Snelling, CA truck route planning & crash data
Plan safer truck routes in Snelling: commercial truck and garbage truck crashes in Snelling and Merced County, dangerous roads, seasonality and route safety data for fleets. Patterns use Merced County numbers.
Where fatal truck crashes happened
Risk scorecard
Key findings
Snapshot
Crashes by month
Garbage trucks vs all trucks
3.7 deaths per 100 garbage-truck crashes vs 4.4 for all trucks.
Deadliest roads
How Merced County compares with California
Merced County against California and the US, 2015–2025 (years with complete crash reporting). Per-resident rates make big and small places comparable.
Where Merced County stands out
Full comparison
| Measure (2015–2025) | Merced County | California | United States | vs state |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crashes per 100k residents / yr | 86.4 | 33.2 | 49.7 | 2.6× the state |
| Deaths per 100 crashes | 4.4 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 1.2× the state |
| Injuries per crash | 0.39 | 0.44 | 0.49 | 11% below the state |
| Garbage-truck share | 1.0% | 1.6% | 2.3% | 41% below the state |
| On snow, slush or ice | 0.3% | 0.9% | 6.2% | 66% below the state |
| Morning rush (6–10 am) | 23.9% | 23.5% | 23.7% | same |
| In rain, sleet or snow | 6.1% | 6.5% | 13.8% | same |
| Winter months (Nov–Mar) | 36.0% | 40.2% | 41.9% | 11% below the state |
| After dark | 31.8% | 29.1% | 24.8% | 1.1× the state |
Merced County has lower values than California for injuries per crash, garbage-truck share and on snow, slush or ice. Where it is higher: crashes per 100k residents / yr, deaths per 100 crashes and after dark.
The headline for Merced County: 1 in 104 garbage-truck share of crashes is 1.0%, against 1.6% for California.
Overview
Police reported 2,923 crashes involving commercial trucks in Merced County since 2015: 1,150 people were injured and 124 were killed.
In complete reporting years that works out to about 1 truck crash a day.
With 0 truck crashes reported in Snelling since 2015, this page uses Merced County numbers for its patterns and comparisons.
When crashes happen
The worst month is August with 12.4% of truck crashes; the quietest is February at 6.4%.
The five winter months (November to March) hold 36.0% of truck crashes, against 40.2% across California.
By time of day, 7–8 am stands out with 7.1% of truck crashes.
Road surface: 0.3% of truck crashes were on snow, slush or ice (California: 0.9%).
Where crashes happen
Since 2015, fatal crashes with a large truck within 10 miles of Snelling happened on Turlock (1); no road leads clearly.
Garbage & waste trucks
Garbage trucks account for 27 of the truck crashes here, or 0.9%, compared with 1.6% in California.
Garbage-truck crashes peak in March (19% of them).
They recorded 3.7 deaths per 100 crashes, against 4.4 for all trucks.
Route planning tips for Snelling fleets
- Build extra time into August routes: it has the most truck crashes here.
- Garbage-truck crashes here peak in March; review collection routes for that month.
- Use the free Route Planner to score your route and spot low bridges before drivers head out.
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 Merced County
By hour of day
Most dangerous roads for trucks
| Road | Fatal truck crashes since 2015 (within 10 miles) |
|---|---|
| Turlock | 1 |
Roads named most in all truck crash reports
| Road | Truck crashes since 2015 (Merced County) |
|---|---|
| Sr-99 S/B | 23 |
| I-5 | 18 |
| SR-165 | 13 |
| Sr-99 N/B | 12 |
| Rt152/Volta Rd | 8 |
| SR-152 | 7 |
| Sr-152 W/B | 7 |
| SR-59 | 6 |
Snelling at a glance
| Land area | 0.5 sq mi |
| Median household income (ZIP 95369) | $75,750 |
Waste facilities and haulers nearby
Historical data: truck crashes in Merced 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 | 2 | — | 7.2 |
| 2000s | 142 | +7025% | 8.8 |
| 2010s | 198 | +39% | 6.6 |
| 2020s | 268 | +36% | 9.2 |
From the 1990s to the 2020s, yearly reported truck crashes went from 2 to 268. Some of the change may reflect how crashes were reported. NHTSA counts 8.2 fatal large-truck crashes a year in 2016–19 and 9.2 a year in 2020–24.
Nearby places
Questions fleets ask about Snelling
How many truck crashes happen in Snelling?
Since 2015, 2,923 crashes involving commercial trucks were reported in Merced County (1,150 injured, 124 killed).
Which month has the most truck crashes in Snelling?
Truck crashes in Merced County peak in August, with 12.4% of the year's crashes.
How many garbage truck crashes are there in Snelling?
Since 2015, Merced County has reported 27 garbage-truck crashes, or 0.9% of its truck crashes.
How do truck crashes in Snelling compare with California?
Merced County records 86.4 truck crashes per 100,000 residents a year, against 33.2 across California.
What is the best way to plan truck routes in Snelling?
Use the free Route Planner: enter your stops to get a risk score, safer alternatives and the low bridges on your route.
2026 is a partial year. Updated October 2026.