Vandenberg Village, CA truck route planning & crash data
Plan safer truck routes in Vandenberg Village: commercial truck and garbage truck crashes in Vandenberg Village and Santa Barbara County, dangerous roads, seasonality and route safety data for fleets. Patterns use Santa Barbara County numbers.
Where fatal truck crashes happened
Risk scorecard
Key findings
Snapshot
Crashes by month
Garbage trucks vs all trucks
0.0 deaths per 100 garbage-truck crashes vs 4.1 for all trucks.
Deadliest roads
How Santa Barbara County compares with California
Santa Barbara County against California and the US, 2015–2025 (years with complete crash reporting). Per-resident rates make big and small places comparable.
Where Santa Barbara County stands out
Full comparison
| Measure (2015–2025) | Santa Barbara County | California | United States | vs state |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crashes per 100k residents / yr | 23.6 | 33.2 | 49.7 | 29% below the state |
| Deaths per 100 crashes | 4.1 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 1.1× the state |
| Injuries per crash | 0.38 | 0.44 | 0.49 | 14% below the state |
| Garbage-truck share | 2.4% | 1.6% | 2.3% | 1.5× the state |
| On snow, slush or ice | 0.5% | 0.9% | 6.2% | 44% below the state |
| Morning rush (6–10 am) | 27.5% | 23.5% | 23.7% | 1.2× the state |
| In rain, sleet or snow | 5.5% | 6.5% | 13.8% | 15% below the state |
| Winter months (Nov–Mar) | 37.4% | 40.2% | 41.9% | 7% below the state |
| After dark | 23.8% | 29.1% | 24.8% | 18% below the state |
Santa Barbara County sits below California on crashes per 100k residents / yr, injuries per crash and on snow, slush or ice. It runs above California on deaths per 100 crashes, garbage-truck share and morning rush (6–10 am).
The headline for Santa Barbara County: 1 in 41 of truck crashes here involve garbage trucks: 2.4%, vs 1.6% in California.
Overview
Police reported 1,199 crashes involving commercial trucks in Santa Barbara County since 2015: 461 people were injured and 47 were killed.
Across the years with complete reporting, that is roughly one truck crash every 3 days.
Only 0 truck crashes were reported in Vandenberg Village since 2015; patterns below come from Santa Barbara County as a whole.
When crashes happen
The worst month is October with 10.4% of truck crashes; the quietest is January at 7.0%.
The five winter months (November to March) hold 37.4% of truck crashes, against 40.2% across California.
The busiest hour is 7–8 am, with 7.9% of truck crashes.
0.5% of truck crashes here happened on snow, slush or ice, against 0.9% across California.
Where crashes happen
Fatal large-truck crashes within 10 miles of Vandenberg Village since 2015 were spread across roads: SR-246 (1) and US-101 (1).
Garbage & waste trucks
Garbage trucks account for 29 of the truck crashes here, or 2.4%, compared with 1.6% in California.
The most garbage-truck crashes happen in January (17%).
Deaths per 100 garbage-truck crashes: 0.0, vs 4.1 for all truck crashes.
Route planning tips for Vandenberg Village fleets
- Plan October schedules with more margin; it is the worst month for truck crashes in Santa Barbara County.
- For residential and commercial waste routes, look again at January schedules: garbage-truck crashes peak then.
- Morning starts matter: 27.5% of truck crashes fall between 6 and 10 am, higher than California.
- 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 Santa Barbara County
By hour of day
Most dangerous roads for trucks
| Road | Fatal truck crashes since 2015 (within 10 miles) |
|---|---|
| SR-246 | 1 |
| US-101 | 1 |
Roads named most in all truck crash reports
| Road | Truck crashes since 2015 (Santa Barbara County) |
|---|---|
| US-101 | 18 |
| Us-101 N/B | 8 |
| Rt166/.37M E Alisos Canyon Rd | 5 |
| Sr1/.2M S California Bl | 3 |
| Rt154/Rt246 | 3 |
| Rt101/.2M N El Capitan State Beach Rd | 3 |
| Rt101 Nb O/R/70Ft S Nicholson Av | 3 |
| Rt1/2865Ft S Rt246 | 3 |
Vandenberg Village at a glance
| Land area | 5.3 sq mi |
| Median household income (ZIP 93437) | $84,167 |
Waste facilities and haulers nearby
Historical data: truck crashes in Santa Barbara 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 | — | — | 1.8 |
| 2000s | 70 | — | 3.7 |
| 2010s | 95 | +36% | 3.3 |
| 2020s | 106 | +12% | 2.6 |
In the 2000s about 70 truck crashes a year were reported; in the 2020s, about 106. Reporting coverage also changed between these periods. NHTSA counts 3.2 fatal large-truck crashes a year in 2016–19 and 2.6 a year in 2020–24.
Nearby places
Questions fleets ask about Vandenberg Village
How common are truck crashes in Vandenberg Village?
Santa Barbara County has had 1,199 reported truck crashes since 2015, injuring 461 people and killing 47.
Which month has the most truck crashes in Vandenberg Village?
The worst month is October: 10.4% of truck crashes in Santa Barbara County happen then.
Are garbage truck crashes common in Vandenberg Village?
Since 2015, Santa Barbara County has reported 29 garbage-truck crashes, or 2.4% of its truck crashes.
How does Vandenberg Village compare with California for truck crashes?
Per 100,000 residents, Santa Barbara County has 23.6 truck crashes a year; California has 33.2.
How do I plan a garbage truck route in Vandenberg Village?
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.