Ottawa, OH truck route planning & crash data
Plan safer truck routes in Ottawa: commercial truck and garbage truck crashes in Ottawa and Putnam County, dangerous roads, seasonality and route safety data for fleets. Patterns use Putnam County numbers.
Where fatal truck crashes happened
Risk scorecard
Key findings
Snapshot
Crashes by month
Garbage trucks vs all trucks
3 of 134 truck crashes since 2015.
Deadliest roads
How Putnam County compares with Ohio
Putnam County against Ohio and the US, 2015–2025 (years with complete crash reporting). Per-resident rates make big and small places comparable.
Where Putnam County stands out
Full comparison
| Measure (2015–2025) | Putnam County | Ohio | United States | vs state |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crashes per 100k residents / yr | 33.2 | 50.8 | 49.7 | 35% below the state |
| Deaths per 100 crashes | 1.6 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 48% below the state |
| Injuries per crash | 0.49 | 0.50 | 0.49 | same |
| Garbage-truck share | 2.4% | 2.5% | 2.3% | same |
| On snow, slush or ice | 7.2% | 7.8% | 6.2% | 8% below the state |
| Morning rush (6–10 am) | 18.4% | 21.4% | 23.7% | 14% below the state |
| In rain, sleet or snow | 15.2% | 18.9% | 13.8% | 20% below the state |
| Winter months (Nov–Mar) | 43.2% | 42.3% | 41.9% | same |
| After dark | 16.0% | 25.8% | 24.8% | 38% below the state |
Putnam County has lower values than Ohio for crashes per 100k residents / yr, deaths per 100 crashes and on snow, slush or ice.
What stands out in Putnam County: January worst month: 11.9% of truck crashes, vs 8.3% in an average month.
Overview
Since 2015, 134 crashes involving commercial trucks have been reported in Putnam County. They injured 68 people and killed 2.
That averages about one truck crash every 32 days in fully reported years.
Ottawa had 13 reported truck crashes since 2015, too few for reliable patterns, so the charts and findings on this page use Putnam County numbers.
When crashes happen
January has the most truck crashes, 11.9% of the yearly total, while August has the fewest (5.2%).
Winter months (Nov–Mar) carry 43.2% of truck crashes, vs 42.3% for Ohio.
The busiest hour is 11 am–12 pm, with 14.2% of truck crashes.
Snow, slush or ice was on the road in 7.2% of truck crashes, compared with 7.8% in Ohio.
Where crashes happen
Roads with fatal crashes involving a large truck within 10 miles of Ottawa since 2015: SR-109 (1) and SR-12 (1). No single road stands out.
Garbage & waste trucks
Garbage trucks account for 3 of the truck crashes here, or 2.2%, compared with 2.5% in Ohio.
Route planning tips for Ottawa fleets
- Build extra time into January routes: it has the most truck crashes here.
- 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 Putnam County
By hour of day
Most dangerous roads for trucks
| Road | Fatal truck crashes since 2015 (within 10 miles) |
|---|---|
| SR-109 | 1 |
| SR-12 | 1 |
Roads named most in all truck crash reports
| Road | Truck crashes since 2015 (Putnam County) |
|---|---|
| SR-65 | 22 |
| SR-613 | 15 |
| US-224 | 12 |
| SR-15 | 10 |
| SR-189 | 7 |
| US-30 | 5 |
| Cr 5 | 5 |
| SR-109 | 5 |
Ottawa at a glance
| Population | 4,422 |
| Land area | 4.5 sq mi |
| Density | 973 per sq mi |
| Median household income (ZIP 45875) | $93,144 |
| Median home value (ZIP 45875) | $227,772 |
Waste facilities and haulers nearby
Historical data: truck crashes in Putnam 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 | — | 0.9 |
| 2000s | 10 | +2280% | 0.6 |
| 2010s | 14 | +35% | 0.4 |
| 2020s | 8 | -41% | 0.2 |
In the 2000s about 10 truck crashes a year were reported; in the 2020s, about 8. Reporting coverage also changed between these periods. Fatal large-truck crashes: 0.2 a year in 2016–19, 0.2 a year in 2020–24.
Nearby places
Questions fleets ask about Ottawa
How many truck crashes happen in Ottawa?
134 truck crashes have been reported in Putnam County since 2015, with 2 deaths and 68 injuries.
Which month has the most truck crashes in Ottawa?
The worst month is January: 11.9% of truck crashes in Putnam County happen then.
How many garbage truck crashes are there in Ottawa?
Since 2015, Putnam County has reported 3 garbage-truck crashes, or 2.2% of its truck crashes.
What is the truck crash rate in Ottawa compared with Ohio?
The yearly rate is 33.2 truck crashes per 100,000 residents in Putnam County, vs 50.8 for Ohio.
What is the best way to plan truck routes in Ottawa?
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.