-02-01 to 2021-02-28 · 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: 2021-02-01 through 2021-02-28
  • Report generated: September 9, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2021-02-01 through 2021-02-28 (28 days)
  • Geographic scope: iowa, IA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 5,168
  • Total persons involved: 11,298
  • Total vehicles involved: 8,990

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: February 2021." Published September 9, 2026. Reporting period: 2021-02-01 to 2021-02-28. Data source: Iowa Crash Data, ArcGIS Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/iowa/statewide/february-2021-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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