Independence County, Arkansas: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Arkansas by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 10 deaths in 10 fatal crashes in Independence County in 2024.

FARS records 100 deaths in 92 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 26.4 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of Arkansas in the same years is 19.3.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Independence County was number 15 of 75 counties of Arkansas.

Deaths in Independence County rose by 4.2% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (96) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (100).

In the counties of Arkansas the deaths rose by 0.6% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 79.3% of the fatal crashes in Independence County with a known setting were rural, against 63.1% in Arkansas.

To qualify as a FARS case, the crash had to involve a motor vehicle traveling on a trafficway customarily open to the public and must have resulted in the death of a motorist or a non-motorist within 30 days of the crash.
The set of first files, known as the Annual Report File (ARF), is released following the crash year. The ARF is replaced about a year later with a final file, which contains additional cases or updates to cases that had become available after the ARF was released.
NHTSA's words. Source: NHTSA, Fatality Analysis Reporting System Analytical User's Manual, 1975-2024 (DOT HS 813 794, April 2026), copied on 2 Oct 2026.

This page rests on the FARS 2024 annual file. NHTSA released it on 1 Apr 2026. NHTSA can revise the counts in the final file. Release dates

Figure 1.Deaths in Independence County by year, 2015 to 2024

Table 1 has the numbers. Go to the table

Since the last update: no figure of this county has a change on record.

Deaths and fatal crashes by year

Table 1.Independence County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	10	10	3
2023	7	7	0
2022	8	8	1 or 2
2021	20	15	5
2020	17	16	8
2019	11	10	3
2018	7	7	1 or 2
2017	6	6	1 or 2
2016	8	8	4
2015	6	5	1 or 2
2015 to 2024	100	92	29

Each year from 1975

Figure 2.Deaths in Independence County by year, 1975 to 2024

Tallest column: 20 (2021)2024: 10

The columns with a stronger shade are the years 2015 to 2024.

Table 2.Independence County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	10	10
2023	7	7
2022	8	8
2021	20	15
2020	17	16
2019	11	10
2018	7	7
2017	6	6
2016	8	8
2015	6	5
2014	8	8
2013	4	4
2012	5	5
2011	11	10
2010	10	8
2009	15	15
2008	9	7
2007	14	13
2006	13	12
2005	7	6
2004	14	14
2003	9	8
2002	8	8
2001	8	8
2000	9	9
1999	12	11
1998	5	4
1997	10	6
1996	8	7
1995	16	11
1994	7	7
1993	10	9
1992	9	7
1991	7	6
1990	7	6
1989	7	7
1988	4	4
1987	8	7
1986	6	6
1985	4	4
1984	5	4
1983	6	5
1982	6	6
1981	16	13
1980	13	10
1979	10	10
1978	16	11
1977	10	8
1976	10	8
1975	8	7

Note: a count of 1 or 2 is written "1 or 2". A death is in FARS when it occurs in 30 days or less after the crash.

Rate for each 100,000 residents

Table 3.Independence County beside Arkansas and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Independence County	Arkansas	United States
2024	25.9	19.5	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	26.4	19.3	11.8

Note: the rate divides the deaths in the county by its residents. Persons who do not live in the county are in the deaths, not in the residents.

Population: Census Bureau estimates, vintage 2025. Independence County had 38,569 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Independence County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Arkansas
A driver recorded as drinkingof 92 fatal crashes	29	92 fatal crashes	31.5%	26.5%
A speeding-related driverof 92 fatal crashes	24	92 fatal crashes	26.1%	22.2%
No restraint usedof 68 occupant deaths with restraint use known	36	68 occupant deathswith restraint use known	52.9%	54.2%
Pedestriansof 100 deaths	8	100 deaths	8.0%	11.0%
Bicyclistsof 100 deaths	0	100 deaths	0.0%	0.9%
Motorcyclistsof 100 deaths	18	100 deaths	18.0%	13.7%
On a rural roadof 92 fatal crashes with the condition reported	73	92 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	79.3%	63.1%
In the darkof 92 fatal crashes with the condition reported	33	92 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	35.9%	43.1%

Note: FARS records a driver as drinking when police reported alcohol involvement or a test of the driver was positive for alcohol. It is not NHTSA's alcohol-impaired measure, which uses a blood alcohol concentration of .08 g/dL or higher. One crash can be in two or more rows. NHTSA's definitions

Note that alcohol data is often missing. For that reason, this data element may under-count the actual number of drinking drivers.

