Payne Gap, KY truck route planning & crash data
Plan safer truck routes in Payne Gap: commercial truck and garbage truck crashes in Payne Gap and Letcher County, dangerous roads, seasonality and route safety data for fleets. Patterns use Letcher County numbers.
Where fatal truck crashes happened
Risk scorecard
Key findings
Snapshot
Crashes by month
Garbage trucks vs all trucks
2 of 112 truck crashes since 2015.
Deadliest roads
How Letcher County compares with Kentucky
Letcher County against Kentucky and the US, 2015–2025 (years with complete crash reporting). Per-resident rates make big and small places comparable.
Where Letcher County stands out
Full comparison
| Measure (2015–2025) | Letcher County | Kentucky | United States | vs state |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crashes per 100k residents / yr | 48.3 | 68.4 | 49.7 | 29% below the state |
| Deaths per 100 crashes | 8.4 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 2.4× the state |
| Injuries per crash | 0.75 | 0.46 | 0.49 | 1.6× the state |
| Garbage-truck share | 1.9% | 2.6% | 2.3% | 29% below the state |
| On snow, slush or ice | 3.7% | 5.0% | 6.2% | 25% below the state |
| Morning rush (6–10 am) | 23.4% | 22.9% | 23.7% | same |
| In rain, sleet or snow | 20.6% | 17.5% | 13.8% | 1.2× the state |
| Winter months (Nov–Mar) | 29.9% | 41.0% | 41.9% | 27% below the state |
| After dark | 14.0% | 24.4% | 24.8% | 43% below the state |
Letcher County sits below Kentucky on crashes per 100k residents / yr, garbage-truck share and on snow, slush or ice. It runs above Kentucky on deaths per 100 crashes, injuries per crash and in rain, sleet or snow.
What stands out in Letcher County: 8.4 deaths for every 100 truck crashes, against 3.5 across Kentucky.
Overview
Since 2015, 112 crashes involving commercial trucks have been reported in Letcher County. They injured 82 people and killed 9.
In complete reporting years that works out to about one truck crash every 38 days.
Payne Gap had 2 reported truck crashes since 2015, too few for reliable patterns, so the charts and findings on this page use Letcher County numbers.
When crashes happen
October has the most truck crashes, 16.1% of the yearly total, while February has the fewest (2.7%).
November through March accounts for 29.9% of truck crashes here, compared with 41.0% in Kentucky.
More truck crashes happen at 11 am–12 pm than at any other hour (14.3%).
Road surface: 3.7% of truck crashes were on snow, slush or ice (Kentucky: 5.0%).
Where crashes happen
US-119 leads within 10 miles of Payne Gap with 3 fatal crashes involving a large truck since 2015. Next come SR-15 (1), SR-83 (1) and US-250 (1).
Garbage & waste trucks
Garbage trucks account for 2 of the truck crashes here, or 1.8%, compared with 2.6% in Kentucky.
Route planning tips for Payne Gap fleets
- Build extra time into October routes: it has the most truck crashes here.
- Where you can, review stops along US-119; it has the most fatal large-truck crashes nearby.
- 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 Letcher County
By hour of day
Most dangerous roads for trucks
| Road | Fatal truck crashes since 2015 (within 10 miles) |
|---|---|
| US-119 | 3 |
| SR-15 | 1 |
| SR-83 | 1 |
| US-250 | 1 |
Roads named most in all truck crash reports
| Road | Truck crashes since 2015 (Letcher County) |
|---|---|
| US-0119 | 31 |
| US-0023 | 24 |
| Ky0015 | 18 |
| Ky0007 | 11 |
| Ky0160 | 5 |
| Ky0806 | 4 |
| Ky0113 | 2 |
| Ky0463 | 2 |
Payne Gap at a glance
| Land area | 2.3 sq mi |
Waste facilities and haulers nearby
Historical data: truck crashes in Letcher 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 | 7 | — | 1.8 |
| 2000s | 26 | +270% | 1.6 |
| 2010s | 14 | -46% | 0.8 |
| 2020s | 9 | -35% | 0.4 |
In the 1990s about 7 truck crashes a year were reported; in the 2020s, about 9. Reporting coverage also changed between these periods. NHTSA counts 0.8 fatal large-truck crashes a year in 2016–19 and 0.4 a year in 2020–24.
Nearby places
Questions fleets ask about Payne Gap
How many truck crashes happen in Payne Gap?
112 truck crashes have been reported in Letcher County since 2015, with 9 deaths and 82 injuries.
Which road has the most fatal truck crashes in Payne Gap?
Since 2015, US-119 has had the most fatal large-truck crashes within 10 miles of Payne Gap: 3.
Which month has the most truck crashes in Payne Gap?
Truck crashes in Letcher County peak in October, with 16.1% of the year's crashes.
How many garbage truck accidents happen in Payne Gap?
Since 2015, Letcher County has reported 2 garbage-truck crashes, or 1.8% of its truck crashes.
How do truck crashes in Payne Gap compare with Kentucky?
The yearly rate is 48.3 truck crashes per 100,000 residents in Letcher County, vs 68.4 for Kentucky.
How do I plan a garbage truck route in Payne Gap?
Paste your stops into the free CurbWaste Route Planner: it scores your route against fatal-crash locations, suggests safer alternatives and flags low bridges.
2026 is a partial year. Updated October 2026.