Car accident statistics for Dane County, Wisconsin (2020-2024)

Car accident deaths in Dane County by year

Annual car accident deaths rose from 29 in 2020 to 41 in 2021, then fell to 35 in 2022 and 24 in 2023. The count rose to 36 in 2024. The highest count was 41 in 2021, while the lowest was 24 in 2023. The 2024 count was 7 deaths higher than the 2020 count.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

All traffic deaths followed the same annual direction, with counts of 32, 47, 40, 29 and 38 from 2020 through 2024. Car accident deaths accounted for 90.6%, 87.2%, 87.5%, 82.8% and 94.7% of those respective annual totals. The share was highest in 2024 and lowest in 2023.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Deaths within 30 days in crashes on public roads. 2024 figures come from the FARS Annual Report File and can be revised.

Who died in Dane County car accidents

People in cars, SUVs, pickups or vans accounted for 128 deaths, or 77.6% of car accident deaths in Dane County from 2020 through 2024. This was the largest person category. People in other vehicles accounted for 12 deaths, or 7.3%, the smallest category. Nonoccupants (FARS person-type grouping) accounted for 25 deaths, or 15.2%.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Each category counts deaths in the selected passenger-vehicle-involved crashes, using the FARS person and vehicle classifications. For readers searching for a car accident lawyer, the grouping to keep in mind is crash location, rather than the deceased person's residence.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

How the fatal car crashes happened

Angle (side impact) accounted for 36 deaths, or 21.8%; Head-on for 15, or 9.1%; Rear-end for 23, or 13.9%; and Sideswipe for 1, or 0.6%. These are car accident deaths grouped by the crash's first harmful event.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Not a collision with a motor vehicle in transport accounted for 90 deaths, or 54.5%. That label means the first harmful event was not a collision between motor vehicles in transport. Examples include striking a pedestrian, cyclist, parked vehicle or fixed object, or a rollover. A motor vehicle in transport can be stopped in traffic; physical movement is not the classification test.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Time of day and setting

Daytime, from 6 a.m. to 5:59 p.m., accounted for 69 car accident deaths, or 41.8%. Nighttime, from 6 p.m. to 5:59 a.m., accounted for 87 deaths, or 52.7%. Time of day was unknown for 9 deaths, or 5.5%.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

The urban classification accounted for 101 deaths, or 61.2%, while the rural classification accounted for 63 deaths, or 38.2%. Land use was unknown for 1 death, or 0.6%. Separately, crashes that also involved a large truck accounted for 14 car accident deaths, representing 8.5% of the county's passenger-vehicle-involved death count.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Car accident death rate compared with Wisconsin and the United States

Dane County's car accident death rate was 5.8 average annual deaths per 100,000 residents for 2020 through 2024. Wisconsin's rate was 8.3, and the United States rate was 10.5. The county rate was lower than both the state and national rates. The corresponding death counts were 165 for Dane County, 2,465 for Wisconsin and 176,219 for the United States.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

These rates divide deaths during the period by the sum of annual Census Bureau population estimates and multiply by 100,000. They do not adjust for miles driven or visitors. The county's 586,325 population estimate for 2024 is displayed separately; that single-year estimate is not the denominator used for the rate.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

Rates divide deaths by the sum of annual Census population estimates, so they show deaths per 100,000 residents per year. They do not adjust for miles driven or for visitors.

Recorded characteristics of all fatal crashes

Recorded characteristics cover all fatal crashes in Dane County, of any vehicle type, rather than only car accident deaths. Shares use all traffic deaths: Speeding-related accounted for 61 deaths (32.8%); Roadway departure, 86 (46.2%); At an intersection, 51 (27.4%); and Pedestrian involved, 25 (13.4%).^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Motorcycle involved accounted for 28 deaths (15.1%); Hit-and-run, 13 (7.0%); Driver distraction reported, 16 (8.6%); and In a work zone, 3 (1.6%). A crash can have several recorded characteristics, so these rows overlap and do not add to 100%. The classifications are recorded characteristics, not findings of fault or cause.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

A crash can carry several characteristics, so the rows overlap and do not add to 100%. These are recorded characteristics, not findings of fault.

About these figures

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

The 2020 through 2023 figures use FARS Final Files. Figures for 2024 use the Annual Report File and may change when the Final File replaces it. Car accident death rates use summed annual Census Bureau population estimates from Vintage 2025, multiplied into a rate per 100,000 residents. They do not adjust for miles driven or visitors. The separately displayed July 1, 2024 population estimate is not the rate denominator.^[8][6][7]

See also

• Wisconsin car accident statistics (2020-2024)