Garden Prairie, SD truck route planning & crash data
Plan safer truck routes in Garden Prairie: commercial truck and garbage truck crashes in Garden Prairie and Brown County, dangerous roads, seasonality and route safety data for fleets. Patterns use Brown County numbers.
Where fatal truck crashes happened
Risk scorecard
Key findings
Snapshot
Crashes by month
Garbage trucks vs all trucks
5 of 115 truck crashes since 2015.
Deadliest roads
No fatal large-truck crashes with a road name recorded here since 2015.
How Brown County compares with South Dakota
Brown County against South Dakota and the US, 2015–2025 (years with complete crash reporting). Per-resident rates make big and small places comparable.
Where Brown County stands out
Full comparison
| Measure (2015–2025) | Brown County | South Dakota | United States | vs state |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crashes per 100k residents / yr | 25.7 | 42.0 | 49.7 | 39% below the state |
| Deaths per 100 crashes | 5.7 | 5.2 | 3.4 | 1.1× the state |
| Injuries per crash | 0.13 | 0.13 | 0.49 | same |
| Garbage-truck share | 4.7% | 1.6% | 2.3% | 2.9× the state |
| On snow, slush or ice | 14.1% | 28.6% | 6.2% | 51% below the state |
| Morning rush (6–10 am) | 22.6% | 22.2% | 23.7% | same |
| In rain, sleet or snow | 9.4% | 17.5% | 13.8% | 46% below the state |
| Winter months (Nov–Mar) | 48.1% | 48.8% | 41.9% | same |
| After dark | 15.1% | 22.8% | 24.8% | 34% below the state |
Compared with South Dakota, Brown County is lower on crashes per 100k residents / yr, on snow, slush or ice and in rain, sleet or snow. It stands out for higher deaths per 100 crashes and garbage-truck share.
Brown County at a glance: 1 in 21 garbage-truck share of crashes is 4.7%, against 1.6% for South Dakota.
Overview
Since 2015, 115 crashes involving commercial trucks have been reported in Brown County. They injured 14 people and killed 6.
That averages about one truck crash every 38 days in fully reported years.
Garden Prairie had 0 reported truck crashes since 2015, too few for reliable patterns, so the charts and findings on this page use Brown County numbers.
When crashes happen
Truck crashes peak in October (12.2% of the year) and are lowest in May (4.3%).
November through March accounts for 48.1% of truck crashes here, compared with 48.8% in South Dakota.
The busiest hour is 4–5 pm, with 11.3% of truck crashes.
Snow, slush or ice was on the road in 14.1% of truck crashes, compared with 28.6% in South Dakota.
Where crashes happen
No fatal crash involving a large truck has a recorded location within 10 miles of Garden Prairie since 2015.
Garbage & waste trucks
Garbage and refuse trucks were involved in 5 crashes, 4.3% of the total, against 1.6% across South Dakota.
Route planning tips for Garden Prairie fleets
- Review driver schedules for October, the month with the most truck crashes.
- 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 Brown County
By hour of day
Most dangerous roads for trucks
No fatal crashes involving a large truck with a road name were recorded within 10 miles since 2015.
Roads named most in all truck crash reports
| Road | Truck crashes since 2015 (Brown County) |
|---|---|
| US-12 | 46 |
| US-281 | 17 |
| Ave | 12 |
| Sd Hwy 37 | 10 |
| Sd Hwy 10 | 5 |
| 5Th St | 2 |
| 10Th Ave Sw Sw | 1 |
| 412Th Ave. | 1 |
Garden Prairie at a glance
| Population | 140 |
| Land area | 36.0 sq mi |
| Density | 4 per sq mi |
Waste facilities and haulers nearby
Historical data: truck crashes in Brown 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 | 8 | — | 0.7 |
| 2000s | 9 | +11% | 0.5 |
| 2010s | 11 | +22% | 0.3 |
| 2020s | 10 | -16% | 0.8 |
From the 1990s to the 2020s, yearly reported truck crashes went from 8 to 10. Some of the change may reflect how crashes were reported. NHTSA counts 0.2 fatal large-truck crashes a year in 2016–19 and 0.8 a year in 2020–24.
Nearby places
Questions fleets ask about Garden Prairie
How many truck crashes happen in Garden Prairie?
115 truck crashes have been reported in Brown County since 2015, with 6 deaths and 14 injuries.
What is the worst month for truck crashes in Garden Prairie?
October has the most truck crashes in Brown County, 12.2% of the yearly total.
Are garbage truck crashes common in Garden Prairie?
Since 2015, Brown County has reported 5 garbage-truck crashes, or 4.3% of its truck crashes.
What is the truck crash rate in Garden Prairie compared with South Dakota?
Per 100,000 residents, Brown County has 25.7 truck crashes a year; South Dakota has 42.0.
How do I plan a garbage truck route in Garden Prairie?
Paste your stops into the free CurbWaste Route Planner: it scores your route against fatal-crash locations, suggests safer alternatives and flags low bridges.
2026 is a partial year. Updated October 2026.