Opelousas, LA truck route planning & crash data
Plan safer truck routes in Opelousas: commercial truck and garbage truck crashes in Opelousas and St. Landry Parish, dangerous roads, seasonality and route safety data for fleets. Patterns use St. Landry Parish numbers.
Where fatal truck crashes happened
Risk scorecard
Key findings
Snapshot
Crashes by month
Garbage trucks vs all trucks
19 of 846 truck crashes since 2015.
Deadliest roads
How St. Landry Parish compares with Louisiana
St. Landry Parish against Louisiana and the US, 2015–2025 (years with complete crash reporting). Per-resident rates make big and small places comparable.
Where St. Landry Parish stands out
Full comparison
| Measure (2015–2025) | St. Landry Parish | Louisiana | United States | vs state |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crashes per 100k residents / yr | 89.0 | 81.5 | 49.7 | 1.1× the state |
| Deaths per 100 crashes | 4.0 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 1.3× the state |
| Injuries per crash | 0.83 | 0.77 | 0.49 | 1.1× the state |
| Garbage-truck share | 2.1% | 2.2% | 2.3% | same |
| On snow, slush or ice | 2.4% | 0.8% | 6.2% | 3.2× the state |
| Morning rush (6–10 am) | 22.4% | 23.6% | 23.7% | same |
| In rain, sleet or snow | 9.0% | 10.5% | 13.8% | 14% below the state |
| Winter months (Nov–Mar) | 42.2% | 40.3% | 41.9% | same |
| After dark | 26.5% | 23.9% | 24.8% | 1.1× the state |
St. Landry Parish has lower values than Louisiana for in rain, sleet or snow. It runs above Louisiana on crashes per 100k residents / yr, deaths per 100 crashes and injuries per crash.
The headline for St. Landry Parish: 2.4% on snowy, slushy or icy roads, against 0.8% across Louisiana.
Overview
Police reported 846 crashes involving commercial trucks in St. Landry Parish since 2015: 692 people were injured and 33 were killed.
That averages about one truck crash every 5 days in fully reported years.
Opelousas had 52 reported truck crashes since 2015, too few for reliable patterns, so the charts and findings on this page use St. Landry Parish numbers.
When crashes happen
Truck crashes peak in September (10.4% of the year) and are lowest in June (5.7%).
Winter months (Nov–Mar) carry 42.2% of truck crashes, vs 40.3% for Louisiana.
By time of day, 11 am–12 pm stands out with 7.6% of truck crashes.
2.4% of truck crashes here happened on snow, slush or ice, against 0.8% across Louisiana.
Where crashes happen
The deadliest road for trucks within 10 miles of Opelousas is I-49, with 7 fatal large-truck crashes since 2015. It is followed by SR-35 (1), SR-749 (1) and US-190 (1).
Garbage & waste trucks
Garbage trucks account for 19 of the truck crashes here, or 2.2%, compared with 2.2% in Louisiana.
Route planning tips for Opelousas fleets
- Review driver schedules for September, the month with the most truck crashes.
- Check whether your routes use I-49, the road with the most fatal truck crashes in this area.
- 2.4% of truck crashes were on snow, slush or ice, above Louisiana; plan winter equipment checks before the season.
- 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 St. Landry Parish
By hour of day
Most dangerous roads for trucks
| Road | Fatal truck crashes since 2015 (within 10 miles) |
|---|---|
| I-49 | 7 |
| SR-35 | 1 |
| SR-749 | 1 |
| US-190 | 1 |
Roads named most in all truck crash reports
| Road | Truck crashes since 2015 (St. Landry Parish) |
|---|---|
| US-190 | 283 |
| I-49 | 221 |
| La-182 | 39 |
| US-71 | 36 |
| US-167 | 29 |
| La-13 | 17 |
| La-31 | 17 |
| La-93 | 13 |
Opelousas at a glance
| Population | 15,176 |
| Land area | 9.7 sq mi |
| Density | 1,569 per sq mi |
Waste facilities and haulers nearby
Historical data: truck crashes in St. Landry Parish 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 | 19 | — | 1.8 |
| 2000s | 44 | +135% | 2.4 |
| 2010s | 68 | +54% | 1.6 |
| 2020s | 70 | +3% | 1.4 |
In the 1990s about 19 truck crashes a year were reported; in the 2020s, about 70. Reporting coverage also changed between these periods. Fatal large-truck crashes: 2.5 a year in 2016–19, 1.4 a year in 2020–24.
Nearby places
Questions fleets ask about Opelousas
How many truck accidents are there in Opelousas?
St. Landry Parish has had 846 reported truck crashes since 2015, injuring 692 people and killing 33.
What is the most dangerous road for trucks in Opelousas?
Since 2015, I-49 has had the most fatal large-truck crashes within 10 miles of Opelousas: 7.
When do most truck crashes happen in Opelousas?
September has the most truck crashes in St. Landry Parish, 10.4% of the yearly total.
How many garbage truck accidents happen in Opelousas?
Since 2015, St. Landry Parish has reported 19 garbage-truck crashes, or 2.2% of its truck crashes.
What is the truck crash rate in Opelousas compared with Louisiana?
Per 100,000 residents, St. Landry Parish has 89.0 truck crashes a year; Louisiana has 81.5.
How do I plan a garbage truck route in Opelousas?
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.