Truck accident statistics for Big Horn County, Montana (2020-2024)

Truck accident deaths in Big Horn County by year

Truck accident deaths fell from 4 in 2020 to 2 in 2021, then rose to 12 in 2022. The count fell to 4 in 2023 and to 1 in 2024. The highest count was in 2022, while 2024 had the lowest. The 2024 count was 3 deaths lower than the 2020 count.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

The annual share of all traffic deaths recorded in truck accidents was 25.0% in 2020, 22.2% in 2021, 57.1% in 2022, 44.4% in 2023 and 10.0% in 2024. All traffic deaths numbered 16, 9, 21, 9 and 10 in those respective years. Both the truck accident death count and its share of traffic deaths were highest in 2022.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Deaths within 30 days in crashes on public roads. 2024 figures come from the FARS Annual Report File and can be revised.

Who died in Big Horn County truck accidents

People in the large truck accounted for 4 deaths, or 17.4%. People in other vehicles accounted for 15 deaths, or 65.2%, the largest person category. The row "Pedestrians, bicyclists and other people outside vehicles" recorded 4 deaths, or 17.4%, in truck accidents during 2020 through 2024.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

The FARS nonoccupant grouping is what that quoted label represents, encompassing pedestrians, pedalcyclists and other or unknown nonoccupants. Whether someone was outside a vehicle is not literally what the grouping tests: occupants of motor vehicles not in transport, such as parked vehicles, can fall within the other category.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

The trucks involved

Fatal truck accidents in Big Horn County involved 17 large trucks during 2020 through 2024. Truck-tractors, described in the table as semi or tractor-trailer units, numbered 9 and represented 52.9% of those trucks. Single-unit and other large trucks numbered 8. The count of large trucks recorded as jackknifed was 1.^{[1][2][3][4][5][8][7]}

These are vehicle counts, distinct from the 16 fatal crashes and 23 deaths recorded for the period. A crash can involve multiple large trucks, so the trucks table counts the vehicles involved rather than the number of crash events or people killed.^{[1][2][3][4][5][8][7]}

Counts are trucks, not crashes. One crash can involve more than one large truck.

How the fatal truck crashes happened

Manner of collision describes the first harmful event. Angle (side impact) recorded 2 deaths (8.7%); head-on, 7 (30.4%); rear-end, 7 (30.4%); and sideswipe, 0 (0.0%). "Not a collision with another moving vehicle" recorded 7 deaths (30.4%). That row means no collision with a motor vehicle in transport, such as a rollover or striking a pedestrian, cyclist, parked vehicle or fixed object. A vehicle in transport can be stopped in traffic.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Separately, truck accident deaths by crash configuration were single-vehicle, 7 (30.4%); two-vehicle, 14 (60.9%); and three or more vehicles, 2 (8.7%). Configuration describes vehicle counts rather than manner of collision.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Interstates, time of day and setting

Interstate-coded truck accident deaths numbered 12, or 52.2%. The listed route-coded count for I-90 was 12 deaths. These figures require an interstate route classification and a parseable interstate route number; the listed route is a coded subset, not a full road network.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Daytime, from 6 a.m. to 5:59 p.m., accounted for 12 deaths (52.2%). Nighttime, from 6 p.m. to 5:59 a.m., accounted for 11 (47.8%). Rural locations recorded 23 deaths (100.0%), while urban locations recorded 0 (0.0%). Work-zone deaths numbered 0. These location and time figures count deaths, not trucks or crashes.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Truck accident death rate compared with Montana and the United States

The average annual truck accident death rate was 35.6 per 100,000 residents in Big Horn County, compared with 3.1 in Montana and 1.6 nationally. The county rate was higher than both comparison rates. The corresponding death counts for 2020 through 2024 were 23 in the county, 175 statewide and 27,553 nationally. No neighboring county rates are listed in the supplied figures.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

These rates express average annual deaths per 100,000 residents and do not adjust for miles driven or visitors. They use deaths at the crash location, not the home addresses of those killed. For readers searching for a truck accident lawyer, the grouping to keep in mind is crash location.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

Rates divide deaths by the sum of annual Census population estimates, so they show deaths per 100,000 residents per year. They do not adjust for miles driven or for visitors.

About these figures

FARS is NHTSA's census of fatal motor vehicle traffic crashes. Inclusion requires a motor vehicle traveling on a trafficway customarily open to the public and an occupant or nonoccupant death within 30 days. Nonfatal crashes and injuries are excluded. County counts follow crash location, not where those killed lived. The 2020 through 2023 figures use Final Files; 2024 uses the Annual Report File and can change when replaced by the Final File.^[9][6][7][8]

Rates divide deaths from 2020 through 2024 by the sum of annual Census Bureau population estimates for those years, using Vintage 2025, then multiply by 100,000. The separately shown July 1, 2024 population estimate is not the denominator. Rates do not adjust for miles driven or visitors.^[9][6][7][8]