Houston, MN truck route planning & crash data
Plan safer truck routes in Houston: commercial truck and garbage truck crashes in Houston and Houston County, dangerous roads, seasonality and route safety data for fleets. Patterns use Houston County numbers.
Where fatal truck crashes happened
Risk scorecard
Key findings
Snapshot
Crashes by month
Garbage trucks vs all trucks
1 of 64 truck crashes since 2015.
Deadliest roads
How Houston County compares with Minnesota
Houston County against Minnesota and the US, 2015–2025 (years with complete crash reporting). Per-resident rates make big and small places comparable.
Where Houston County stands out
Full comparison
| Measure (2015–2025) | Houston County | Minnesota | United States | vs state |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crashes per 100k residents / yr | 30.7 | 39.0 | 49.7 | 21% below the state |
| Deaths per 100 crashes | 6.5 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 2.2× the state |
| Injuries per crash | 0.37 | 0.37 | 0.49 | same |
| Garbage-truck share | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2.3% | 43% below the state |
| On snow, slush or ice | 25.8% | 25.6% | 6.2% | same |
| Morning rush (6–10 am) | 25.8% | 27.0% | 23.7% | same |
| In rain, sleet or snow | 14.5% | 19.1% | 13.8% | 24% below the state |
| Winter months (Nov–Mar) | 46.8% | 46.2% | 41.9% | same |
| After dark | 11.3% | 20.3% | 24.8% | 44% below the state |
Compared with Minnesota, Houston County is lower on crashes per 100k residents / yr, garbage-truck share and in rain, sleet or snow. Where it is higher: deaths per 100 crashes.
The headline for Houston County: March the month with the most truck crashes: 17.2% of the year's total.
Overview
Police reported 64 crashes involving commercial trucks in Houston County since 2015: 23 people were injured and 4 were killed.
That averages about one truck crash every 65 days in fully reported years.
Houston had 5 reported truck crashes since 2015, too few for reliable patterns, so the charts and findings on this page use Houston County numbers.
When crashes happen
Truck crashes peak in March (17.2% of the year) and are lowest in January (3.1%).
November through March accounts for 46.8% of truck crashes here, compared with 46.2% in Minnesota.
By time of day, 11 am–12 pm stands out with 14.1% of truck crashes.
25.8% of truck crashes here happened on snow, slush or ice, against 25.6% across Minnesota.
Where crashes happen
Fatal large-truck crashes within 10 miles of Houston since 2015 were spread across roads: CR-9 (1) and SR-44 (1).
Garbage & waste trucks
Garbage and refuse trucks were involved in 1 crash, 1.6% of the total, against 2.8% across Minnesota.
Route planning tips for Houston fleets
- Build extra time into March routes: it has the most truck crashes here.
- 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 Houston County
By hour of day
Most dangerous roads for trucks
| Road | Fatal truck crashes since 2015 (within 10 miles) |
|---|---|
| CR-9 | 1 |
| SR-44 | 1 |
Roads named most in all truck crash reports
| Road | Truck crashes since 2015 (Houston County) |
|---|---|
| Mnth 44 | 12 |
| Usth 61 | 5 |
| Mnth 16 | 4 |
| Mnth 26 | 4 |
| Mnth 76 | 3 |
| Main St | 3 |
| Csah 3 | 2 |
| Front St | 2 |
Houston at a glance
| Population | 970 |
| Land area | 1.2 sq mi |
| Density | 788 per sq mi |
| Median household income (ZIP 55943) | $72,411 |
| Median home value (ZIP 55943) | $239,883 |
Waste facilities and haulers nearby
Historical data: truck crashes in Houston 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 | 5 | — | 0.2 |
| 2000s | 6 | +5% | 0.0 |
| 2010s | 6 | +16% | 0.5 |
| 2020s | 5 | -24% | 0.4 |
From the 1990s to the 2020s, yearly reported truck crashes went from 5 to 5. Some of the change may reflect how crashes were reported. Fatal crashes involving a large truck averaged 0.2 a year in 2016–19 and 0.4 a year in 2020–24.
Nearby places
Questions fleets ask about Houston
How many truck accidents are there in Houston?
Houston County has had 64 reported truck crashes since 2015, injuring 23 people and killing 4.
When do most truck crashes happen in Houston?
The worst month is March: 17.2% of truck crashes in Houston County happen then.
Are garbage truck crashes common in Houston?
Garbage trucks were involved in 1 reported crash in Houston County since 2015 (1.6% of truck crashes).
How do truck crashes in Houston compare with Minnesota?
The yearly rate is 30.7 truck crashes per 100,000 residents in Houston County, vs 39.0 for Minnesota.
How can I plan a safer truck route in Houston?
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.