Rifle, CO truck route planning & crash data
Plan safer truck routes in Rifle: commercial truck and garbage truck crashes in Rifle and Garfield County, dangerous roads, seasonality and route safety data for fleets. Patterns use Garfield County numbers.
Where fatal truck crashes happened
Risk scorecard
Key findings
Snapshot
Crashes by month
Garbage trucks vs all trucks
7 of 449 truck crashes since 2015.
Deadliest roads
How Garfield County compares with Colorado
Garfield County against Colorado and the US, 2015–2025 (years with complete crash reporting). Per-resident rates make big and small places comparable.
Where Garfield County stands out
Full comparison
| Measure (2015–2025) | Garfield County | Colorado | United States | vs state |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crashes per 100k residents / yr | 61.2 | 32.6 | 49.7 | 1.9× the state |
| Deaths per 100 crashes | 2.8 | 5.1 | 3.4 | 45% below the state |
| Injuries per crash | 0.50 | 0.32 | 0.49 | 1.6× the state |
| Garbage-truck share | 1.7% | 2.8% | 2.3% | 41% below the state |
| On snow, slush or ice | 25.9% | 14.8% | 6.2% | 1.8× the state |
| Morning rush (6–10 am) | 24.7% | 25.7% | 23.7% | same |
| In rain, sleet or snow | 23.1% | 13.2% | 13.8% | 1.7× the state |
| Winter months (Nov–Mar) | 49.2% | 43.5% | 41.9% | 1.1× the state |
| After dark | 29.2% | 22.4% | 24.8% | 1.3× the state |
Compared with Colorado, Garfield County is lower on deaths per 100 crashes and garbage-truck share. It runs above Colorado on crashes per 100k residents / yr, injuries per crash and on snow, slush or ice.
What stands out in Garfield County: 25.9% of truck crashes happened on snow, slush or ice, vs 14.8% in Colorado.
Overview
Since 2015, 449 crashes involving commercial trucks have been reported in Garfield County. They injured 221 people and killed 16.
That averages about one truck crash every 9 days in fully reported years.
Rifle had 21 reported truck crashes since 2015, too few for reliable patterns, so the charts and findings on this page use Garfield County numbers.
71% of truck crash reports in Garfield County since 2015 leave the city field blank; place counts include only reports that name the place.
When crashes happen
December has the most truck crashes, 12.7% of the yearly total, while November has the fewest (5.1%).
Winter months (Nov–Mar) carry 49.2% of truck crashes, vs 43.5% for Colorado.
More truck crashes happen at 3–4 pm than at any other hour (7.6%).
Snow, slush or ice was on the road in 25.9% of truck crashes, compared with 14.8% in Colorado.
Where crashes happen
Since 2015, fatal crashes with a large truck within 10 miles of Rifle happened on CR-331 (1); no road leads clearly.
Garbage & waste trucks
7 crashes involved a garbage or refuse truck, a 1.6% share (Colorado: 2.8%).
Route planning tips for Rifle fleets
- Review driver schedules for December, the month with the most truck crashes.
- 25.9% of truck crashes were on snow, slush or ice, above Colorado; plan winter equipment checks before the season.
- 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 Garfield County
By hour of day
Most dangerous roads for trucks
| Road | Fatal truck crashes since 2015 (within 10 miles) |
|---|---|
| CR-331 | 1 |
Roads named most in all truck crash reports
| Road | Truck crashes since 2015 (Garfield County) |
|---|---|
| I70 1,584 Feet E Of Mp 120 | 7 |
| I70 .50 Miles E Of Mp 120 | 7 |
| I 70 At Mp 116 | 6 |
| I70 .60 Miles E Of Mp 124 | 5 |
| I 70 At Mp 122 | 5 |
| I 70 At Mp 108 | 5 |
| I 70 At Mp 120 | 4 |
| I 70 At Mp 65 | 4 |
Rifle at a glance
| Population | 10,663 |
| Land area | 7.0 sq mi |
| Density | 1,522 per sq mi |
| Median household income (ZIP 81652) | $101,038 |
| Median home value (ZIP 81652) | $520,824 |
Waste facilities and haulers nearby
Historical data: truck crashes in Garfield 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 | 30 | — | 0.6 |
| 2000s | 54 | +78% | 1.6 |
| 2010s | 38 | -28% | 1.0 |
| 2020s | 47 | +22% | 0.8 |
In the 1990s about 30 truck crashes a year were reported; in the 2020s, about 47. Reporting coverage also changed between these periods. Fatal large-truck crashes: 0.8 a year in 2016–19, 0.8 a year in 2020–24.
Nearby places
Questions fleets ask about Rifle
How many truck accidents are there in Rifle?
Garfield County has had 449 reported truck crashes since 2015, injuring 221 people and killing 16.
When do most truck crashes happen in Rifle?
Truck crashes in Garfield County peak in December, with 12.7% of the year's crashes.
Are garbage truck crashes common in Rifle?
Since 2015, Garfield County has reported 7 garbage-truck crashes, or 1.6% of its truck crashes.
How do truck crashes in Rifle compare with Colorado?
The yearly rate is 61.2 truck crashes per 100,000 residents in Garfield County, vs 32.6 for Colorado.
How do I plan a garbage truck route in Rifle?
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.