Fatal Crashes Only
This report covers fatal crashes only, from the NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System — the federal census of every crash on a US public road that killed someone within 30 days. It does not include injury or property-damage-only crashes, and its totals are not comparable with the all-severity crash reports published elsewhere on this site.
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YEAR-OVER-YEAR CRASH REPORT · HOUSTON, TEXAS · 2023
Purpose: Machine-readable JSON endpoint for AI agents, LLMs, researchers, and programmatic consumers. Returns all underlying crash data and AI-generated commentary without HTML.
Authentication: None required. Public endpoint.
GET: https://thatcarhitme.com/api/crash-data/reports/data/texas/fatal/houston/2023-annual-report
Yearly Traffic Safety Analysis
279 CRASHES IN
HOUSTON, TEXAS
2023
In 2023, Houston experienced 279 fatal crashes, a decrease of 8.52% compared to 305 fatal crashes in 2022. This period also saw a notable 45.45% increase in fatal bicycle crashes, rising from 11 in the prior year to 16 in the current year.
279
▼ -8.5%was 305
Total Crash Events
297
▼ -8.0%was 323
Persons Killed
196
▼ -8.4%was 214
Persons Injured
56
▼ -8.2%was 61
Hit-and-Run Crashes
Note: "Persons Killed" (297) counts individual fatalities across all crash events. "Fatal" in the severity table below (279) counts crash events where at least one fatality occurred. A single crash can result in multiple fatalities.
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records
Trend Summary
Overall, fatal crash activity in Houston decreased year-over-year. The number of fatal crashes fell by 8.52%, from 305 in 2022 to 279 in 2023. Concurrently, total fatalities also decreased by 8.05%, from 323 in 2022 to 297 in 2023.
56
Hit-and-Run Crashes — 2023
▼ -8.2% vs prior (61)
The number of fatal hit-and-run crashes decreased from 61 in 2022 to 56 in 2023. Despite this decrease in count, the hit-and-run rate as a percentage of all fatal crashes slightly increased from 20.0% in 2022 to 20.1% in 2023.
Vulnerable Road User Casualties
98
Pedestrians Killed
16
Cyclists Killed
179
Motorists Killed
4
Other Killed
6
Pedestrians Injured
0
Cyclists Injured
190
Motorists Injured
0
Other Injured
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)
When Crashes Happen
The peak day for fatal crashes shifted from Saturday and Sunday (61 fatal crashes each) in 2022 to Sunday (68 fatal crashes) in 2023. The peak hour for fatal crashes also changed, moving from 2 AM (32 fatal crashes) in 2022 to 10 PM (24 fatal crashes) in 2023.
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)
Road & Environmental Conditions
Fatal crashes in clear weather decreased from 235 in 2022 to 218 in 2023, while those in rainy conditions decreased from 20 to 14. A notable shift occurred in lighting conditions, with fatal crashes in 'Dark - Not Lighted' conditions increasing from 47 in 2022 to 53 in 2023, representing an increase in proportion from 15.4% to 19.0% of all fatal crashes.
Weather
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Weather condition at time of crash
Lighting
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Lighting condition field
Vehicles & Demographics
The top vehicle makes involved in fatal crashes generally saw decreases year-over-year. Chevrolet involvement decreased from 66 vehicles in 2022 to 48 in 2023, while Ford decreased from 55 to 41. Toyota also saw a reduction from 51 to 35, though Honda's involvement remained stable, increasing slightly from 36 to 37.
Top Vehicle Makes (415 vehicles)
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Vehicle unit records
43 persons with unknown or unrecorded age excluded from age chart.
Sex Distribution (674 persons with recorded sex)
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events
Speed Limit Zones
Fatal crashes in 35 mph speed zones decreased from 96 in 2022 to 80 in 2023. Conversely, fatal crashes in 60 mph zones increased from 61 to 77, and those in 30 mph zones increased from 20 to 34. This indicates a shift in fatal crash distribution towards both higher (60 mph) and lower (30 mph) speed zones, while crashes in 35 mph and 45 mph zones saw reductions.
Fatal crashes by zone: 20 mph: 1 of 1 (100%) · 25 mph: 2 of 2 (100%) · 30 mph: 34 of 34 (100%) · 35 mph: 80 of 80 (100%) · 40 mph: 18 of 18 (100%) · 45 mph: 33 of 33 (100%) · 50 mph: 9 of 9 (100%) · 55 mph: 6 of 6 (100%) · 60 mph: 77 of 77 (100%) · 65 mph: 16 of 16 (100%)
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Posted speed limit at crash location
Manner of Collision
The most frequent manner of fatal collision for both years was 'The First Harmful Event was Not a Collision with a Motor Vehicle in Transport', accounting for 201 fatal crashes (72%) in 2023, down from 208 fatal crashes (68.2%) in 2022. Fatal angle collisions decreased from 39 in 2022 to 36 in 2023, and front-to-rear collisions also saw a decrease from 28 to 25.
Manner of Collision
"Other" combines 1 smaller categories (1 records): Reported as Unknown (1).
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Crash-level records
Vehicle Type
The most common vehicle body type involved in fatal crashes for both periods was '4-door sedan, hardtop', decreasing from 144 in 2022 to 113 in 2023. Light Pickup involvement also decreased from 78 to 65. Notably, Two Wheel Motorcycle involvement in fatal crashes increased from 33 in 2022 to 45 in 2023, while Truck-tractor involvement decreased from 18 to 14.
