Fatal crash profile · State

Traffic deaths in Arkansas in 2020

State in United States

Deaths, 2020
651
Fatal crashes
598
Population
3M

In 2020, 651 people died in 598 fatal crashes in Arkansas. The death rate was 21.6 per 100,000 residents, compared with 11.8 in the United States. Arkansas had the 22nd most traffic deaths of the 51 states and DC and the 3rd-highest death rate. Pedestrians accounted for 13% of deaths, and 26% of fatal crashes were speeding-related.

Deaths

Traffic deaths

21.6

deaths per 100,000 residents in 2020

  • About 1.8 times the rate in the United States: 11.8

Arkansas traffic deaths by year goes back to 1975.

Profile by year: 2024 · 2023 · 2022 · 2021 · 2020

Road users

Who died

13%

of deaths were pedestrians

  • About three-quarters of the share in the United States: 17%
Who died in 2020
Category Deaths
Vehicle occupants and others 480
Pedestrians 82
Motorcyclists 83
Cyclists 6
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Deaths by type, 2020
Type Deaths Share in Arkansas Share in the US
Pedestrians 82 13% 17%
Motorcyclists 83 13% 14%
Cyclists 6 1% 2%
Alcohol-impaired driving crashes 167 26% 30%
Speeding-related crashes 170 26% 29%

Alcohol-impaired and speeding-related count everyone killed in those crashes, so a death can appear in more than one row.

Crash factors

Speeding, alcohol, night and weekend crashes

26%

of fatal crashes were speeding-related

  • About the same as the share in the United States: 29%

26%

of fatal crashes involved a drinking driver

  • About the same as the share in the United States: 27%
Crash factors in 2020
Category Arkansas United States
Speeding-related 26.1% 26.7%
Alcohol-involved 26.1% 28.6%
At night 44.6% 53.4%
At weekends 29.6% 32.9%

Share of fatal crashes. Alcohol-involved means a police-reported drinking driver.

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Timing

When crashes happen

45%

of fatal crashes happened at night

  • About 85 percent of the share in the United States: 53%

30%

of fatal crashes happened at weekends

  • About the same as the share in the United States: 33%
Fatal crashes by hour of day
Category Fatal crashes
12am 20
1am 17
2am 12
3am 13
4am 18
5am 15
6am 26
7am 22
8am 14
9am 23
10am 13
11am 20
12pm 32
1pm 35
2pm 33
3pm 33
4pm 35
5pm 41
6pm 36
7pm 27
8pm 32
9pm 31
10pm 21
11pm 25

All crashes 2020.

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Fatal crashes by day of week
Category Fatal crashes
Sun 75
Mon 82
Tue 85
Wed 92
Thu 81
Fri 81
Sat 102

All crashes 2020.

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Fatal crashes by month
Category Fatal crashes
Jan 40
Feb 33
Mar 37
Apr 55
May 42
Jun 66
Jul 69
Aug 52
Sep 56
Oct 62
Nov 46
Dec 40

All crashes 2020.

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Conditions

Weather and light

Weather at the time of the crash
Category Fatal crashes
Clear 439
Cloudy 79
Rain 68
Fog, Smog, Smoke 6
Freezing Rain or Drizzle 2

All crashes 2020. Crashes where conditions were not reported are left out.

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Light conditions at the time of the crash
Category Fatal crashes
Daylight 314
Dark - Not Lighted 193
Dark - Lighted 51
Dawn 16
Dusk 13
Dark - Unknown Lighting 8

All crashes 2020. Crashes where conditions were not reported are left out.

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Roads and vehicles

Where and what, 2020

Roads with the most fatal crashes

  1. I-30-236
  2. US-70-126
  3. US-71-17B6
  4. SR-25-35
  5. I-40-124
  6. I-40-224
  7. I-40-514
  8. US-67-104
  9. I-630-214
  10. US-412-24

Road names as recorded in police reports.

Vehicles involved, by type
Category Vehicles
Cars 272
Pickup trucks 204
SUVs 158
Medium and heavy trucks 88
Motorcycles 85
Other vehicles 39
Vans 19
Buses 1
Other light trucks 1

All crashes 2020.

