Nebraska car accident statistics (2020-2024)

Car accident deaths in Nebraska by year

Car accident deaths fell from 194 in 2020 to 192 in 2021, then rose to 213 in 2022. The count fell to 199 in 2023 before rising to 212 in 2024. The highest count was in 2022, and the lowest was in 2021. The 2024 count was 18 deaths higher than the 2020 count.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Nebraska's share of the national total was 0.6% in 2020, 0.5% in 2021, and 0.6% in 2022, 2023 and 2024. Across 2020 through 2024, Nebraska accounted for 0.6% of the 176,219 U.S. car accident deaths. The annual share of Nebraska traffic deaths classified as car accident deaths ranged from 83.3% in 2020 to 87.7% in 2023.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

2024 figures come from the FARS Annual Report File and can be revised when NHTSA publishes the final file.

Who died in Nebraska car accidents

People in cars, SUVs, pickups or vans accounted for 842 deaths, or 83.4% of the car accident death count for 2020 through 2024. This was the largest person category. People in other vehicles accounted for 83 deaths, or 8.2%, the smallest category. Nonoccupants (FARS person-type grouping) accounted for 85 deaths, or 8.4%.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Each category counts deaths in the selected passenger-vehicle-involved crashes. The labels distinguish person groupings within those crashes; they do not describe where the people lived. Nonoccupants (FARS person-type grouping) is not a literal test of whether someone was outside a vehicle.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Collision types and setting

Manner of collision describes the first harmful event. Deaths were: Angle (side impact), 288; Head-on, 209; Rear-end, 75; Sideswipe, 8; Other, 2; and Unknown, 1. Not a collision with a motor vehicle in transport accounted for 427 deaths. That row means the first harmful event was not a collision between motor vehicles in transport, such as a rollover or striking a parked vehicle. A vehicle stopped in traffic can be in transport.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Daytime accounted for 493 car accident deaths (48.8%), nighttime for 433 (42.9%), and unknown time for 84 (8.3%). Urban deaths numbered 336 (33.3%), rural deaths 673 (66.6%), and unknown land use 1 (0.1%).^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Counties with the most car accident deaths

Douglas County had the most car accident deaths, with 202, followed by Lancaster County with 94 and Sarpy County with 41. Hall County recorded 33 deaths; Dodge County, 31; Cass County, 30; Lincoln County, 28; Buffalo County, 25; Scotts Bluff County, 24; and Saunders County, 19. Merrick County and York County each recorded 18 deaths. Dawson County, Madison County and Washington County each recorded 16.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

Death counts and population-based rates describe different measures. Among the listed counties, Merrick County had the highest average annual rate at 46.6 deaths per 100,000 residents, while Sarpy County had the lowest at 4.2. Douglas County's rate was 6.8. Rates for counties with few deaths change sharply with each death.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

Up to 15 counties with the most deaths in the period, largest first. Rates for counties with few deaths change sharply with each death.

How Nebraska compares with the national rate

Nebraska's car accident death rate was 10.2, compared with the national rate of 10.5. Both figures measure average annual deaths per 100,000 residents for 2020 through 2024. The state rate was lower than the national rate. The corresponding death counts were 1,010 for Nebraska and 176,219 for the United States.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

The calculation uses the sum of annual Census Bureau population estimates for the period. Nebraska's separate 2024 population estimate of 2,005,591 is not the denominator used for this rate. These rates do not adjust for miles driven or visitors, and the deaths are assigned by crash location. Readers searching for a car accident lawyer should keep that crash-location grouping in mind when reading the counts.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

About these figures

NHTSA's FARS is a census of fatal motor vehicle traffic crashes. Inclusion requires a motor vehicle traveling on a trafficway customarily open to the public and a vehicle occupant or nonoccupant dying within 30 days. Nonfatal crashes and injuries are excluded. State and county counts follow crash location, not residence.^[8][6][7]

Data for 2020 through 2023 use FARS Final Files; 2024 uses the Annual Report File, subject to revision. Rates divide 2020 through 2024 deaths by summed annual Census Bureau population estimates, Vintage 2025, then multiply by 100,000. They measure average annual deaths per 100,000 residents without adjusting for miles driven or visitors. The separate July 1, 2024 population estimate is not the rate denominator.^[8][6][7]

See also

• FARS Annual Report File and Final File
• Car accident statistics for Douglas County, Nebraska (2020-2024)