Plain Center, SD truck route planning & crash data
Plan safer truck routes in Plain Center: commercial truck and garbage truck crashes in Plain Center and Charles Mix County, dangerous roads, seasonality and route safety data for fleets. Patterns use Charles Mix County numbers.
Where fatal truck crashes happened
Risk scorecard
Key findings
Snapshot
Crashes by month
Garbage trucks vs all trucks
0 of 53 truck crashes since 2015.
Deadliest roads
How Charles Mix County compares with South Dakota
Charles Mix County against South Dakota and the US, 2015–2025 (years with complete crash reporting). Per-resident rates make big and small places comparable.
Where Charles Mix County stands out
Full comparison
| Measure (2015–2025) | Charles Mix County | South Dakota | United States | vs state |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crashes per 100k residents / yr | 46.7 | 42.0 | 49.7 | 1.1× the state |
| Deaths per 100 crashes | 6.2 | 5.2 | 3.4 | 1.2× the state |
| Injuries per crash | 0.12 | 0.13 | 0.49 | 8% below the state |
| Garbage-truck share | 0.0% | 1.6% | 2.3% | 100% below the state |
| On snow, slush or ice | 8.3% | 28.6% | 6.2% | 71% below the state |
| Morning rush (6–10 am) | 14.6% | 22.2% | 23.7% | 34% below the state |
| In rain, sleet or snow | 8.3% | 17.5% | 13.8% | 53% below the state |
| Winter months (Nov–Mar) | 39.6% | 48.8% | 41.9% | 19% below the state |
| After dark | 14.6% | 22.8% | 24.8% | 36% below the state |
Charles Mix County has lower values than South Dakota for injuries per crash, garbage-truck share and on snow, slush or ice. It runs above South Dakota on crashes per 100k residents / yr and deaths per 100 crashes.
Charles Mix County at a glance: 0 crashes involve a garbage truck (0 since 2015), vs 1.6% across South Dakota.
Overview
Since 2015, 53 crashes involving commercial trucks have been reported in Charles Mix County. They injured 7 people and killed 5.
In complete reporting years that works out to about one truck crash every 84 days.
Only 0 truck crashes were reported in Plain Center since 2015; patterns below come from Charles Mix County as a whole.
When crashes happen
Truck crashes peak in July (11.3% of the year) and are lowest in March (5.7%).
November through March accounts for 39.6% of truck crashes here, compared with 48.8% in South Dakota.
More truck crashes happen at 3–4 pm than at any other hour (17.0%).
8.3% of truck crashes here happened on snow, slush or ice, against 28.6% across South Dakota.
Where crashes happen
Since 2015, fatal crashes with a large truck within 10 miles of Plain Center happened on SR-46 (3); no road leads clearly.
Garbage & waste trucks
FMCSA lists no garbage-truck crashes in Charles Mix County since 2015.
Route planning tips for Plain Center fleets
- Review driver schedules for July, 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 Charles Mix County
By hour of day
Most dangerous roads for trucks
| Road | Fatal truck crashes since 2015 (within 10 miles) |
|---|---|
| SR-46 | 3 |
Roads named most in all truck crash reports
| Road | Truck crashes since 2015 (Charles Mix County) |
|---|---|
| Sd Hwy 46 | 13 |
| US-18 | 11 |
| Sd Hwy 50 | 9 |
| Ave | 6 |
| Sd Hwy 44 | 6 |
| Sd Hwy 45 | 2 |
| Front Ave | 1 |
| US-281 | 1 |
Plain Center at a glance
| Population | 121 |
| Land area | 35.2 sq mi |
| Density | 3 per sq mi |
| Median household income (ZIP 57356) | $54,107 |
| Median home value (ZIP 57356) | $137,520 |
Waste facilities and haulers nearby
Historical data: truck crashes in Charles Mix 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 | 3 | — | 0.2 |
| 2000s | 4 | +42% | 0.3 |
| 2010s | 3 | -13% | 0.1 |
| 2020s | 5 | +42% | 0.8 |
In the 1990s about 3 truck crashes a year were reported; in the 2020s, about 5. Reporting coverage also changed between these periods. Fatal crashes involving a large truck averaged 0.0 a year in 2016–19 and 0.8 a year in 2020–24.
Nearby places
Questions fleets ask about Plain Center
How many truck crashes happen in Plain Center?
Since 2015, 53 crashes involving commercial trucks were reported in Charles Mix County (7 injured, 5 killed).
Which month has the most truck crashes in Plain Center?
July has the most truck crashes in Charles Mix County, 11.3% of the yearly total.
How many garbage truck crashes are there in Plain Center?
Garbage trucks were involved in 0 reported crashes in Charles Mix County since 2015 (0.0% of truck crashes).
How do truck crashes in Plain Center compare with South Dakota?
Charles Mix County records 46.7 truck crashes per 100,000 residents a year, against 42.0 across South Dakota.
What is the best way to plan truck routes in Plain Center?
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.