Benson County, North Dakota: fatal crash statistics

Counties of North Dakota by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 5 deaths in 5 fatal crashes in Benson County in 2024.

FARS records 35 deaths in 31 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 55.2 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of North Dakota in the same years is 13.7.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Benson County was number 11 of 53 counties of North Dakota.

Deaths in Benson County fell by 22.2% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (45) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (35).

In the counties of North Dakota the deaths fell by 18.1% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, a driver was recorded as drinking in 67.7% of fatal crashes in Benson County and 39.7% in North Dakota.

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 Benson County by year, 2015 to 2024

1 or 2

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.Benson County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	5	5	3
2023	8	6	3
2022	1 or 2	1 or 2	1 or 2
2021	4	1 or 2	1 or 2
2020	3	3	1 or 2
2019	3	3	3
2018	4	4	3
2017	1 or 2	1 or 2	0
2016	3	3	3
2015	1 or 2	1 or 2	1 or 2
2015 to 2024	35	31	21

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 8 (2010)2024: 5

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

Table 2.Benson County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	5	5
2023	8	6
2022	1 or 2	1 or 2
2021	4	1 or 2
2020	3	3
2019	3	3
2018	4	4
2017	1 or 2	1 or 2
2016	3	3
2015	1 or 2	1 or 2
2014	4	4
2013	0	0
2012	6	6
2011	6	6
2010	8	8
2009	4	4
2008	3	1 or 2
2007	3	3
2006	6	6
2005	5	5
2004	3	3
2003	5	5
2002	5	5
2001	0	0
2000	1 or 2	1 or 2
1999	7	4
1998	3	3
1997	1 or 2	1 or 2
1996	1 or 2	1 or 2
1995	6	3
1994	1 or 2	1 or 2
1993	1 or 2	1 or 2
1992	1 or 2	1 or 2
1991	3	3
1990	1 or 2	1 or 2
1989	0	0
1988	4	4
1987	1 or 2	1 or 2
1986	1 or 2	1 or 2
1985	3	3
1984	3	1 or 2
1983	7	5
1982	3	3
1981	4	4
1980	5	5
1979	0	0
1978	4	4
1977	7	7
1976	5	4
1975	6	4

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.Benson County beside North Dakota and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Benson County	North Dakota	United States
2024	87.2	11.3	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	55.2	13.7	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. Benson County had 5,731 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Benson County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in North Dakota
A driver recorded as drinkingof 31 fatal crashes	21	31 fatal crashes	67.7%	39.7%
A speeding-related driverof 31 fatal crashes	7	31 fatal crashes	22.6%	27.0%
No restraint usedof 16 occupant deaths with restraint use known	13	16 occupant deathswith restraint use known	81.3%	62.9%
Pedestriansof 35 deaths	7	35 deaths	20.0%	6.5%
Bicyclistsof 35 deaths	0	35 deaths	0.0%	1.3%
Motorcyclistsof 35 deaths	0	35 deaths	0.0%	13.1%
On a rural roadof 30 fatal crashes with the condition reported	30	30 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	100.0%	84.5%
In the darkof 19 fatal crashes with the condition reported	10	19 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	52.6%	39.5%

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.Benson 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	1 or 2	1 or 2	0	1 or 2	3
Monday	1 or 2	0	1 or 2	1 or 2	3
Tuesday	0	1 or 2	0	0	1 or 2
Wednesday	0	0	1 or 2	3	4
Thursday	1 or 2	0	1 or 2	1 or 2	4
Friday	1 or 2	1 or 2	1 or 2	1 or 2	4
Saturday	1 or 2	1 or 2	1 or 2	1 or 2	7
All days	5	5	6	10	26

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.Benson County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in North Dakota
Interstate	0	0.0%	10.6%
Other freeways and expressways	0	0.0%	0.8%
Other principal arterial	14	46.7%	36.2%
Minor arterial	3	10.0%	12.6%
Major collector	1 or 2	3.3%	20.0%
Minor collector	1 or 2	3.3%	1.8%
Local	11	36.7%	18.1%
Not reported	1 or 2	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.Benson County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	8
Dark, not lighted	1 or 2
Dark, lighted	1 or 2
Dawn	0
Dusk	1 or 2
Dark, lighting unknown	7
Other or unknown	12

Table 8.Benson County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	7
Cloudy	1 or 2
Rain	3
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
Fog, smog or smoke	0
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	20

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Benson County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Benson	In all of North Dakota
US Route 2	US highway	1 or 2	49
US Route 281	US highway	1 or 2	20

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 North Dakota

Adjacent counties

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

Figure 3.Benson County on the county map of North Dakota

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

Fewer than 104 counties
10 to 14.910 counties
15 to 19.910 counties
20 to 29.911 counties
30 or more14 counties
Count of 1 or 2, no rate shown4 counties
Benson County: 55.2

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 North Dakota

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Benson County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Eddy County	North Dakota	0	1 or 2	n/a
Nelson County	North Dakota	1 or 2	7	23.8
Pierce County	North Dakota	1 or 2	9	22.3
Ramsey County	North Dakota	1 or 2	14	12.1
Towner County	North Dakota	0	7	32.6
Wells County	North Dakota	1 or 2	4	10.2

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

Counties of similar population

These counties of North Dakota have a population nearest to that of Benson 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.
North Dakota Department of Transportation Highway Safety DivisionThe highway safety office of North Dakota.

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

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Benson County, North Dakota: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/nd/benson/. 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 Benson in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 45 deaths in Benson County from 2005 to 2014. It records 35 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Benson in 2024?

The rate of Benson County in 2024 was 87.2 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of North Dakota was 11.3. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

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

FARS records a driver as drinking in 21 of 31 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 Benson?

FARS records 1 or 2 fatal crashes on US Route 2 in the county from 2015 to 2024. FARS records 1 or 2 fatal crashes on US Route 281 in the county from 2015 to 2024.