Fort Defiance, AZ truck route planning & crash data
Plan safer truck routes in Fort Defiance: commercial truck and garbage truck crashes in Fort Defiance and McKinley County, dangerous roads, seasonality and route safety data for fleets. Patterns use McKinley County numbers.
Where fatal truck crashes happened
Risk scorecard
Key findings
Snapshot
Crashes by month
Garbage trucks vs all trucks
1 of 1,097 truck crashes since 2015.
Deadliest roads
No fatal large-truck crashes with a road name recorded here since 2015.
How McKinley County compares with Arizona
McKinley County against Arizona and the US, 2015–2025 (years with complete crash reporting). Per-resident rates make big and small places comparable.
Where McKinley County stands out
Full comparison
| Measure (2015–2025) | McKinley County | Arizona | United States | vs state |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crashes per 100k residents / yr | 138.7 | 35.9 | 49.7 | 3.9× the state |
| Deaths per 100 crashes | 8.6 | 5.2 | 3.4 | 1.7× the state |
| Injuries per crash | 0.46 | 0.19 | 0.49 | 2.4× the state |
| Garbage-truck share | 0.1% | 1.6% | 2.3% | 94% below the state |
| On snow, slush or ice | 30.7% | 3.2% | 6.2% | 9.5× the state |
| Morning rush (6–10 am) | 20.7% | 22.6% | 23.7% | 8% below the state |
| In rain, sleet or snow | 26.1% | 5.3% | 13.8% | 5.0× the state |
| Winter months (Nov–Mar) | 53.8% | 42.1% | 41.9% | 1.3× the state |
| After dark | 38.1% | 30.0% | 24.8% | 1.3× the state |
McKinley County has lower values than Arizona for garbage-truck share and morning rush (6–10 am). It runs above Arizona on crashes per 100k residents / yr, deaths per 100 crashes and injuries per crash.
The headline for McKinley County: 30.7% share of truck crashes on snow, slush or ice (Arizona: 3.2%).
Overview
McKinley County has recorded 1,097 truck crashes since 2015, with 495 people injured and 91 killed.
That averages about one truck crash every 4 days in fully reported years.
Only 0 truck crashes were reported in Fort Defiance since 2015; patterns below come from McKinley County as a whole.
21% of truck crash reports in McKinley County since 2015 leave the city field blank; place counts include only reports that name the place.
When crashes happen
January has the most truck crashes, 12.9% of the yearly total, while August has the fewest (4.7%).
November through March accounts for 53.8% of truck crashes here, compared with 42.1% in Arizona.
The busiest hour is 7–8 am, with 7.4% of truck crashes.
30.7% of truck crashes here happened on snow, slush or ice, against 3.2% across Arizona.
Where crashes happen
NHTSA lists no located fatal large-truck crashes within 10 miles of Fort Defiance since 2015.
Garbage & waste trucks
Garbage trucks account for 1 of the truck crashes here, or 0.1%, compared with 1.6% in Arizona.
Route planning tips for Fort Defiance fleets
- Build extra time into January routes: it has the most truck crashes here.
- Icy and snowy roads show up in 30.7% of truck crashes here, more than Arizona; schedule winter checks early.
- Paste your stops into the free Route Planner to see the risk score, safer alternatives and low bridges.
About the data
Crash counts come from the FMCSA crash file (police-reported crashes involving trucks over 10,000 lb); fatal-crash locations come from NHTSA FARS. Text on this page states only what these numbers show.
Truck crashes by year: all trucks vs garbage trucks
Seasonality: when trucks crash in McKinley County
By hour of day
Most dangerous roads for trucks
No fatal crashes involving a large truck with a road name were recorded within 10 miles since 2015.
Roads named most in all truck crash reports
| Road | Truck crashes since 2015 (McKinley County) |
|---|---|
| I-40 | 339 |
| US-491 | 12 |
| W Historic Hwy 66 | 10 |
| I40 Wb Off Ramp | 8 |
| E Interstate 40 | 8 |
| Interstate 40, Mm 11.5 | 6 |
| Interstate 40 Mm 8 | 6 |
| Interstate 40 Mm 11 | 5 |
Fort Defiance at a glance
| Land area | 6.4 sq mi |
| Median household income (ZIP 86515) | $47,336 |
| Median home value (ZIP 86515) | $58,733 |
Historical data: truck crashes in McKinley County since the 1990s
Combines the FMCSA crash file (all reported truck crashes, real coverage from about 1990) with NHTSA FARS (fatal crashes involving a large truck, 1982–2024).
| Decade | Truck crashes / yr | Change | Fatal crashes / yr (FARS) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 16 | — | 3.8 |
| 2000s | 26 | +65% | 5.7 |
| 2010s | 68 | +158% | 3.6 |
| 2020s | 104 | +54% | 6.2 |
Reported truck crashes averaged 16 a year in the 1990s and 104 a year in the 2020s. Reporting practices changed over time, so part of any change can come from reporting. NHTSA counts 3.5 fatal large-truck crashes a year in 2016–19 and 6.2 a year in 2020–24.
Nearby places
Questions fleets ask about Fort Defiance
How common are truck crashes in Fort Defiance?
McKinley County has had 1,097 reported truck crashes since 2015, injuring 495 people and killing 91.
When do most truck crashes happen in Fort Defiance?
Truck crashes in McKinley County peak in January, with 12.9% of the year's crashes.
How many garbage truck crashes are there in Fort Defiance?
Garbage trucks were involved in 1 reported crash in McKinley County since 2015 (0.1% of truck crashes).
How do truck crashes in Fort Defiance compare with Arizona?
McKinley County records 138.7 truck crashes per 100,000 residents a year, against 35.9 across Arizona.
How do I plan a garbage truck route in Fort Defiance?
The free Route Planner takes your stops and returns a route risk score, safer alternatives and low-bridge warnings.
2026 is a partial year. Updated October 2026.