Union County, Arkansas: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Arkansas by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 9 deaths in 9 fatal crashes in Union County in 2024.

FARS records 91 deaths in 85 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 23.5 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, Union County was number 18 of 75 counties of Arkansas.

Deaths in Union County rose by 9.6% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (83) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (91).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 81.2% of the fatal crashes in Union 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 Union 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.Union County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	9	9	4
2023	6	6	1 or 2
2022	7	7	3
2021	13	11	4
2020	7	6	0
2019	13	13	4
2018	12	11	3
2017	6	6	1 or 2
2016	7	6	1 or 2
2015	11	10	3
2015 to 2024	91	85	25

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 23 (1995)2024: 9

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

Table 2.Union County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	9	9
2023	6	6
2022	7	7
2021	13	11
2020	7	6
2019	13	13
2018	12	11
2017	6	6
2016	7	6
2015	11	10
2014	7	7
2013	5	5
2012	12	11
2011	9	9
2010	8	8
2009	5	4
2008	9	8
2007	1 or 2	1 or 2
2006	8	8
2005	18	17
2004	13	13
2003	16	15
2002	13	13
2001	8	7
2000	15	14
1999	13	12
1998	17	12
1997	23	17
1996	17	14
1995	23	15
1994	12	11
1993	18	17
1992	18	11
1991	22	19
1990	11	9
1989	13	12
1988	11	9
1987	14	9
1986	9	9
1985	16	12
1984	19	18
1983	19	14
1982	15	11
1981	15	13
1980	15	11
1979	12	10
1978	10	8
1977	18	17
1976	9	9
1975	15	11

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.Union County beside Arkansas and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Union County	Arkansas	United States
2024	24.2	19.5	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	23.5	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. Union County had 37,121 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Union County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Arkansas
A driver recorded as drinkingof 85 fatal crashes	25	85 fatal crashes	29.4%	26.5%
A speeding-related driverof 85 fatal crashes	26	85 fatal crashes	30.6%	22.2%
No restraint usedof 69 occupant deaths with restraint use known	40	69 occupant deathswith restraint use known	58.0%	54.2%
Pedestriansof 91 deaths	5	91 deaths	5.5%	11.0%
Bicyclistsof 91 deaths	1 or 2	91 deaths	1.1%	0.9%
Motorcyclistsof 91 deaths	6	91 deaths	6.6%	13.7%
On a rural roadof 85 fatal crashes with the condition reported	69	85 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	81.2%	63.1%
In the darkof 85 fatal crashes with the condition reported	34	85 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	40.0%	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.Union 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	5	1 or 2	6	1 or 2	15
Monday	0	5	1 or 2	7	14
Tuesday	0	4	1 or 2	1 or 2	7
Wednesday	1 or 2	1 or 2	3	3	8
Thursday	4	3	4	1 or 2	13
Friday	1 or 2	4	6	5	16
Saturday	1 or 2	4	0	6	11
All days	12	23	23	26	84

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.Union 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	3	3.5%	2.1%
Other principal arterial	38	44.7%	29.0%
Minor arterial	3	3.5%	20.8%
Major collector	16	18.8%	16.9%
Minor collector	7	8.2%	1.4%
Local	18	21.2%	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.Union County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	48
Dark, not lighted	30
Dark, lighted	1 or 2
Dawn	1 or 2
Dusk	1 or 2
Dark, lighting unknown	1 or 2
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Union County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	61
Cloudy	11
Rain	10
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
Fog, smog or smoke	1 or 2
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	1 or 2

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Union County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Union	In all of Arkansas
State Route 7	State highway	13	102
US Route 63	US highway	1 or 2	99
US Route 82	US highway	17	55
US Route 167	US highway	15	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.Union 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
Union County: 23.5

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 Union County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Ashley County	Arkansas	5	44	22.7
Bradley County	Arkansas	1 or 2	27	25.6
Calhoun County	Arkansas	1 or 2	20	40.5
Columbia County	Arkansas	6	45	19.5
Ouachita County	Arkansas	4	57	24.8
Claiborne Parish	Louisiana	4	31	20.8
Union Parish	Louisiana	4	44	20.4

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 Union 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. Union County, Arkansas: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/ar/union/. 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.

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 Union in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 83 deaths in Union County from 2005 to 2014. It records 91 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Union in 2024?

The rate of Union County in 2024 was 24.2 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 Union had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 25 of 85 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 Union?

4 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 46 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.