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Vehicles most often involved

  1. Chevrolet Silverado45
  2. Ford F-15027
  3. GMC Sierra26
  4. Dodge Ram23
  5. Chevrolet Tahoe14
  6. Honda Accord14
  7. Toyota Tacoma13
  8. Ford F-25011
  9. Nissan Altima11
  10. Nissan Sentra11

Reflects how common a vehicle is as well as crash involvement; not a safety rating.

Crashes

Fatal crashes

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Fatal crashes in 2020. Crashes without reported coordinates are not shown.

Filter crashes
Crash factors
Date Location Deaths
Dec 31, 2020 Pulaski County 1
Dec 31, 2020 Little Rock, Pulaski County 1
Dec 30, 2020 Little Rock, Pulaski County 1
Dec 28, 2020 Poinsett County 1
Dec 28, 2020 Independence County 1
Dec 28, 2020 Van Buren, Crawford County 1
Dec 27, 2020 Springdale, Washington County 1
Dec 27, 2020 Sherwood, Pulaski County 1
Dec 27, 2020 Washington County 1
Dec 27, 2020 Logan County 1
Dec 26, 2020 Baxter County 1
Dec 26, 2020 Washington County 1
Dec 24, 2020 Jacksonville, Pulaski County 1
Dec 23, 2020 Ozark, Franklin County 1
Dec 20, 2020 Hempstead County 1
Dec 19, 2020 White County 1
Dec 19, 2020 Little Rock, Pulaski County 1
Dec 18, 2020 Conway, Faulkner County 1
Dec 17, 2020 Pine Bluff, Jefferson County 1
Dec 16, 2020 Marked Tree, Poinsett County 1
Dec 16, 2020 White County 1
Dec 15, 2020 Miller County 1
Dec 12, 2020 El Dorado, Union County 1
Dec 12, 2020 Faulkner County 1
Dec 11, 2020 Pine Bluff, Jefferson County 1

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Nearby and related

Counties in Arkansas in 2020

Area Deaths, 2020 Per 100,000
Arkansas County 5 29.2
Ashley County 6 31.6
Baxter County 8 19.2
Benton County 35 12.2
Boone County 7 18.7
Bradley County 13 123.8
Calhoun County 2 42.2
Carroll County 10 35.4
Chicot County 0 —
Clark County 6 28.0
Clay County 1 6.9
Cleburne County 14 56.7
Cleveland County 1 13.2
Columbia County 7 30.8
Conway County 6 28.9
Craighead County 20 17.9
Crawford County 8 13.3
Crittenden County 13 27.0
Cross County 5 29.8
Dallas County 2 31.1
Desha County 3 26.5
Drew County 5 28.9
Faulkner County 15 12.1
Franklin County 10 58.4
Fulton County 7 58.1
Garland County 18 18.0
Grant County 6 33.3
Greene County 7 15.3
Hempstead County 9 45.0
Hot Spring County 5 15.1
Howard County 6 47.0
Independence County 17 44.8
Izard County 0 —
Jackson County 9 53.8
Jefferson County 16 23.9
Johnson County 6 23.3
Lafayette County 3 47.7
Lawrence County 12 74.0
Lee County 2 23.3
Lincoln County 2 15.5
Little River County 2 16.7
Logan County 3 14.2
Lonoke County 12 16.2
Madison County 6 36.2
Marion County 6 35.6
Miller County 12 28.2
Mississippi County 10 24.7
Monroe County 5 73.9
Montgomery County 5 58.9
Nevada County 1 12.1
Newton County 4 55.6
Ouachita County 5 22.1
Perry County 0 —
Phillips County 2 12.2
Pike County 1 9.8
Poinsett County 15 65.4
Polk County 5 26.1
Pope County 12 18.9
Prairie County 1 12.1
Pulaski County 85 21.3
Randolph County 1 5.4
Saline County 15 12.1
Scott County 3 30.5
Searcy County 4 51.0
Sebastian County 15 11.7
Sevier County 7 44.4
Sharp County 4 23.1
St. Francis County 12 52.1
Stone County 3 24.3
Union County 7 18.0
Van Buren County 5 31.6
Washington County 28 11.3
White County 20 26.0
Woodruff County 2 32.1
Yell County 6 29.7

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Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2020. A fatal crash is one in which at least one person died within 30 days. Population: US Census Bureau estimates.