Garbage-truck crashes fall, but deadly route mistakes persist

U.S. garbage-truck crashes have dropped for three straight years, but J&Y Law says the same backing and turning errors keep killing pedestrians and cyclists. The firm points to federal data, fatal California cases and workplace injury rates to show why the risk remains high on routine collection routes.

Why it matters: - Garbage-truck crashes are declining, but the crashes that do happen still hit people outside the truck the hardest. - Pedestrians and cyclists face the highest risk during routine collection moves such as backing, turning and reversing in neighborhoods. - The issue affects both public safety and worker safety, with solid-waste collection remaining one of the country’s most dangerous jobs.

What happened: - J&Y Law reviewed federal crash data and said U.S. garbage-truck collisions fell from about 4,250 in 2022 to 3,950 in 2023 and 3,700 in 2024. - That two-year drop equals roughly 550 fewer crashes, or nearly 13%. - The firm said that pace would put annual crashes at roughly 2,900 by 2027 if the trend continues. - J&Y Law also highlighted multiple fatal California crashes in 2025 and 2026 involving garbage trucks and people on foot or on bikes. - The incidents included a fatal strike in Escondido in September 2025, a fatal collision near Pio Pico Elementary School in Santa Ana in November 2025, a fatal pedestrian crash on Highway 4 in Contra Costa County in February 2026, and a fatal collision involving a bicyclist or motorcyclist in the Selma area of Fresno County in February 2026.

The details: - Even as garbage-truck crashes declined, injuries in large-truck crashes rose about 5% in 2024 to more than 161,000, according to the National Safety Council. - Pedestrian deaths nationally remain nearly 20% above where they were a decade ago, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association. - J&Y Law’s review, citing Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and Solid Waste Association of North America data, found that roughly 75% of people killed or injured in waste-truck crashes are members of the public, not sanitation workers. - Garbage trucks operate on residential streets, alleys, school zones and neighborhood intersections, where repeated stops, wide turns and frequent reversing are common. - In 2024, refuse and recyclable material collectors recorded 37.4 fatal work injuries per 100,000 workers, the fifth-deadliest civilian occupation in the U.S. - The fatal injury rate for all U.S. occupations was 3.3 per 100,000. - Of 32 fatal occupational injuries recorded in solid-waste collection in 2024, 23 were transportation-related, or nearly 72%. - J&Y Law said Top Verdict recognized the firm’s $3 million settlement in Bicycle v. Garbage Disposal Truck Driver, filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court, as the #1 such settlement in 2024. - The firm also pointed to a July 2025 Los Angeles County jury verdict of $48.8 million for pedestrian Kamran Hakimi, who suffered a catastrophic brain injury after being struck by a turning City of Los Angeles sanitation truck. - The City admitted the driver’s negligence before trial in the Hakimi case.

Between the lines: - The crash totals suggest some progress in fleet safety, but the fatal examples show that the most basic collection maneuvers still carry disproportionate risk. - The pattern is not just about vehicle design. It is also about route planning, visibility, communication and whether crews follow backup procedures every time. - The public bears much of the danger because waste trucks work in tight, low-speed spaces shared with pedestrians, cyclists and children. - J&Y Law framed the problem as preventable, not random, because the same hazards keep appearing in different places.

What’s next: - If current crash trends continue, annual garbage-truck crashes could keep falling over the next several years. - Safety advocates and operators are likely to keep focusing on reversing procedures, blind-spot awareness, spotters, cameras and exclusion zones on collection routes. - The legal exposure around these crashes may also continue to grow as large verdicts and settlements put pressure on carriers and municipalities to improve training and safeguards.

The bottom line: - Fewer crashes do not mean the job is safe enough. The deadliest garbage-truck mistakes are still the ones everyone already knows how to prevent.