Soap Lake, WA truck route planning & crash data
Plan safer truck routes in Soap Lake: commercial truck and garbage truck crashes in Soap Lake and Grant County, dangerous roads, seasonality and route safety data for fleets. Patterns use Grant County numbers.
Where fatal truck crashes happened
Risk scorecard
Key findings
Snapshot
Crashes by month
Garbage trucks vs all trucks
11 of 852 truck crashes since 2015.
Deadliest roads
How Grant County compares with Washington
Grant County against Washington and the US, 2015–2025 (years with complete crash reporting). Per-resident rates make big and small places comparable.
Where Grant County stands out
Full comparison
| Measure (2015–2025) | Grant County | Washington | United States | vs state |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crashes per 100k residents / yr | 70.8 | 25.8 | 49.7 | 2.7× the state |
| Deaths per 100 crashes | 6.4 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 1.9× the state |
| Injuries per crash | 0.25 | 0.18 | 0.49 | 1.4× the state |
| Garbage-truck share | 1.4% | 2.2% | 2.3% | 38% below the state |
| On snow, slush or ice | 13.7% | 9.7% | 6.2% | 1.4× the state |
| Morning rush (6–10 am) | 26.5% | 24.8% | 23.7% | same |
| In rain, sleet or snow | 9.0% | 20.2% | 13.8% | 56% below the state |
| Winter months (Nov–Mar) | 39.4% | 43.8% | 41.9% | 10% below the state |
| After dark | 22.9% | 25.2% | 24.8% | 9% below the state |
Compared with Washington, Grant County is lower on garbage-truck share, in rain, sleet or snow and winter months (nov–mar). It runs above Washington on crashes per 100k residents / yr, deaths per 100 crashes and injuries per crash.
Grant County at a glance: 6.4 deaths for every 100 truck crashes, against 3.4 across Washington.
Overview
Police reported 852 crashes involving commercial trucks in Grant County since 2015: 208 people were injured and 57 were killed.
Across the years with complete reporting, that is roughly one truck crash every 5 days.
Soap Lake had 13 reported truck crashes since 2015, too few for reliable patterns, so the charts and findings on this page use Grant County numbers.
When crashes happen
October has the most truck crashes, 13.8% of the yearly total, while June has the fewest (5.6%).
November through March accounts for 39.4% of truck crashes here, compared with 43.8% in Washington.
More truck crashes happen at 8–9 am than at any other hour (8.8%).
13.7% of truck crashes here happened on snow, slush or ice, against 9.7% across Washington.
Where crashes happen
Since 2015, fatal crashes with a large truck within 10 miles of Soap Lake happened on SR-28 (1); no road leads clearly.
Garbage & waste trucks
Garbage and refuse trucks were involved in 11 crashes, 1.3% of the total, against 2.2% across Washington.
Route planning tips for Soap Lake fleets
- Plan October schedules with more margin; it is the worst month for truck crashes in Grant County.
- Icy and snowy roads show up in 13.7% of truck crashes here, more than Washington; schedule winter checks early.
- 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.
Truck crashes by year: all trucks vs garbage trucks
Seasonality: when trucks crash in Grant County
By hour of day
Most dangerous roads for trucks
| Road | Fatal truck crashes since 2015 (within 10 miles) |
|---|---|
| SR-28 | 1 |
Roads named most in all truck crash reports
| Road | Truck crashes since 2015 (Grant County) |
|---|---|
| Sr-283*004.00 | 7 |
| Sr-26*007.00 | 6 |
| Rd N Ne/S Frontage Rd | 5 |
| Sr-243*001.00 | 5 |
| Sr-243*001.50 | 5 |
| Sr-28*022.30 | 5 |
| Road U Se/I-90 Off Ramp | 4 |
| Sr-17*050.00 | 4 |
Soap Lake at a glance
| Population | 1,780 |
| Land area | 1.5 sq mi |
| Density | 1,158 per sq mi |
| Median household income (ZIP 98851) | $63,333 |
| Median home value (ZIP 98851) | $235,231 |
Waste facilities and haulers nearby
Historical data: truck crashes in Grant 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 | 39 | — | 2.2 |
| 2000s | 39 | +1% | 2.4 |
| 2010s | 64 | +63% | 2.6 |
| 2020s | 78 | +23% | 5.4 |
From the 1990s to the 2020s, yearly reported truck crashes went from 39 to 78. Some of the change may reflect how crashes were reported. Fatal large-truck crashes: 2.5 a year in 2016–19, 5.4 a year in 2020–24.
Nearby places
Questions fleets ask about Soap Lake
How common are truck crashes in Soap Lake?
852 truck crashes have been reported in Grant County since 2015, with 57 deaths and 208 injuries.
When do most truck crashes happen in Soap Lake?
Truck crashes in Grant County peak in October, with 13.8% of the year's crashes.
How many garbage truck accidents happen in Soap Lake?
Garbage trucks were involved in 11 reported crashes in Grant County since 2015 (1.3% of truck crashes).
How does Soap Lake compare with Washington for truck crashes?
Grant County records 70.8 truck crashes per 100,000 residents a year, against 25.8 across Washington.
How do I plan a garbage truck route in Soap Lake?
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.