Vehicle Type
Showing top 9 of 27 reported. 18 additional (53 total) not shown: 5-door/4-door hatchback, Minivan (Chrysler Town and Country, Caravan, Grand Caravan, Voyager, Voyager, Honda-Odyssey, ...), Large Van-Includes van-based buses (B150-B350, Sportsman, Royal Maxiwagon, Ram, Tradesman,...), Single-unit straight truck or Cab-Chassis (GVWR range 10,001 to 19,500 lbs.), Convertible(excludes sun-roof,t-bar), Medium/heavy Pickup (GVWR greater than 10,000 lbs.), Transit Bus (City Bus), Off-road Motorcycle, 3-door/2-door hatchback, Single-unit straight truck or Cab-Chassis (GVWR range 19,501 to 26,000 lbs.), Unknown medium/heavy truck type, Motor Scooter, Other Bus Type, Other vehicle type (includes go-cart, fork-lift, city street sweeper dunes/swamp buggy), Sedan/Hardtop, number of doors unknown, Single-unit straight truck or Cab-Chassis (GVWR greater than 26,000 lbs.), Step-van or walk-in van (GVWR less than or equal to 10,000 lbs.), Unenclosed Three Wheel Motorcycle / Unenclosed Autocycle (1 Rear Wheel).
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Vehicle unit records
Rural vs Urban
Fatal crashes predominantly occurred in urban areas, with 276 fatal crashes in urban settings in 2023, a decrease from 300 in 2022. Rural fatal crashes decreased from 5 in 2022 to 3 in 2023. The rural share of fatal crashes remained very low for both periods, accounting for approximately 1.1% of fatal crashes in 2023 and 1.6% in 2022.
Rural vs Urban
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Crash-level records
Roadway Functional Class
Interstate roadways saw an increase in fatal crashes from 73 in 2022 to 83 in 2023. Conversely, fatal crashes on Minor Arterial roads decreased from 91 in 2022 to 74 in 2023, and Principal Arterial roads (including Other Principal Arterial and Other Freeways and Expressways) also saw a decrease from 92 to 69. Fatal crashes on Local and Major Collector roads showed slight increases, from 18 to 20 and 31 to 33 respectively.
Roadway Functional Class
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Crash-level records
Roadway Ownership
The State Highway Agency was associated with the highest number of fatal crashes in both periods, increasing from 84 in 2022 to 95 in 2023. Fatal crashes on State Toll Roads also increased from 7 in 2022 to 14 in 2023. City or Municipal Highway Agency roads, which accounted for 10 fatal crashes in 2022, are not explicitly listed in the top categories for 2023.
Roadway Ownership
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Crash-level records
Person Type
Drivers remained the dominant person type involved in fatal crashes, though their count decreased from 470 in 2022 to 413 in 2023. Pedestrian involvement also decreased from 116 to 105. However, bicyclist involvement in fatal crashes increased significantly from 11 in 2022 to 16 in 2023.
Person Type
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Crash-level records
Person Injury Severity
The number of persons sustaining fatal injuries (K) decreased from 323 in 2022 to 297 in 2023. Persons with serious injuries (A) decreased from 41 to 34, while those with minor injuries (B) increased from 50 to 55. The count of persons with no injury (O) also decreased from 279 to 221.
Person Injury Severity
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Crash-level records
Occupant Safety Equipment
The use of 'Shoulder and Lap Belt' by participants in fatal crashes decreased from 394 in 2022 to 324 in 2023. Conversely, the number of participants recorded as having 'None Used/Not Applicable' safety equipment increased from 158 in 2022 to 187 in 2023. This indicates a notable increase in non-restraint use among participants in fatal crashes.
Occupant Safety Equipment
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events
Point of Impact
The '12 Clock Point' (front impact) remained the dominant area of impact in fatal crashes, though its count decreased from 273 in 2022 to 233 in 2023. Impacts at the '6 Clock Point' (rear impact) also decreased from 41 to 33. 'Non-Collision' impacts increased from 12 in 2022 to 14 in 2023.
Point of Impact
"Other" combines 9 smaller categories (46 records): Right-Back Side (11), Right (11), 3 Clock Point (9), Left-Back Side (8), 11 Clock Point (2), 5 Clock Point (2), Reported as Unknown (1), Cargo/Vehicle Parts Set-In-Motion (1), Undercarriage (1).
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Vehicle unit records
Vehicles Per Crash
Single-vehicle fatal crashes decreased slightly from 180 in 2022 to 176 in 2023. Crashes involving two vehicles also decreased from 86 to 73. There was a decrease in fatal crashes involving three or more vehicles, with three-vehicle crashes falling from 22 to 19 and four-vehicle crashes from 11 to 8.
Vehicles Per Crash
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Crash-level records
Data Sources & Methodology
Primary Data Source
All crash data in this report is sourced from NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes), accessed programmatically via the NHTSA FARS 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: NHTSA FARS 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: 2023-01-01 through 2023-12-31
- Report generated: August 5, 2026
Data Coverage
- Reporting period: 2023-01-01 through 2023-12-31 (365 days)
- Geographic scope: Houston, Texas
- Total crash records analyzed: 279
- Total persons involved: 714
- Total vehicles involved: 415
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). "Houston, Texas Crash Intelligence Report: 2023." Published August 5, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31. Data source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes), NHTSA FARS Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/texas/fatal/houston/2023-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
ThatCarHitMe.com · An Injuria.ai Company
ThatCarHitMe.com
An Injuria.ai Company
Crash Data Intelligence
Data: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · NHTSA FARS
Period: 2023-01-01 – 2023-12-31
Generated: August 5, 2026 · All rights reserved
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