South Dakota Fatal Truck Accident Statistics
Fatality rates for drivers in South Dakota are just slightly higher than the US average with 15.49 per 100,000 population. The national average is 10.92. The total number of fatal accidents which occur when a truck is involved is greater than those with passenger cars.
Pickup trucks make up 22 percent of all fatal accidents in South Dakota for 2015 with 29 deaths. This is a slight increase from 2011, which had 21. However, it is a sharp decline from 2014 where there were 36. Utility truck-related deaths have dropped slightly from recent years, but are up from 2011. In 2011, there were 14 deaths related to utility trucks while 2015 saw that number increase to 18. However, the highest number was in 2012 with 25 deaths.
Nine deaths occurred in 2015 where a van was involved while in 2011, that number was six. The highest year was in 2013 with 11 fatalities. Very few deaths involving a large truck have been recorded with one in 2015 and two in 2011. The year with the highest total was 2014 which had four deaths.
The majority of fatalities in South Dakota by type of crash happen because of a roadway departure. Many are single-vehicle accidents, and some are rollover crashes. Hanson County had the most fatal accidents involving a large truck with three in 2015. Hanson County also recorded the most fatalities from a light truck or van in 2015 with six. Following it in second place where Minnehaha County and Pennington County with four each. Both of these counties had records of previous fatalities from 2011 to 2014. Interesting to note is that Hanson County had previously had zero fatalities prior to 2015. Several counties have reduced their number of fatalities to zero, including Spink and Meade counties.