tractor trailer accident statistics

This article summarizes statistics gathered from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, FARS, and The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Division. Despite added regulations, accidents involving large tractor trailers and semis remain dangerous and prevelent.

TRACTOR TRAILER ACCIDENT STATISTICS

Joseph M. Lyon, The Lyon Firm

Both State and federal governments have imposed laws on trucks and their regulators in an effort to make highways a safer place. However, these laws and limitations are often broken. These laws range from how long a driver can operate a vehicle to the size and weight of vehicles. Some may think these laws are simple and tedious but when they are broken, the results are devastating.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2008, 37,261 people were killed and 2,346,000 people were injured in automobile accidents. Of those 37,261 people killed, 11,441 were killed in truck accidents, and of the 2,346,000 injured, 791,000 were injured in crashes involving some form of a truck. When looking at large truck crashes, one will find that 4,229 people were killed when this type of vehicle was involved, with only 677 or 16% of the deaths being the operator of the truck, 3,139 being operators of other vehicles, and 413 not being occupants of any vehicle. It can easily be drawn from this information that when large trucks are involved in crashes it is often not the operator of the truck who pays the price but the other drivers or innocent bystanders.

According to FARS (Fatality Analysis Reporting System), in 2007 when there were 4,584 fatal crashes in the nation, Ohio accounted for 2% (124) of the vehicles in fatal crashes but they caused 135 fatalities. It has also been gathered that, in the year of 2008, large trucks counted for approximately 12% or 143 of the 1,190 automobile fatalities. And when factored in with the national average only 22 of those 143 cases caused the death of the operator of the truck.

Information gathered from the Analysis Division, of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Division (FMCSD) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2008, show that there were 3,733 fatal crashes involving large trucks. That same year there were 64,000 crashes in which someone was injured and 297,000 crashes involving property damage only. In the same study it was found that in 60% of those 3,733 crashes the trucks were traveling between 50 and 65 mph, the average highway speed limit in most states. And when looking at the location, most of the fatal crashes occurred in urban areas, areas where people live, work, and sleep. It has also been gathered that the largest part of the crashes happen in the twelve hour period of 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., on weekdays (at least 92% of the crashes occur during weekdays), when most of people are driving. Between these time a third (66.9%) of the fatal accidents occur, three-fourths (75.3%) of the injury sustaining accidents occur, and three fourths (76.5%) of the accidents causing property damage occur. Also, at least 85% of the three types of crashes occur on days with normal weather conditions (77% when it is dry and at least 64.4% when there is daylight).

The Lyon firm is actively accepting cases arising from tractor trailer accidents that have caused injury or wrongful death. Please complete contact form if you would like a free consultation.