Queens County, NY truck route planning & crash data
Plan safer truck routes in Queens County: commercial truck and garbage truck crashes, dangerous roads, seasonality and route safety data for fleets.
Where fatal truck crashes happened
Risk scorecard
Key findings
Snapshot
Crashes by month
Garbage trucks vs all trucks
2.0 deaths per 100 garbage-truck crashes vs 1.2 for all trucks.
Deadliest roads
How Queens County compares with New York State
Queens County against New York State and the US, 2016–2025 (years with complete crash reporting). Per-resident rates make big and small places comparable.
Where Queens County stands out
Full comparison
| Measure (2016–2025) | Queens County | New York State | United States | vs state |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crashes per 100k residents / yr | 18.6 | 28.0 | 49.7 | 34% below the state |
| Deaths per 100 crashes | 1.2 | 2.0 | 3.4 | 40% below the state |
| Injuries per crash | 1.13 | 0.73 | 0.49 | 1.5× the state |
| Garbage-truck share | 3.8% | 3.6% | 2.3% | same |
| On snow, slush or ice | 1.2% | 9.4% | 6.2% | 87% below the state |
| Morning rush (6–10 am) | 24.7% | 25.1% | 23.7% | same |
| In rain, sleet or snow | 12.4% | 17.9% | 13.8% | 31% below the state |
| Winter months (Nov–Mar) | 38.0% | 41.8% | 41.9% | 9% below the state |
| After dark | 26.1% | 22.1% | 24.8% | 1.2× the state |
Compared with New York, Queens County is lower on crashes per 100k residents / yr, deaths per 100 crashes and on snow, slush or ice. It stands out for higher injuries per crash and after dark.
The headline for Queens County: +372% reported truck crashes a year in the 2010s vs the 2000s (281 vs 60).
Overview
Police reported 4,174 crashes involving commercial trucks in Queens County since 2015: 4,876 people were injured and 61 were killed.
Across the years with complete reporting, that is roughly 1 truck crash every day.
When crashes happen
Truck crashes peak in June (9.2% of the year) and are lowest in January (7.2%).
November through March accounts for 38.0% of truck crashes here, compared with 41.8% in New York.
More truck crashes happen at 9–10 am than at any other hour (7.3%).
1.2% of truck crashes here happened on snow, slush or ice, against 9.4% across New York.
Where crashes happen
I-495 leads in Queens County with 4 fatal crashes involving a large truck since 2015. After it: I-678 (3), SR-25 (3) and SR-27 (3).
Garbage & waste trucks
Garbage trucks account for 159 of the truck crashes here, or 3.8%, compared with 3.6% in New York.
Garbage-truck crashes peak in August (13% of them).
Deaths per 100 garbage-truck crashes: 2.0, vs 1.2 for all truck crashes.
Route planning tips for Queens County fleets
- Build extra time into June routes: it has the most truck crashes here.
- Check whether your routes use I-495, the road with the most fatal truck crashes in this area.
- For residential and commercial waste routes, look again at August schedules: garbage-truck crashes peak then.
- 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.
Crash reporting for 2015 and 2023 is incomplete; those years are shown in grey and not used for rates.
Truck crashes by year: all trucks vs garbage trucks
Seasonality: when trucks crash in Queens County
By hour of day
Most dangerous roads for trucks
| Road | Fatal truck crashes since 2015 (in Queens County) |
|---|---|
| I-495 | 4 |
| I-678 | 3 |
| SR-25 | 3 |
| SR-27 | 3 |
| Francis Lewis Blvd | 2 |
| Grand Ave | 2 |
| I-295 | 2 |
| Rockaway Blvd | 2 |
| 107 Ave | 1 |
| 11th St | 1 |
Roads named most in all truck crash reports
| Road | Truck crashes since 2015 (Queens County) |
|---|---|
| 495I W/B Long Island Expressway | 6 |
| 495I Wb Long Island Expy | 5 |
| 495I E/B Long Island Expressway | 4 |
| 295I S/B Clearview Expressway | 3 |
| 678I S/B Van Wyck Expwy | 3 |
| Clearview Expressway | 3 |
| Long Island Expy | 3 |
| Nassau Expy | 3 |
Queens County at a glance
| Population | 2,316,841 |
| Land area | 108.7 sq mi |
| Density | 21,309 per sq mi |
| Median household income (ZIP average) | $86,886 |
Waste facilities and haulers nearby
Historical data: truck crashes in Queens 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 | 50 | — | 9.7 |
| 2000s | 60 | +19% | 8.0 |
| 2010s | 222 | +273% | 5.1 |
| 2020s | 431 | +94% | 7.8 |
From the 1990s to the 2020s, yearly reported truck crashes went from 50 to 431. Some of the change may reflect how crashes were reported. Fatal crashes involving a large truck averaged 4.0 a year in 2016–19 and 7.8 a year in 2020–24.
Cities, towns & communities in Queens County
ZIP codes in Queens County
Nearby counties
Questions fleets ask about Queens County
How many truck accidents are there in Queens County?
Since 2015, 4,174 crashes involving commercial trucks were reported in Queens County (4,876 injured, 61 killed).
Which road has the most fatal truck crashes in Queens County?
NHTSA data shows I-495 with 4 fatal large-truck crashes in Queens County since 2015, the highest of any road.
What is the worst month for truck crashes in Queens County?
The worst month is June: 9.2% of truck crashes in Queens County happen then.
Are garbage truck crashes common in Queens County?
Garbage trucks were involved in 159 reported crashes in Queens County since 2015 (3.8% of truck crashes).
How do truck crashes in Queens County compare with New York?
Queens County records 18.6 truck crashes per 100,000 residents a year, against 28.0 across New York.
How do I plan a garbage truck route in Queens County?
The free Route Planner takes your stops and returns a route risk score, safer alternatives and low-bridge warnings.
Crash reporting to FMCSA was incomplete in 2015 and 2023; those years are greyed out and left out of rates. 2026 is a partial year. Updated October 2026.