133,000 People Injured Every Year in Truck Accidents

Given the massive size and weight of the average truck, it is probably little surprise to anyone that collisions involving trucks have a much greater potential for devastation than those involving lighter vehicles. Trucks require a different set of skills to drive safely when compared to a car and it is believed that a number of the accidents involving trucks results from drivers of smaller vehicles not fully grasping that they need to treat a truck differently to a car when they encounter one on the road.

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Recent statistics released as part of a collaborative effort from a number of different US agencies have revealed that collisions and other accidents involving trucks account for around 133,000 injured people every year. In light of this finding, the agencies involved have undertaken to release a raft of other statistics relating to road accidents involving trucks, in the hope of raising public awareness and encouraging drivers to take the dangers posed by trucks and other heavy vehicles more seriously.

Semi and Heavy Trucks

Semi and heavy trucks account for around 13% of the total number, which stands at 15.5 million, of trucks currently registered in the United States. In this category are included big rigs, 18 wheelers, and tractor trailers.

For accidents involving a semi, a shocking 98% resulted in at least one fatality. Clearly, it is important that we continue to educate drivers on how to safely share the road with large, heavy vehicles such as these.

Tractor trailer accidents, meanwhile, are not as statistically deadly, but they have significant economic impact. It is thought that accidents involving tractor-trailers cost American as much as $20 billion every year; of this around $13.1 billion is the cost that is associated with a reduced quality of life following a significant accident. It is, therefore, important for drivers to know that they can obtain compensation if they are involved in such an accident.

Big rigs are used extensively in a number of commercial enterprises. In fact, the trucking profession is considered to be one of America’s most traditional vocations. On average, for every 100 million miles that are driven on roads in the United States, there are 60.5 injuries and 2.3 deaths caused by big rigs.

Commercial Trucks

There are a large number of trucks on America’s roads at any given time. Because the country is not linked up by a rail network, trucks are needed to transport a variety of different products from place to place.

When one of these commercial trucks is involved in an accident, it costs an average of $59,150. Nine out of every ten of these accidents are the result of human error, either on the part of the truck driver or other vehicle drivers on the road.

Improving Safety

The question of how to minimize these accidents, which can not only result in life-changing or fatal injuries but which also have a considerable economic impact, is an important one, but one that has received little attention.

This move from various US agencies to publish statistics which show the extent of the issue will hopefully spur the government into action and lead to better education amongst drivers of trucks and other vehicles so that there is a greater awareness of how to avoid accidents.