Bell County, Texas: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Texas by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 63 deaths in 54 fatal crashes in Bell County in 2024.

FARS records 482 deaths in 445 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 13.1 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of Texas in the same years is 13.6.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Bell County was number 13 of 254 counties of Texas.

Deaths in Bell County rose by 20.5% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (400) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (482).

In the counties of Texas the deaths rose by 18.2% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 30.3% of the fatal crashes in Bell County with a known setting were rural, against 38.1% in Texas.

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 Bell 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.Bell County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	63	54	14
2023	58	53	13
2022	55	50	14
2021	43	42	12
2020	49	48	13
2019	44	39	11
2018	31	29	7
2017	57	52	16
2016	42	39	5
2015	40	39	10
2015 to 2024	482	445	115

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 63 (2024)2024: 63

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

Table 2.Bell County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	63	54
2023	58	53
2022	55	50
2021	43	42
2020	49	48
2019	44	39
2018	31	29
2017	57	52
2016	42	39
2015	40	39
2014	34	31
2013	36	34
2012	51	45
2011	46	43
2010	41	37
2009	41	37
2008	47	43
2007	35	33
2006	25	25
2005	44	37
2004	40	35
2003	56	47
2002	50	44
2001	36	32
2000	48	40
1999	35	34
1998	49	36
1997	41	37
1996	39	34
1995	40	33
1994	34	29
1993	21	20
1992	29	29
1991	26	25
1990	36	29
1989	26	24
1988	27	23
1987	34	30
1986	36	34
1985	30	28
1984	46	37
1983	32	30
1982	31	30
1981	40	33
1980	42	40
1979	41	33
1978	43	36
1977	49	42
1976	49	44
1975	48	39

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.Bell County beside Texas and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Bell County	Texas	United States
2024	15.9	13.3	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	13.1	13.6	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. Bell County had 397,439 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Bell County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Texas
A driver recorded as drinkingof 445 fatal crashes	115	445 fatal crashes	25.8%	25.5%
A speeding-related driverof 445 fatal crashes	157	445 fatal crashes	35.3%	32.1%
No restraint usedof 279 occupant deaths with restraint use known	111	279 occupant deathswith restraint use known	39.8%	45.1%
Pedestriansof 482 deaths	88	482 deaths	18.3%	17.6%
Bicyclistsof 482 deaths	10	482 deaths	2.1%	1.9%
Motorcyclistsof 482 deaths	80	482 deaths	16.6%	12.7%
On a rural roadof 445 fatal crashes with the condition reported	135	445 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	30.3%	38.1%
In the darkof 443 fatal crashes with the condition reported	256	443 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	57.8%	55.9%

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.Bell 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	29	6	6	22	63
Monday	14	12	17	17	60
Tuesday	10	16	11	11	48
Wednesday	8	13	22	14	57
Thursday	11	14	15	22	62
Friday	19	15	10	33	77
Saturday	33	9	17	19	78
All days	124	85	98	138	445

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.Bell County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Texas
Interstate	99	22.2%	15.8%
Other freeways and expressways	17	3.8%	6.3%
Other principal arterial	134	30.1%	29.8%
Minor arterial	70	15.7%	20.3%
Major collector	86	19.3%	18.9%
Minor collector	3	0.7%	1.7%
Local	36	8.1%	7.1%
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.Bell County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	179
Dark, not lighted	168
Dark, lighted	82
Dawn	6
Dusk	1 or 2
Dark, lighting unknown	6
Other or unknown	1 or 2

Table 8.Bell County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	326
Cloudy	80
Rain	30
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
Fog, smog or smoke	7
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	1 or 2

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Bell County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Bell	In all of Texas
Interstate 14	Interstate	39	45
Interstate 35	Interstate	53	915
State Route 36	State highway	11	147
State Route 95	State highway	13	51
State Route 121	State highway	1 or 2	109
State Route 195	State highway	25	48
US Route 190	US highway	33	204

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 Texas

Adjacent counties

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

Figure 3.Bell County on the county map of Texas

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

Fewer than 1014 counties
10 to 14.926 counties
15 to 19.924 counties
20 to 29.963 counties
30 or more125 counties
Count of 1 or 2, no rate shown2 counties
Bell County: 13.1

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 Texas

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Bell County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Burnet County	Texas	13	113	22.8
Coryell County	Texas	10	109	13.6
Falls County	Texas	9	63	36.5
Lampasas County	Texas	8	54	24.8
McLennan County	Texas	22	342	13.2
Milam County	Texas	5	107	42.5
Williamson County	Texas	51	465	7.6

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

Counties of similar population

These counties of Texas have a population nearest to that of Bell 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.
Texas Traffic Safety SectionThe highway safety office of Texas.

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

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Bell County, Texas: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/tx/bell/. 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 Bell in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 400 deaths in Bell County from 2005 to 2014. It records 482 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Bell in 2024?

The rate of Bell County in 2024 was 15.9 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of Texas was 13.3. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

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

FARS records a driver as drinking in 115 of 445 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 Bell?

7 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 176 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.