Palmer, NE truck route planning & crash data
Plan safer truck routes in Palmer: commercial truck and garbage truck crashes in Palmer and Merrick County, dangerous roads, seasonality and route safety data for fleets. Patterns use Merrick County numbers.
Where fatal truck crashes happened
Risk scorecard
Key findings
Snapshot
Crashes by month
Garbage trucks vs all trucks
1 of 132 truck crashes since 2015.
Deadliest roads
How Merrick County compares with Nebraska
Merrick County against Nebraska and the US, 2015–2025 (years with complete crash reporting). Per-resident rates make big and small places comparable.
Where Merrick County stands out
Full comparison
| Measure (2015–2025) | Merrick County | Nebraska | United States | vs state |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crashes per 100k residents / yr | 143.8 | 60.7 | 49.7 | 2.4× the state |
| Deaths per 100 crashes | 4.0 | 4.8 | 3.4 | 17% below the state |
| Injuries per crash | 0.51 | 0.57 | 0.49 | 11% below the state |
| Garbage-truck share | 0.8% | 1.8% | 2.3% | 55% below the state |
| On snow, slush or ice | 12.9% | 16.7% | 6.2% | 23% below the state |
| Morning rush (6–10 am) | 20.2% | 22.4% | 23.7% | 10% below the state |
| In rain, sleet or snow | 12.9% | 20.4% | 13.8% | 37% below the state |
| Winter months (Nov–Mar) | 44.4% | 42.7% | 41.9% | same |
| After dark | 26.6% | 24.5% | 24.8% | 1.1× the state |
Merrick County sits below Nebraska on deaths per 100 crashes, injuries per crash and garbage-truck share. Where it is higher: crashes per 100k residents / yr and after dark.
Merrick County at a glance: October the month with the most truck crashes: 15.2% of the year's total.
Overview
Since 2015, 132 crashes involving commercial trucks have been reported in Merrick County. They injured 68 people and killed 5.
That averages about one truck crash every 32 days in fully reported years.
Palmer had 0 reported truck crashes since 2015, too few for reliable patterns, so the charts and findings on this page use Merrick County numbers.
70% of truck crash reports in Merrick County since 2015 leave the city field blank; place counts include only reports that name the place.
When crashes happen
The worst month is October with 15.2% of truck crashes; the quietest is July at 3.8%.
November through March accounts for 44.4% of truck crashes here, compared with 42.7% in Nebraska.
The busiest hour is 3–4 pm, with 9.6% of truck crashes.
12.9% of truck crashes here happened on snow, slush or ice, against 16.7% across Nebraska.
Where crashes happen
Since 2015, fatal crashes with a large truck within 10 miles of Palmer happened on SR-92 (1); no road leads clearly.
Garbage & waste trucks
1 crash involved a garbage or refuse truck, a 0.8% share (Nebraska: 1.8%).
Route planning tips for Palmer fleets
- Plan October schedules with more margin; it is the worst month for truck crashes in Merrick 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 Merrick County
By hour of day
Most dangerous roads for trucks
| Road | Fatal truck crashes since 2015 (within 10 miles) |
|---|---|
| SR-92 | 1 |
Roads named most in all truck crash reports
| Road | Truck crashes since 2015 (Merrick County) |
|---|---|
| US-30 | 31 |
| Ne-92 | 5 |
| SR-30 | 4 |
| 030 /352.990/Us30 Ne Of "W" Rd-Ne Of Clarks | 3 |
| SR-92 | 3 |
| 014 /83.700/N14 & "P" Rd-N Of Central City | 2 |
| 030 /338.450/16Th St(Us30) W Of 5Th Ave-Ent | 2 |
| 030 /351.890/Us30 Sw Of 27Th Rd-Ne Of Clarks | 2 |
Palmer at a glance
| Population | 445 |
| Land area | 0.5 sq mi |
| Density | 833 per sq mi |
| Median household income (ZIP 68864) | $83,365 |
| Median home value (ZIP 68864) | $186,559 |
Waste facilities and haulers nearby
Historical data: truck crashes in Merrick 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 | — | 0.7 |
| 2000s | 8 | +34% | 0.6 |
| 2010s | 9 | +10% | 0.5 |
| 2020s | 12 | +32% | 0.6 |
In the 1990s about 6 truck crashes a year were reported; in the 2020s, about 12. Reporting coverage also changed between these periods. NHTSA counts 0.5 fatal large-truck crashes a year in 2016–19 and 0.6 a year in 2020–24.
Nearby places
Questions fleets ask about Palmer
How many truck accidents are there in Palmer?
Since 2015, 132 crashes involving commercial trucks were reported in Merrick County (68 injured, 5 killed).
What is the worst month for truck crashes in Palmer?
Truck crashes in Merrick County peak in October, with 15.2% of the year's crashes.
Are garbage truck crashes common in Palmer?
Garbage trucks were involved in 1 reported crash in Merrick County since 2015 (0.8% of truck crashes).
What is the truck crash rate in Palmer compared with Nebraska?
The yearly rate is 143.8 truck crashes per 100,000 residents in Merrick County, vs 60.7 for Nebraska.
What is the best way to plan truck routes in Palmer?
Use the free Route Planner: enter your stops to get a risk score, safer alternatives and the low bridges on your route.
2026 is a partial year. Updated October 2026.