Orion, MN truck route planning & crash data
Plan safer truck routes in Orion: commercial truck and garbage truck crashes in Orion and Olmsted County, dangerous roads, seasonality and route safety data for fleets. Patterns use Olmsted County numbers.
Where fatal truck crashes happened
Risk scorecard
Key findings
Snapshot
Crashes by month
Garbage trucks vs all trucks
3.8 deaths per 100 garbage-truck crashes vs 3.5 for all trucks.
Deadliest roads
How Olmsted County compares with Minnesota
Olmsted County against Minnesota and the US, 2015–2025 (years with complete crash reporting). Per-resident rates make big and small places comparable.
Where Olmsted County stands out
Full comparison
| Measure (2015–2025) | Olmsted County | Minnesota | United States | vs state |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crashes per 100k residents / yr | 32.4 | 39.0 | 49.7 | 17% below the state |
| Deaths per 100 crashes | 3.5 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 1.2× the state |
| Injuries per crash | 0.37 | 0.37 | 0.49 | same |
| Garbage-truck share | 4.4% | 2.8% | 2.3% | 1.6× the state |
| On snow, slush or ice | 26.6% | 25.6% | 6.2% | same |
| Morning rush (6–10 am) | 26.4% | 27.0% | 23.7% | same |
| In rain, sleet or snow | 19.7% | 19.1% | 13.8% | same |
| Winter months (Nov–Mar) | 50.8% | 46.2% | 41.9% | 1.1× the state |
| After dark | 20.0% | 20.3% | 24.8% | same |
Olmsted County sits below Minnesota on crashes per 100k residents / yr. It runs above Minnesota on deaths per 100 crashes, garbage-truck share and winter months (nov–mar).
What stands out in Olmsted County: 1 in 23 crashes involve a garbage truck (26 since 2015), vs 2.8% across Minnesota.
Overview
Police reported 639 crashes involving commercial trucks in Olmsted County since 2015: 245 people were injured and 25 were killed.
That averages about one truck crash every 7 days in fully reported years.
Orion had 7 reported truck crashes since 2015, too few for reliable patterns, so the charts and findings on this page use Olmsted County numbers.
When crashes happen
Truck crashes peak in January (11.3% of the year) and are lowest in June (5.2%).
November through March accounts for 50.8% of truck crashes here, compared with 46.2% in Minnesota.
More truck crashes happen at 7–8 am than at any other hour (9.7%).
Road surface: 26.6% of truck crashes were on snow, slush or ice (Minnesota: 25.6%).
Where crashes happen
Fatal large-truck crashes within 10 miles of Orion since 2015 were spread across roads: SR-42 (2).
Garbage & waste trucks
26 crashes involved a garbage or refuse truck, a 4.1% share (Minnesota: 2.8%).
Their busiest month is January, with 19% of garbage-truck crashes.
They recorded 3.8 deaths per 100 crashes, against 3.5 for all trucks.
Route planning tips for Orion fleets
- Review driver schedules for January, the month with the most truck crashes.
- Waste haulers: January is the peak month for garbage-truck crashes in Olmsted County.
- 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 Olmsted County
By hour of day
Most dangerous roads for trucks
| Road | Fatal truck crashes since 2015 (within 10 miles) |
|---|---|
| SR-42 | 2 |
Roads named most in all truck crash reports
| Road | Truck crashes since 2015 (Olmsted County) |
|---|---|
| Usth 52 | 94 |
| Isth 90 | 76 |
| Usth 14 | 33 |
| Usth 63 | 26 |
| West Circle Dr Nw | 13 |
| Mnth 42 | 12 |
| Hwy | 12 |
| Csah 3 | 11 |
Orion at a glance
| Population | 536 |
| Land area | 35.6 sq mi |
| Density | 15 per sq mi |
| Median household income (ZIP 55923) | $96,328 |
| Median home value (ZIP 55923) | $292,612 |
Waste facilities and haulers nearby
Historical data: truck crashes in Olmsted 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 | 27 | — | 2.0 |
| 2000s | 60 | +122% | 1.7 |
| 2010s | 52 | -13% | 1.0 |
| 2020s | 51 | -3% | 1.6 |
In the 1990s about 27 truck crashes a year were reported; in the 2020s, about 51. Reporting coverage also changed between these periods. Fatal large-truck crashes: 0.2 a year in 2016–19, 1.6 a year in 2020–24.
Nearby places
Questions fleets ask about Orion
How many truck crashes happen in Orion?
Since 2015, 639 crashes involving commercial trucks were reported in Olmsted County (245 injured, 25 killed).
Which month has the most truck crashes in Orion?
The worst month is January: 11.3% of truck crashes in Olmsted County happen then.
Are garbage truck crashes common in Orion?
26 crashes involving garbage or refuse trucks have been reported in Olmsted County since 2015, 4.1% of all truck crashes.
How does Orion compare with Minnesota for truck crashes?
The yearly rate is 32.4 truck crashes per 100,000 residents in Olmsted County, vs 39.0 for Minnesota.
What is the best way to plan truck routes in Orion?
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.