NHTSA's words. Source: NHTSA, Fatality Analysis Reporting System Analytical User's Manual, 1975-2024 (DOT HS 813 794, April 2026), copied on 2 Oct 2026.

Weekday, time and road class

Table 5.Independence County: fatal crashes by weekday and time of day, 2015 to 2024
Weekday	Midnight to 6 a.m.	6 a.m. to noon	Noon to 6 p.m.	6 p.m. to midnight	All
Sunday	3	0	4	4	11
Monday	1 or 2	1 or 2	7	5	14
Tuesday	1 or 2	1 or 2	4	3	10
Wednesday	1 or 2	1 or 2	5	4	12
Thursday	4	5	4	1 or 2	15
Friday	0	1 or 2	7	3	11
Saturday	3	1 or 2	6	8	19
All days	13	13	37	29	92

Note: a cell with a stronger shade has a larger count. The table has the fatal crashes with a known hour and weekday.

Table 6.Independence County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Arkansas
Interstate	0	0.0%	14.7%
Other freeways and expressways	1 or 2	1.1%	2.1%
Other principal arterial	32	34.8%	29.0%
Minor arterial	22	23.9%	20.8%
Major collector	19	20.7%	16.9%
Minor collector	5	5.4%	1.4%
Local	13	14.1%	15.1%
Not reported	0	n/a	n/a

Note: the classes are those of the Federal Highway Administration. The shares are of the crashes with a reported class. Road function classes

Light condition and weather

Table 7.Independence County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	56
Dark, not lighted	31
Dark, lighted	1 or 2
Dawn	1 or 2
Dusk	1 or 2
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Independence County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	61
Cloudy	18
Rain	12
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
Fog, smog or smoke	1 or 2
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	0

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Independence County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Independence	In all of Arkansas
State Route 14	State highway	6	38
State Route 25	State highway	13	48
State Route 69	State highway	12	20
US Route 167	US highway	29	87

Note: the table has each route with a page that has a fatal crash in the county, in name order. Local streets and county roads have no page. Their crashes are in the county totals. All routes in Arkansas

Adjacent counties

These lists are for navigation. They are in name order.

Figure 3.Independence County on the county map of Arkansas

Deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year, 2015 to 2024

Fewer than 101 county
10 to 14.98 counties
15 to 19.916 counties
20 to 29.927 counties
30 or more23 counties
Independence County: 26.4

The limits of the classes are the same for every state. A county with few residents can show a high rate from few deaths. A class is not a judgement of a county. The full map and the table of counties of Arkansas

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Independence County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Cleburne County	Arkansas	8	67	26.6
Izard County	Arkansas	3	20	14.5
Jackson County	Arkansas	3	45	26.7
Lawrence County	Arkansas	9	83	50.7
Sharp County	Arkansas	7	53	30.4
Stone County	Arkansas	5	35	27.9
White County	Arkansas	19	155	19.8

Source of the list: Census Bureau county adjacency file, 2026 edition.

Counties of similar population

These counties of Arkansas have a population nearest to that of Independence County. The list is for navigation and is in name order. The number is the deaths from 2015 to 2024.

Official channels

NHTSA Fatality and Injury Reporting System Tool (FIRST)NHTSA's query tool for FARS counts.
NHTSA FARS EncyclopediaNHTSA's tables of FARS data.
Arkansas Highway Safety OfficeThe highway safety office of Arkansas.

These links go to the sites of the agencies. They were checked on 2 Oct 2026.

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Independence County, Arkansas: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/ar/independence/. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatality Analysis Reporting System, FARS 2024 annual file. Data to 31 Dec 2024.

The address of this page does not change.

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Source of the figures

Counts: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatality Analysis Reporting System, national files of 1975 to 2024. The factors use the vehicle and person files from 2015. Residents: Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, vintage 2025. Map: Census Bureau cartographic boundary file, 2021 edition. Data to 31 Dec 2024. The figures are totals. No page of this site is about one crash or one person.

How the figures are made. Data sources and licences. Corrections.

Questions

How many deaths did FARS record in Independence in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 96 deaths in Independence County from 2005 to 2014. It records 100 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Independence in 2024?

The rate of Independence County in 2024 was 25.9 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of Arkansas was 19.5. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

How many fatal crashes in Independence had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 29 of 92 fatal crashes from 2015 to 2024. This count is not NHTSA's alcohol-impaired measure. NHTSA says that alcohol data is often missing, so the count may be too low.

How many fatal crashes did FARS record on signed routes in Independence?

4 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 60 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.