Kernville, CA truck route planning & crash data
Plan safer truck routes in Kernville: commercial truck and garbage truck crashes in Kernville and Kern County, dangerous roads, seasonality and route safety data for fleets. Patterns use Kern County numbers.
Where fatal truck crashes happened
Risk scorecard
Key findings
Snapshot
Crashes by month
Garbage trucks vs all trucks
9.0 deaths per 100 garbage-truck crashes vs 5.7 for all trucks.
Deadliest roads
How Kern County compares with California
Kern County against California and the US, 2015–2025 (years with complete crash reporting). Per-resident rates make big and small places comparable.
Where Kern County stands out
Full comparison
| Measure (2015–2025) | Kern County | California | United States | vs state |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crashes per 100k residents / yr | 68.6 | 33.2 | 49.7 | 2.1× the state |
| Deaths per 100 crashes | 5.7 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 1.6× the state |
| Injuries per crash | 0.47 | 0.44 | 0.49 | same |
| Garbage-truck share | 1.0% | 1.6% | 2.3% | 41% below the state |
| On snow, slush or ice | 0.9% | 0.9% | 6.2% | same |
| Morning rush (6–10 am) | 20.6% | 23.5% | 23.7% | 12% below the state |
| In rain, sleet or snow | 5.1% | 6.5% | 13.8% | 21% below the state |
| Winter months (Nov–Mar) | 39.3% | 40.2% | 41.9% | same |
| After dark | 34.6% | 29.1% | 24.8% | 1.2× the state |
Kern County sits below California on garbage-truck share, morning rush (6–10 am) and in rain, sleet or snow. It stands out for higher crashes per 100k residents / yr, deaths per 100 crashes and after dark.
The headline for Kern County: December more garbage-truck crashes happen in December than in any other month (17%).
Overview
Since 2015, 7,248 crashes involving commercial trucks have been reported in Kern County. They injured 3,414 people and killed 403.
In complete reporting years that works out to about 2 truck crashes a day.
Only 0 truck crashes were reported in Kernville since 2015; patterns below come from Kern County as a whole.
When crashes happen
August has the most truck crashes, 9.4% of the yearly total, while February has the fewest (7.1%).
Winter months (Nov–Mar) carry 39.3% of truck crashes, vs 40.2% for California.
More truck crashes happen at 3–4 pm than at any other hour (6.5%).
Road surface: 0.9% of truck crashes were on snow, slush or ice (California: 0.9%).
Where crashes happen
Fatal large-truck crashes within 10 miles of Kernville since 2015 were spread across roads: SR-178 (3) and SR-155 (1).
Garbage & waste trucks
69 crashes involved a garbage or refuse truck, a 1.0% share (California: 1.6%).
The most garbage-truck crashes happen in December (17%).
They recorded 9.0 deaths per 100 crashes, against 5.7 for all trucks.
Route planning tips for Kernville fleets
- Build extra time into August routes: it has the most truck crashes here.
- For residential and commercial waste routes, look again at December schedules: garbage-truck crashes peak then.
- Check your own stops for crash hotspots and low bridges with the free Route Planner.
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 Kern County
By hour of day
Most dangerous roads for trucks
| Road | Fatal truck crashes since 2015 (within 10 miles) |
|---|---|
| SR-178 | 3 |
| SR-155 | 1 |
Roads named most in all truck crash reports
| Road | Truck crashes since 2015 (Kern County) |
|---|---|
| Sr-99 N/B | 31 |
| Sr-58 W/B | 23 |
| I-5 | 22 |
| Sr-58 E/B | 21 |
| SR-58 | 20 |
| Sr-99 S/B | 17 |
| SR-99 | 17 |
| SR-223 | 11 |
Kernville at a glance
| Land area | 12.6 sq mi |
| Median household income (ZIP 93285) | $40,275 |
| Median home value (ZIP 93285) | $235,001 |
Waste facilities and haulers nearby
Historical data: truck crashes in Kern 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 | 5 | — | 23.6 |
| 2000s | 398 | +7854% | 20.5 |
| 2010s | 543 | +37% | 21.7 |
| 2020s | 659 | +21% | 28.2 |
Reported truck crashes averaged 5 a year in the 1990s and 659 a year in the 2020s. Reporting practices changed over time, so part of any change can come from reporting. NHTSA counts 25.0 fatal large-truck crashes a year in 2016–19 and 28.2 a year in 2020–24.
Nearby places
Questions fleets ask about Kernville
How common are truck crashes in Kernville?
Since 2015, 7,248 crashes involving commercial trucks were reported in Kern County (3,414 injured, 403 killed).
Which month has the most truck crashes in Kernville?
Truck crashes in Kern County peak in August, with 9.4% of the year's crashes.
Are garbage truck crashes common in Kernville?
Garbage trucks were involved in 69 reported crashes in Kern County since 2015 (1.0% of truck crashes).
What is the truck crash rate in Kernville compared with California?
The yearly rate is 68.6 truck crashes per 100,000 residents in Kern County, vs 33.2 for California.
How do I plan a garbage truck route in Kernville?
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.