Thompson Falls, MT truck route planning & crash data
Plan safer truck routes in Thompson Falls: commercial truck and garbage truck crashes in Thompson Falls and Sanders County, dangerous roads, seasonality and route safety data for fleets. Patterns use Sanders County numbers.
Where fatal truck crashes happened
Risk scorecard
Key findings
Snapshot
Crashes by month
Garbage trucks vs all trucks
0 of 90 truck crashes since 2015.
Deadliest roads
How Sanders County compares with Montana
Sanders County against Montana and the US, 2015–2025 (years with complete crash reporting). Per-resident rates make big and small places comparable.
Where Sanders County stands out
Full comparison
| Measure (2015–2025) | Sanders County | Montana | United States | vs state |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crashes per 100k residents / yr | 55.0 | 64.3 | 49.7 | 14% below the state |
| Deaths per 100 crashes | 6.0 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 1.6× the state |
| Injuries per crash | 0.30 | 0.34 | 0.49 | 12% below the state |
| Garbage-truck share | 0.0% | 0.9% | 2.3% | 100% below the state |
| On snow, slush or ice | 21.4% | 39.4% | 6.2% | 46% below the state |
| Morning rush (6–10 am) | 20.2% | 22.9% | 23.7% | 11% below the state |
| In rain, sleet or snow | 13.1% | 20.6% | 13.8% | 36% below the state |
| Winter months (Nov–Mar) | 45.2% | 54.3% | 41.9% | 17% below the state |
| After dark | 22.6% | 30.8% | 24.8% | 26% below the state |
Sanders County has lower values than Montana for crashes per 100k residents / yr, injuries per crash and garbage-truck share. It runs above Montana on deaths per 100 crashes.
What stands out in Sanders County: 0 crashes involve a garbage truck (0 since 2015), vs 0.9% across Montana.
Overview
Since 2015, 90 crashes involving commercial trucks have been reported in Sanders County. They injured 25 people and killed 5.
That averages about one truck crash every 48 days in fully reported years.
Thompson Falls had 0 reported truck crashes since 2015, too few for reliable patterns, so the charts and findings on this page use Sanders County numbers.
88% of truck crash reports in Sanders County since 2015 leave the city field blank; place counts include only reports that name the place.
When crashes happen
The worst month is May with 16.7% of truck crashes; the quietest is August at 1.1%.
Winter months (Nov–Mar) carry 45.2% of truck crashes, vs 54.3% for Montana.
By time of day, 11 am–12 pm stands out with 14.4% of truck crashes.
Road surface: 21.4% of truck crashes were on snow, slush or ice (Montana: 39.4%).
Where crashes happen
Since 2015, fatal crashes with a large truck within 10 miles of Thompson Falls happened on SR-200 (1); no road leads clearly.
Garbage & waste trucks
No crashes involving garbage or refuse trucks have been reported in Sanders County since 2015.
Route planning tips for Thompson Falls fleets
- Build extra time into May routes: it has the most truck crashes here.
- 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 Sanders County
By hour of day
Most dangerous roads for trucks
| Road | Fatal truck crashes since 2015 (within 10 miles) |
|---|---|
| SR-200 | 1 |
Roads named most in all truck crash reports
| Road | Truck crashes since 2015 (Sanders County) |
|---|---|
| Cottonwood Creek Rd | 1 |
| Mm 102.5 Hwy 200 | 1 |
| Mm 112.8 Mt 200 | 1 |
| Mm 13.8 Hwy 135- | 1 |
| Mm 5.5 Hwy 28 | 1 |
| Mm 84.4 Hwy 200 | 1 |
| Mm13.5 Mt135 | 1 |
Thompson Falls at a glance
| Population | 1,526 |
| Land area | 1.6 sq mi |
| Density | 951 per sq mi |
| Median household income (ZIP 59873) | $60,000 |
| Median home value (ZIP 59873) | $297,138 |
Waste facilities and haulers nearby
Historical data: truck crashes in Sanders 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 | 0 | — | 0.6 |
| 2000s | 10 | +7180% | 0.6 |
| 2010s | 7 | -33% | 0.4 |
| 2020s | 8 | +21% | 0.8 |
From the 2000s to the 2020s, yearly reported truck crashes went from 10 to 8. Some of the change may reflect how crashes were reported. Fatal crashes involving a large truck averaged 0.0 a year in 2016–19 and 0.8 a year in 2020–24.
Nearby places
Questions fleets ask about Thompson Falls
How many truck crashes happen in Thompson Falls?
Since 2015, 90 crashes involving commercial trucks were reported in Sanders County (25 injured, 5 killed).
Which month has the most truck crashes in Thompson Falls?
The worst month is May: 16.7% of truck crashes in Sanders County happen then.
How many garbage truck crashes are there in Thompson Falls?
Since 2015, Sanders County has reported 0 garbage-truck crashes, or 0.0% of its truck crashes.
How does Thompson Falls compare with Montana for truck crashes?
The yearly rate is 55.0 truck crashes per 100,000 residents in Sanders County, vs 64.3 for Montana.
How do I plan a garbage truck route in Thompson Falls?
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.