Fatal Roads

States › Iowa › Routes › US Route 218

US highwayUS-218

Iowa · us highway

US Route 218

Fatal crashes 2015–2024 49Deaths 53Counties 9Latest data year 2024

FARS data are based on police crash reports and other sources; the drunk-driving measure is based on the highest BAC of any driver in the crash. Latest data year: 2024. The route is the trafficway recorded for each crash (FARS TWAY_ID); the same route number in another state has its own page.

US Route 218 in Iowa was the trafficway in 49 fatal crashes between 2015 and 2024, in which 53 people died.

That is 1.6% of the 3,140 fatal crashes in Iowa over the same years. The ten-year crash count rose 7% from 46 in 2005–2014 to 49 in 2015–2024.

The crashes were concentrated in Lee County (12), Henry County (8) and Black Hawk County (7) and 6 other counties.

20.4% of the crashes had a driver reported as drinking (Iowa: 25.4%) and 14.3% had a speeding-related driver (20.2%); pedestrians were 11.3% and motorcyclists 15.1% of those killed.

49fatal crashes, 2015–2024+7% vs 2005–2014
53people killed1.1 per fatal crash
20%with a drinking driverIowa: 25%
14%speeding-relatedIowa: 20%

Fatal crashes per year

05102000200520102015202020242000: 8 crashes2001: 10 crashes2002: 5 crashes2003: 5 crashes2004: 6 crashes2005: 5 crashes2006: 3 crashes2007: 6 crashes2008: 6 crashes2009: 1–2 crashes2010: 8 crashes2011: 8 crashes2012: 1–2 crashes2013: 1–2 crashes2014: 6 crashes2015: 6 crashes2016: 5 crashes2017: 1–2 crashes2018: 5 crashes2019: 3 crashes2020: 4 crashes2021: 8 crashes2022: 4 crashes2023: 5 crashes2024: 7 crashes
Fatal crashes on US Route 218 (IA) by year, 2000–2024. Latest point: 2024, 7 crashes.

Route identification in FARS is consistent from 2000; earlier years are not shown. Shaded band: the ten-year window used for the shares below.

Compared with all fatal crashes in Iowa

MeasureUS Route 218Iowa
Fatal crashes, 2015–2024493,140
Deaths, 2015–2024533,477
Deaths per fatal crash1.11.1
Share of state fatal crashes1.6%100%
Change vs previous ten years+7%-9%

Factor shares

Alcoholcrashes with a driver reported as drinking20.4%
Speedingcrashes with a speeding-related driver14.3%
Pedestriansshare of people killed11.3%
Motorcyclistsshare of people killed15.1%
Night (6pm–6am)share of crashes30.6%

tick marks the Iowa share. Bars are shares of fatal crashes (alcohol, speeding, darkness, rural) or of people killed (pedestrians, motorcyclists, unrestrained occupants) over the ten-year window.

Counties along the route

#CountyFatal crashes on US-218Share of routeCounty total, all roads
1Lee County1224%59
2Henry County816%30
3Black Hawk County714%95
4Bremer County714%21
5Benton County48%46
6Washington County48%25
7Johnson County36%73
8Floyd County24%23
9Mitchell County24%14

Hour of day

12am6.1%
1am0%
2am0%
3am0%
4am2%
5am4.1%
6am6.1%
7am4.1%
8am4.1%
9am4.1%
10am10.2%
11am8.2%
12pm0%
1pm6.1%
2pm6.1%
3pm8.2%
4pm6.1%
5pm6.1%
6pm4.1%
7pm0%
8pm6.1%
9pm4.1%
10pm0%
11pm4.1%

Share of fatal crashes on US Route 218 beginning in each hour, 2015–2024; tick marks the Iowa share for all roads.

Where along the route

Mile marker rangeFatal crashesShare
Mile 0–51224%
Mile 20–25816%
Mile 10–15612%
Mile 5–1048%
Mile 15–2036%
Mile 25–3036%

Five-mile bins by FARS milepoint, the six with the most fatal crashes; 95.9% of crashes on the route have a milepoint. Milepoints are as recorded by the state and can restart at county or district lines.

Other routes in Iowa

All routes and counties in Iowa

Questions and answers

How many fatal crashes have there been on US Route 218 in Iowa?

49 fatal crashes with 53 deaths over 2015–2024, per NHTSA's FARS. The route is the trafficway recorded for the crash; the same numbered route in another state has its own page.

Which counties along US Route 218 had the most fatal crashes?

Lee County (12), Henry County (8), Black Hawk County (7), Bremer County (7) and Benton County (4).

What share of crashes on US Route 218 involved alcohol or speeding?

20.4% had a driver reported as drinking and 14.3% a speeding-related driver, against 25.4% and 20.2% for all fatal crashes in Iowa.

When do fatal crashes happen on US Route 218?

30.6% of the crashes were between 6pm and 6am. The hour chart on this page shows the full distribution.

Provenance

Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System, annual national CSV files 2000–2024 (accident, vehicle and person tables), public domain. Route pages are built for signed Interstate, US and state routes with at least 20 fatal crashes in 2015–2024. Data through 31 Dec 2024; generated 30 Sep 2026. See methodology and corrections.