Hillsborough, NJ truck route planning & crash data
Plan safer truck routes in Hillsborough: commercial truck and garbage truck crashes in Hillsborough and Somerset County, dangerous roads, seasonality and route safety data for fleets. Patterns use Somerset County numbers.
Where fatal truck crashes happened
Risk scorecard
Key findings
Snapshot
Crashes by month
Garbage trucks vs all trucks
0.0 deaths per 100 garbage-truck crashes vs 1.4 for all trucks.
Deadliest roads
How Somerset County compares with New Jersey
Somerset County against New Jersey and the US, 2015–2025 (years with complete crash reporting). Per-resident rates make big and small places comparable.
Where Somerset County stands out
Full comparison
| Measure (2015–2025) | Somerset County | New Jersey | United States | vs state |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crashes per 100k residents / yr | 69.9 | 56.6 | 49.7 | 1.2× the state |
| Deaths per 100 crashes | 1.4 | 1.6 | 3.4 | 13% below the state |
| Injuries per crash | 0.50 | 0.58 | 0.49 | 14% below the state |
| Garbage-truck share | 3.3% | 3.6% | 2.3% | 8% below the state |
| On snow, slush or ice | 4.5% | 3.3% | 6.2% | 1.3× the state |
| Morning rush (6–10 am) | 26.7% | 26.0% | 23.7% | same |
| In rain, sleet or snow | 16.9% | 13.7% | 13.8% | 1.2× the state |
| Winter months (Nov–Mar) | 40.3% | 40.9% | 41.9% | same |
| After dark | 20.9% | 19.9% | 24.8% | same |
Somerset County has lower values than New Jersey for deaths per 100 crashes, injuries per crash and garbage-truck share. It runs above New Jersey on crashes per 100k residents / yr, on snow, slush or ice and in rain, sleet or snow.
Somerset County at a glance: March more garbage-truck crashes happen in March than in any other month (14%).
Overview
Somerset County has recorded 2,953 truck crashes since 2015, with 1,454 people injured and 39 killed.
Across the years with complete reporting, that is roughly 1 truck crash every day.
Only 173 truck crashes were reported in Hillsborough since 2015; patterns below come from Somerset County as a whole.
When crashes happen
The worst month is October with 10.4% of truck crashes; the quietest is March at 6.7%.
The five winter months (November to March) hold 40.3% of truck crashes, against 40.9% across New Jersey.
The busiest hour is 8–9 am, with 8.9% of truck crashes.
4.5% of truck crashes here happened on snow, slush or ice, against 3.3% across New Jersey.
Where crashes happen
Fatal large-truck crashes within 10 miles of Hillsborough since 2015 were spread across roads: I-287 (5), US-1 (5), US-22 (4), SR-28 (2) and Brown Rd (1).
Garbage & waste trucks
Garbage trucks account for 95 of the truck crashes here, or 3.2%, compared with 3.6% in New Jersey.
Garbage-truck crashes peak in March (14% of them).
Per 100 crashes, garbage trucks recorded 0.0 deaths compared with 1.4 for all trucks.
Route planning tips for Hillsborough fleets
- Build extra time into October routes: it has the most truck crashes here.
- For residential and commercial waste routes, look again at March schedules: garbage-truck crashes peak then.
- Icy and snowy roads show up in 4.5% of truck crashes here, more than New Jersey; schedule winter 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 Somerset County
By hour of day
Most dangerous roads for trucks
| Road | Fatal truck crashes since 2015 (within 10 miles) |
|---|---|
| I-287 | 5 |
| US-1 | 5 |
| US-22 | 4 |
| SR-28 | 2 |
| Brown Rd | 1 |
| CR-567 | 1 |
| CR-622 River Rd | 1 |
| Cottontail Lane | 1 |
| I-78 | 1 |
| Old Stage Rd | 1 |
Roads named most in all truck crash reports
| Road | Truck crashes since 2015 (Somerset County) |
|---|---|
| I-287 | 627 |
| I-78 | 409 |
| US-22 | 211 |
| US-202 | 156 |
| US-206 | 141 |
| SR-527 | 112 |
| I-287 Secondary | 93 |
| I-78 Secondary | 74 |
Hillsborough at a glance
| Population | 45,421 |
| Land area | 8.0 sq mi |
| Density | 5,676 per sq mi |
| Median household income (ZIP 08844) | $153,556 |
| Median home value (ZIP 08844) | $547,496 |
Waste facilities and haulers nearby
Historical data: truck crashes in Somerset 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 | 127 | — | 3.5 |
| 2000s | 282 | +122% | 3.0 |
| 2010s | 242 | -14% | 1.8 |
| 2020s | 242 | +0% | 2.0 |
From the 1990s to the 2020s, yearly reported truck crashes went from 127 to 242. Some of the change may reflect how crashes were reported. Fatal crashes involving a large truck averaged 1.5 a year in 2016–19 and 2.0 a year in 2020–24.
Nearby places
Questions fleets ask about Hillsborough
How many truck accidents are there in Hillsborough?
Since 2015, 2,953 crashes involving commercial trucks were reported in Somerset County (1,454 injured, 39 killed).
When do most truck crashes happen in Hillsborough?
October has the most truck crashes in Somerset County, 10.4% of the yearly total.
How many garbage truck accidents happen in Hillsborough?
Since 2015, Somerset County has reported 95 garbage-truck crashes, or 3.2% of its truck crashes.
What is the truck crash rate in Hillsborough compared with New Jersey?
Somerset County records 69.9 truck crashes per 100,000 residents a year, against 56.6 across New Jersey.
How do I plan a garbage truck route in Hillsborough?
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.