Dashboard: Arkansas Roadway Fatalities

Arkansas experienced 590 roadway fatalities in 2023, the most recent year for which data are available. Roadway fatalities were down 7% from the previous year and 15% from a peak of 692 fatalities in 2021. According to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System, Arkansas had the fifth-highest motor-vehicle fatality rate in the country in 2023, down from the fourth spot in 2022.

This dashboard makes roadway fatality data from 2016 through 2023 available in an interactive format that allows users to examine where roadway fatalities occur as well as trends over time, demographics of the people who died, and the role of risky behaviors such as failure to use protections.

Key findings from the data include:

• From 2016 through 2023, there were 4,674 roadway fatalities on Arkansas roadways, including motorists, motorcyclists, bicyclists, and pedestrians.
• In 2023, Arkansas had the fifth-highest roadway fatality rate of all the states and the District of Columbia (19.4 deaths per 100,000 people).
• Roadway fatalities increased in Arkansas during the COVID-19 pandemic, peaking in 2021 with 692 fatalities that year.
• In 2023, motorists accounted for 70% of roadway fatalities, followed by motorcyclists (16%), pedestrians (12%), and bicyclists (2%).
• Risky behaviors contributed to roadway fatalities in 2023: In 46% of motorist fatalities, no restraint was used by vehicle occupants, and 62% of motorcycle occupants who died were not wearing a helmet.