Petoskey, MI truck route planning & crash data
Plan safer truck routes in Petoskey: commercial truck and garbage truck crashes in Petoskey and Charlevoix County, dangerous roads, seasonality and route safety data for fleets. Patterns use Charlevoix County numbers.
Where fatal truck crashes happened
Risk scorecard
Key findings
Snapshot
Crashes by month
Garbage trucks vs all trucks
10 of 111 truck crashes since 2015.
Deadliest roads
How Charlevoix County compares with Michigan
Charlevoix County against Michigan and the US, 2015–2025 (years with complete crash reporting). Per-resident rates make big and small places comparable.
Where Charlevoix County stands out
Full comparison
| Measure (2015–2025) | Charlevoix County | Michigan | United States | vs state |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crashes per 100k residents / yr | 36.9 | 52.4 | 49.7 | 30% below the state |
| Deaths per 100 crashes | 6.6 | 2.1 | 3.4 | 3.1× the state |
| Injuries per crash | 0.38 | 0.30 | 0.49 | 1.3× the state |
| Garbage-truck share | 9.4% | 3.2% | 2.3% | 2.9× the state |
| On snow, slush or ice | 36.8% | 17.7% | 6.2% | 2.1× the state |
| Morning rush (6–10 am) | 34.0% | 25.5% | 23.7% | 1.3× the state |
| In rain, sleet or snow | 22.6% | 21.9% | 13.8% | same |
| Winter months (Nov–Mar) | 53.8% | 44.4% | 41.9% | 1.2× the state |
| After dark | 8.5% | 20.7% | 24.8% | 59% below the state |
Charlevoix County has lower values than Michigan for crashes per 100k residents / yr and after dark. It stands out for higher deaths per 100 crashes, injuries per crash and garbage-truck share.
What stands out in Charlevoix County: 1 in 11 of truck crashes here involve garbage trucks: 9.4%, vs 3.2% in Michigan.
Overview
Since 2015, 111 crashes involving commercial trucks have been reported in Charlevoix County. They injured 43 people and killed 7.
That averages about one truck crash every 38 days in fully reported years.
Petoskey had 0 reported truck crashes since 2015, too few for reliable patterns, so the charts and findings on this page use Charlevoix County numbers.
When crashes happen
July has the most truck crashes, 14.4% of the yearly total, while June has the fewest (2.7%).
The five winter months (November to March) hold 53.8% of truck crashes, against 44.4% across Michigan.
More truck crashes happen at 8–9 am than at any other hour (14.4%).
Road surface: 36.8% of truck crashes were on snow, slush or ice (Michigan: 17.7%).
Where crashes happen
The deadliest road for trucks within 10 miles of Petoskey is US-31, with 2 fatal large-truck crashes since 2015. After it: CR-MITCHELL Rd (1), Intertown Rd (1) and US-131 (1).
Garbage & waste trucks
10 crashes involved a garbage or refuse truck, a 9.0% share (Michigan: 3.2%).
Route planning tips for Petoskey fleets
- Review driver schedules for July, the month with the most truck crashes.
- Look at alternatives to US-31 at busy times: it leads this area in fatal truck crashes.
- Morning starts matter: 34.0% of truck crashes fall between 6 and 10 am, higher than Michigan.
- With 36.8% of truck crashes on snow, slush or ice (above Michigan), plan winter equipment checks early.
- 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 Charlevoix County
By hour of day
Most dangerous roads for trucks
| Road | Fatal truck crashes since 2015 (within 10 miles) |
|---|---|
| US-31 | 2 |
| CR-MITCHELL Rd | 1 |
| Intertown Rd | 1 |
| US-131 | 1 |
Roads named most in all truck crash reports
| Road | Truck crashes since 2015 (Charlevoix County) |
|---|---|
| US-131 | 20 |
| US-31 | 15 |
| Bridge | 8 |
| Petoskey | 3 |
| Boyne City | 3 |
| Boyne | 3 |
| Burgess | 2 |
| Ellsworth | 2 |
Petoskey at a glance
| Population | 5,810 |
| Land area | 5.1 sq mi |
| Density | 1,129 per sq mi |
Waste facilities and haulers nearby
Historical data: truck crashes in Charlevoix 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 | 6 | — | 0.2 |
| 2000s | 6 | +13% | 0.1 |
| 2010s | 7 | +13% | 0.4 |
| 2020s | 10 | +41% | 1.0 |
In the 1990s about 6 truck crashes a year were reported; in the 2020s, about 10. Reporting coverage also changed between these periods. NHTSA counts 0.5 fatal large-truck crashes a year in 2016–19 and 1.0 a year in 2020–24.
Nearby places
Questions fleets ask about Petoskey
How common are truck crashes in Petoskey?
111 truck crashes have been reported in Charlevoix County since 2015, with 7 deaths and 43 injuries.
Which road has the most fatal truck crashes in Petoskey?
Since 2015, US-31 has had the most fatal large-truck crashes within 10 miles of Petoskey: 2.
Which month has the most truck crashes in Petoskey?
The worst month is July: 14.4% of truck crashes in Charlevoix County happen then.
How many garbage truck crashes are there in Petoskey?
Since 2015, Charlevoix County has reported 10 garbage-truck crashes, or 9.0% of its truck crashes.
What is the truck crash rate in Petoskey compared with Michigan?
Charlevoix County records 36.9 truck crashes per 100,000 residents a year, against 52.4 across Michigan.
How can I plan a safer truck route in Petoskey?
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.