Truck Accident Statistics

• An average of about 5,000 trucks are involved in a fatal traffic accident each year.
  
  
• Tractors pulling one semitrailer are the most common truck configuration, accounting for about 60% of all trucks involved in a fatal accident.
  
  
• Texas, California, and Florida had the greatest number of truck involvements over the period 1996 to 2000.
• The number of persons killed in accidents involving a truck decreased to 5,567 in 2000, compared with an average of 5,647 from 1997-1999.
  
  
• The number of truck drivers killed in traffic accidents increased from 658 in 1998 to 713 in 2000.
  
  
• About 360 pedestrians and 70 bicyclists are killed each year in traffic accidents involving trucks.

Fatal Truck Involvements by Year and State, TIFA 1996-2000

Truck Accident Conditions

This section provides statistics that describe conditions at the scene of fatal traffic accidents involving trucks in 2000:

• June had the greatest number of fatal involvements with 509, while April had the fewest with 388.
• About two-thirds of fatal accident involvements occur in rural areas.
• About two-thirds of fatal accident involvements occur in daylight.
• 81.8% of fatal accident involvements occur on dry roads.
• 84.9% of fatal accident involvements occur in "normal" (i.e., no precipitation) weather conditions.
• 28.8% of fatal involvements occur on state highways, 26.3% on U.S. highways, and 25.4% on interstate highways.
• In 10.4% of fatal involvements, the other vehicle crossed the center line of the road and struck the truck head on.

Vehicle Statistics

This section provides statistics that describe the physical configuration of trucks involved in a fatal accident in 2000. Of the 5,275 trucks involved in a fatal accident in 2000, there were 3,164 tractor-semitrailers, 1,519 straight trucks with no trailer, 222 straight trucks pulling a trailer, 123 bobtail tractors, and 162 tractors pulling two trailers.

• Straight trucks with no trailer represented 28.8% of all trucks involved in a fatal accident.
• Tractor-semitrailers accounted for 60.0% of the trucks.
• Over half of the tractor-semitrailers pulled a van trailer - either a dry box van or a refrigerated van.
• 24.6% of the straight trucks had dump bodies. The next most common straight truck cargo body was a van body, with 21.8%.
• 30.2% of the trucks were empty, 21.8% were carrying general freight, and 13.1% were carrying solids in bulk (gravel, soil, etc.) at the time of the accident.
• 8 trucks were longer than 100 feet; 43 weighed more than 100,000 pounds.
• 74.6% of the trucks involved in a fatal accident were Class 8, the heaviest Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) class.
• 49.1% of the trucks were operated by interstate for-hire carriers, 17.8% by interstate private carriers, and 16.6% by intrastate private carriers.
• 34.5% of the trucks were on local trips (within 50 miles of base) when involved in the fatal accident.

Truck Driver Statistics

This section provides statistics on the drivers of trucks involved in fatal traffic accidents in 2000.

• 2.2% of truck drivers involved in a fatal traffic accident had been drinking.
• Drug use was reported for 0.6% of truck drivers in a fatal crash.
• 96.4% of truck drivers involved in a fatal accident were male.
• 713 truck drivers were fatally injured in a traffic accident.
• 2.1% of truck drivers involved in a fatal accident were recorded as drowsy or asleep.
• Driving too fast was the most common driver factor recorded (7.6%), followed by ran-offroad (6.9%), and inattentive (5.4%).
• 63.4% of truck drivers had no driver factors recorded.

Straight Truck Statistics

This section provides descriptive statistics on straight trucks involved in a fatal traffic accident in 2000. A straight truck is a truck power unit with a permanently attached cargo body. Straight truck configurations include trucks pulling no trailers, trucks pulling a full or other trailer, and wreckers towing cars or other straight trucks.

• Truck configurations with a straight-truck power unit accounted for 33.3% of all trucks involved in a fatal traffic accident in 2000.
• 38.3% of straight trucks were Class 8 (over 33,000 lbs.) Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR), and 18.7% were Class 3 (10,001-14,000 lbs.).
• The lightest straight trucks involved in a fatal accident in 2000 weighed 5,000 pounds or less; the heaviest straight truck combination weighed over 120,000 pounds.
• 36.9% of straight trucks were empty at the time of the accident; while solids in bulk was the most frequent cargo type, accounting for 19.2%.
• 54.2% of straight truck configurations involved in a fatal traffic accident had two axles, 24.3% had three axles (including the trailer), and one straight truck combination had seven axles on the power unit and four axles on the trailer.
• 37.7% of straight trucks were operated by a private, intrastate carrier; 23.7% by a private, interstate carrier; and only 11.6% by a for-hire, interstate carrier.
• 66.3% of straight trucks were on a local trip (within 50 miles of base) at the time of the accident.
• 262 straight truck drivers were fatally injured in a traffic accident; 39.3% of the fatalities occurred in ran-off-road crashes.

Note: 445 straight trucks had "other" cargo bodies, bodies that did not fall into any named cargo body type. Most of these were utility bodies or some other working body type such as concrete mixers, cement pumps, or boom trucks.

Tractor Trailer Statistics

This section provides descriptive statistics on tractor combinations involved in a fatal traffic accident in 2000. A tractor is a truck power unit with a fifth-wheel designed to pull semitrailers. Tractor configurations include tractors pulling no trailers (bobtail), tractors pulling one or more semitrailers, and other configurations with supplementary units such as jeeps that permit hauling very heavy loads or configurations in which the tractor towed other tractors by means of saddlemounts.

• Truck configurations in which the power unit was a tractor accounted for 3,472 of the 5,275 trucks (65.8%) involved in a fatal accident in 2000.
• 94.0% of the power units in tractor combinations were Class 8 (over 33,000 lbs.) Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR).
• The three lightest tractor configurations weighed 10,000 pounds or less, and were bobtail tractors; the four heaviest tractor configurations were doubles with a loaded weight over 150,000 pounds.
• 71.8% of tractor combinations weighed between 25,001 and 80,000 pounds.
• 27.2% of tractor combinations were empty at the time of the accident; while the most common cargo was general freight with 26.6% of tractor involvements.
• 88.6% of tractor-semitrailer configurations consisted of a three-axle tractor pulling a two-axle trailer. 62.3% of doubles (two trailers) consisted of a two-axle tractor with a one-axle first trailer and a two-axle second trailer.
• 68.8% of tractor combinations were operated by for-hire, interstate carriers; 15.1% of tractors were operated by private, interstate carriers.
• 19.0% of tractor combinations were on a local trip (within 50 miles of base) at the time of the accident; 19.8% were on a trip over 500 miles.
• 449 tractor drivers were fatally injured in a traffic accident; 48.1% of the fatalities occurred in ran-off-road crashes.

Extracted from:
TRUCKS INVOLVED IN FATAL ACCIDENTS FACTBOOK 2000
Center for National Truck Statistics
University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute

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