Spring Lake, MI truck route planning & crash data
Plan safer truck routes in Spring Lake: commercial truck and garbage truck crashes in Spring Lake 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
1.9 deaths per 100 garbage-truck crashes vs 1.7 for all trucks.
Deadliest roads
How Ottawa County compares with Michigan
Ottawa County against Michigan 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 | Michigan | United States | vs state |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crashes per 100k residents / yr | 49.3 | 52.4 | 49.7 | same |
| Deaths per 100 crashes | 1.7 | 2.1 | 3.4 | 19% below the state |
| Injuries per crash | 0.26 | 0.30 | 0.49 | 13% below the state |
| Garbage-truck share | 3.2% | 3.2% | 2.3% | same |
| On snow, slush or ice | 20.6% | 17.7% | 6.2% | 1.2× the state |
| Morning rush (6–10 am) | 26.9% | 25.5% | 23.7% | same |
| In rain, sleet or snow | 22.0% | 21.9% | 13.8% | same |
| Winter months (Nov–Mar) | 44.9% | 44.4% | 41.9% | same |
| After dark | 17.0% | 20.7% | 24.8% | 18% below the state |
Ottawa County sits below Michigan on deaths per 100 crashes, injuries per crash and after dark. It runs above Michigan on on snow, slush or ice.
The headline for Ottawa County: January the month with the most truck crashes: 14.6% of the year's total.
Overview
Since 2015, 1,797 crashes involving commercial trucks have been reported in Ottawa County. They injured 611 people and killed 31.
That averages about one truck crash every 2 days in fully reported years.
Only 32 truck crashes were reported in Spring Lake since 2015; patterns below come from Ottawa County as a whole.
When crashes happen
The worst month is January with 14.6% of truck crashes; the quietest is March at 6.1%.
Winter months (Nov–Mar) carry 44.9% of truck crashes, vs 44.4% for Michigan.
The busiest hour is 10–11 am, with 9.9% of truck crashes.
Road surface: 20.6% of truck crashes were on snow, slush or ice (Michigan: 17.7%).
Where crashes happen
Since 2015, fatal crashes with a large truck within 10 miles of Spring Lake happened on Sherman Blvd (2), CR-HEIGHTS Ravenna Rd (1) and US-31 (1); no road leads clearly.
Garbage & waste trucks
Garbage and refuse trucks were involved in 57 crashes, 3.2% of the total, against 3.2% across Michigan.
Garbage-truck crashes peak in November (14% of them).
Deaths per 100 garbage-truck crashes: 1.9, vs 1.7 for all truck crashes.
Route planning tips for Spring Lake fleets
- Review driver schedules for January, the month with the most truck crashes.
- Garbage-truck crashes here peak in November; review collection routes for that month.
- With 20.6% 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 Ottawa County
By hour of day
Most dangerous roads for trucks
| Road | Fatal truck crashes since 2015 (within 10 miles) |
|---|---|
| Sherman Blvd | 2 |
| CR-HEIGHTS Ravenna Rd | 1 |
| US-31 | 1 |
Roads named most in all truck crash reports
| Road | Truck crashes since 2015 (Ottawa County) |
|---|---|
| US-31 | 148 |
| I-196 | 133 |
| I-96 | 115 |
| Chicago | 89 |
| Lake Michigan | 57 |
| I 196 Bl | 46 |
| Riley | 39 |
| Beacon | 39 |
Spring Lake at a glance
| Population | 2,510 |
| Land area | 1.2 sq mi |
| Density | 2,010 per sq mi |
| Median household income (ZIP 49456) | $92,672 |
| Median home value (ZIP 49456) | $340,208 |
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 | 88 | — | 3.0 |
| 2000s | 100 | +14% | 3.5 |
| 2010s | 111 | +11% | 2.0 |
| 2020s | 157 | +42% | 1.8 |
From the 1990s to the 2020s, yearly reported truck crashes went from 88 to 157. Some of the change may reflect how crashes were reported. NHTSA counts 2.8 fatal large-truck crashes a year in 2016–19 and 1.8 a year in 2020–24.
Nearby places
Questions fleets ask about Spring Lake
How common are truck crashes in Spring Lake?
Since 2015, 1,797 crashes involving commercial trucks were reported in Ottawa County (611 injured, 31 killed).
Which month has the most truck crashes in Spring Lake?
January has the most truck crashes in Ottawa County, 14.6% of the yearly total.
Are garbage truck crashes common in Spring Lake?
Since 2015, Ottawa County has reported 57 garbage-truck crashes, or 3.2% of its truck crashes.
How does Spring Lake compare with Michigan for truck crashes?
Per 100,000 residents, Ottawa County has 49.3 truck crashes a year; Michigan has 52.4.
How do I plan a garbage truck route in Spring Lake?
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.