Taft, CA truck route planning & crash data
Plan safer truck routes in Taft: commercial truck and garbage truck crashes in Taft 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 has lower values than California for garbage-truck share, morning rush (6–10 am) and in rain, sleet or snow. It runs above California on 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
Police reported 7,248 crashes involving commercial trucks in Kern County since 2015: 3,414 people were injured and 403 were killed.
Across the years with complete reporting, that is roughly 2 truck crashes every day.
Only 18 truck crashes were reported in Taft since 2015; patterns below come from Kern County as a whole.
When crashes happen
The worst month is August with 9.4% of truck crashes; the quietest is February at 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 Taft since 2015 were spread across roads: SR-119 (2), SR-166 (2) and SR-33 (2).
Garbage & waste trucks
Garbage and refuse trucks were involved in 69 crashes, 1.0% of the total, against 1.6% across California.
The most garbage-truck crashes happen in December (17%).
Deaths per 100 garbage-truck crashes: 9.0, vs 5.7 for all truck crashes.
Route planning tips for Taft fleets
- Review driver schedules for August, the month with the most truck crashes.
- For residential and commercial waste routes, look again at December schedules: garbage-truck crashes peak then.
- Paste your stops into the free Route Planner to see the risk score, safer alternatives and low bridges.
About the data
Sources: the FMCSA crash file for all reported truck crashes and NHTSA FARS for fatal crashes with a large truck. Every statement here comes straight from those numbers.
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-119 | 2 |
| SR-166 | 2 |
| SR-33 | 2 |
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 |
Taft at a glance
| Population | 6,988 |
| Land area | 15.3 sq mi |
| Density | 458 per sq mi |
| Median household income (ZIP 93268) | $57,778 |
| Median home value (ZIP 93268) | $236,684 |
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. Fatal crashes involving a large truck averaged 25.0 a year in 2016–19 and 28.2 a year in 2020–24.
Nearby places
Questions fleets ask about Taft
How many truck crashes happen in Taft?
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 Taft?
The worst month is August: 9.4% of truck crashes in Kern County happen then.
How many garbage truck crashes are there in Taft?
69 crashes involving garbage or refuse trucks have been reported in Kern County since 2015, 1.0% of all truck crashes.
How does Taft compare with California for truck crashes?
Per 100,000 residents, Kern County has 68.6 truck crashes a year; California has 33.2.
What is the best way to plan truck routes in Taft?
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.