Wells, KS truck route planning & crash data
Plan safer truck routes in Wells: commercial truck and garbage truck crashes in Wells and Ottawa County, dangerous roads, seasonality and route safety data for fleets. Patterns use Ottawa County numbers.
Where fatal truck crashes happened
Risk scorecard
Key findings
Snapshot
Crashes by month
Garbage trucks vs all trucks
0 of 62 truck crashes since 2015.
Deadliest roads
How Ottawa County compares with Kansas
Ottawa County against Kansas and the US, 2015–2025 (years with complete crash reporting). Per-resident rates make big and small places comparable.
Where Ottawa County stands out
Full comparison
| Measure (2015–2025) | Ottawa County | Kansas | United States | vs state |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crashes per 100k residents / yr | 90.1 | 61.4 | 49.7 | 1.5× the state |
| Deaths per 100 crashes | 8.6 | 4.8 | 3.4 | 1.8× the state |
| Injuries per crash | 0.52 | 0.32 | 0.49 | 1.6× the state |
| Garbage-truck share | 0.0% | 2.1% | 2.3% | 100% below the state |
| On snow, slush or ice | 5.2% | 9.3% | 6.2% | 44% below the state |
| Morning rush (6–10 am) | 22.4% | 23.1% | 23.7% | same |
| In rain, sleet or snow | 3.5% | 15.2% | 13.8% | 77% below the state |
| Winter months (Nov–Mar) | 53.4% | 42.2% | 41.9% | 1.3× the state |
| After dark | 24.1% | 23.2% | 24.8% | same |
Ottawa County has lower values than Kansas for garbage-truck share, on snow, slush or ice and in rain, sleet or snow. It stands out for higher crashes per 100k residents / yr, deaths per 100 crashes and injuries per crash.
Ottawa County at a glance: 0 crashes involve a garbage truck (0 since 2015), vs 2.1% across Kansas.
Overview
Since 2015, 62 crashes involving commercial trucks have been reported in Ottawa County. They injured 30 people and killed 5.
That averages about one truck crash every 69 days in fully reported years.
Only 0 truck crashes were reported in Wells since 2015; patterns below come from Ottawa County as a whole.
71% of truck crash reports in Ottawa County since 2015 leave the city field blank; place counts include only reports that name the place.
When crashes happen
March has the most truck crashes, 16.1% of the yearly total, while July has the fewest (0.0%).
November through March accounts for 53.4% of truck crashes here, compared with 42.2% in Kansas.
By time of day, 2–3 pm stands out with 12.9% of truck crashes.
Snow, slush or ice was on the road in 5.2% of truck crashes, compared with 9.3% in Kansas.
Where crashes happen
Roads with fatal crashes involving a large truck within 10 miles of Wells since 2015: US-81 (2). No single road stands out.
Garbage & waste trucks
Since 2015, no garbage-truck crashes were reported for Ottawa County.
Route planning tips for Wells fleets
- Review driver schedules for March, the month with the most truck crashes.
- Check your own stops for crash hotspots and low bridges with the free Route Planner.
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 Ottawa County
By hour of day
Most dangerous roads for trucks
| Road | Fatal truck crashes since 2015 (within 10 miles) |
|---|---|
| US-81 | 2 |
Roads named most in all truck crash reports
| Road | Truck crashes since 2015 (Ottawa County) |
|---|---|
| 10Th | 2 |
| 170Th | 2 |
| 5Th | 2 |
| Rest Area | 2 |
| 30Th | 1 |
| Arrowhead | 1 |
| Bennington | 1 |
| Frontier | 1 |
Wells at a glance
| Land area | 1.4 sq mi |
| Median household income (ZIP 67422) | $85,556 |
| Median home value (ZIP 67422) | $220,715 |
Waste facilities and haulers nearby
Historical data: truck crashes in Ottawa 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 | 4 | — | 0.5 |
| 2000s | 4 | +7% | 0.1 |
| 2010s | 6 | +47% | 0.3 |
| 2020s | 4 | -29% | 0.4 |
In the 1990s about 4 truck crashes a year were reported; in the 2020s, about 4. Reporting coverage also changed between these periods. NHTSA counts 0.2 fatal large-truck crashes a year in 2016–19 and 0.4 a year in 2020–24.
Nearby places
Questions fleets ask about Wells
How many truck accidents are there in Wells?
62 truck crashes have been reported in Ottawa County since 2015, with 5 deaths and 30 injuries.
Which month has the most truck crashes in Wells?
The worst month is March: 16.1% of truck crashes in Ottawa County happen then.
Are garbage truck crashes common in Wells?
Since 2015, Ottawa County has reported 0 garbage-truck crashes, or 0.0% of its truck crashes.
What is the truck crash rate in Wells compared with Kansas?
Ottawa County records 90.1 truck crashes per 100,000 residents a year, against 61.4 across Kansas.
How can I plan a safer truck route in Wells?
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.