Some Trucking Safety Statistics We All Should Know

The trucking industry along with the citizens of the developing nations is trying hard to prevent road traffic injuries and determine the root causes of truck accidents. Trucking safety statistics indicate that road traffic injuries (RTI's) are expected to be the third leading cause of death and disability wordwide. These statistics also indicate that many road crashes are both predictable and preventable. The causes of truck accidents have been established: excessive speed, consumption of drugs and alcohol, failure to use protective measures such as seatbelt and helmets, poor vehicle impact protection, and poor road design.

Visit our interactive map of trucking safety statistics by state.

What Are the Causes of Truck Accidents?

Trucking safety statistics indicate that as the number of vehicles on the road each day increases, the number of fatalities will increase proportionately.

Here are some interesting facts regarding the causes of truck accidents:

• Road traffic accidents have become the leading cause of death by injury and the tenth-leading cause of all deaths globally.
• More than one-half of all road traffic deaths globally occur among people ages 15 to 44-their most productive earning years.
• Trucking safety statistics and a new study on driving behavior found that automobile drivers were to blame 56 percent of the time, truckers 44 percent, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, a branch of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
• The probability that a truck accident will result in death or serious injury increases with each extra ton of weight over 80,000 lbs.