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US Route 6

Fatal crashes 2015–2024 56Deaths 62Counties 10Latest 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.

Between 2015 and 2024, FARS records 56 fatal crashes on US Route 6 in Iowa, with 62 deaths.

That is 1.8% of the 3,140 fatal crashes in Iowa over the same years. The ten-year crash count was about level between 2005–2014 (56) and 2015–2024 (56).

The crashes were concentrated in Polk County (18), Scott County (8) and Dallas County (7) and 7 other counties.

21.4% of the crashes had a driver reported as drinking (Iowa: 25.4%) and 25.0% had a speeding-related driver (20.2%); pedestrians were 17.7% and motorcyclists 14.5% of those killed.

56fatal crashes, 2015–20240% vs 2005–2014
62people killed1.1 per fatal crash
21%with a drinking driverIowa: 25%
25%speeding-relatedIowa: 20%

Fatal crashes per year

07132000200520102015202020242000: 9 crashes2001: 7 crashes2002: 12 crashes2003: 7 crashes2004: 3 crashes2005: 13 crashes2006: 8 crashes2007: 1–2 crashes2008: 8 crashes2009: 4 crashes2010: 5 crashes2011: 5 crashes2012: 3 crashes2013: 4 crashes2014: 4 crashes2015: 7 crashes2016: 7 crashes2017: 3 crashes2018: 4 crashes2019: 3 crashes2020: 9 crashes2021: 4 crashes2022: 6 crashes2023: 7 crashes2024: 6 crashes
Fatal crashes on US Route 6 (IA) by year, 2000–2024. Latest point: 2024, 6 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 6Iowa
Fatal crashes, 2015–2024563,140
Deaths, 2015–2024623,477
Deaths per fatal crash1.11.1
Share of state fatal crashes1.8%100%
Change vs previous ten years0%-9%

Factor shares

Alcoholcrashes with a driver reported as drinking21.4%
Speedingcrashes with a speeding-related driver25%
Pedestriansshare of people killed17.7%
Motorcyclistsshare of people killed14.5%
Night (6pm–6am)share of crashes42.9%

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-6Share of routeCounty total, all roads
1Polk County1832%309
2Scott County814%146
3Dallas County713%53
4Pottawattamie County713%115
5Cass County47%32
6Iowa County35%43
7Muscatine County35%43
8Poweshiek County35%25
9Jasper County24%41
10Johnson County12%73

Hour of day

12am5.4%
1am0%
2am0%
3am0%
4am3.6%
5am5.4%
6am5.4%
7am1.8%
8am7.1%
9am1.8%
10am1.8%
11am1.8%
12pm3.6%
1pm7.1%
2pm3.6%
3pm10.7%
4pm5.4%
5pm7.1%
6pm3.6%
7pm3.6%
8pm3.6%
9pm8.9%
10pm7.1%
11pm1.8%

Share of fatal crashes on US Route 6 beginning in each hour, 2015–2024; tick marks the Iowa share for all roads.

Where along the route

Mile marker rangeFatal crashesShare
Mile 15–201425%
Mile 0–5814%
Mile 10–15814%
Mile 5–10713%
Mile 20–2535%
Mile 145–15035%

Five-mile bins by FARS milepoint, the six with the most fatal crashes; 98.2% 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 6 in Iowa?

56 fatal crashes with 62 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 6 had the most fatal crashes?

Polk County (18), Scott County (8), Dallas County (7), Pottawattamie County (7) and Cass County (4).

What share of crashes on US Route 6 involved alcohol or speeding?

21.4% had a driver reported as drinking and 25.0% a speeding-related driver, against 25.4% and 20.2% for all fatal crashes in Iowa.

When do fatal crashes happen on US Route 6?

42.9% 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.