Truck Accident Injury

Federal NHTSA crash statistics for large trucks and buses over time are alarming.

Alarming Statistics

The statistics shown represent crashes, vehicles, drivers, fatalities, and injuries in crashes. Below is a summary of some of the trend information in this section:

• Over the past 20 years (from 1987 to 2007) there has been a 58-percent increase in registered large trucks and a 70-percent increase in miles traveled by large trucks.
• Over the same time period, the number of large trucks involved in fatal crashes has declined by 10 percent, and the vehicle involvement rate for large trucks in fatal crashes has declined by 47 percent.
• Over the past 10 years (from 1997 to 2007) there has been a 27-percent increase in registered large trucks and a 19-percent increase in miles traveled by large trucks.
• From 1997 to 2007, the number of buses involved in fatal crashes declined by 6 percent, while the vehicle involvement rate for buses in fatal crashes declined by 8 percent.
• From 1997 to 2007, on average, intercity buses accounted for 12 percent of all buses involved in fatal crashes, and school buses and transit buses accounted for 39 percent and 36 percent, respectively, of all buses involved in fatal crashes.
• The number of large trucks involved in injury crashes has decreased by 21 percent over the past 10 years, and the vehicle involvement rate for large trucks in injury crashes has declined by 33 percent.
• The number of large trucks involved in property damage only crashes has decreased by 1 percent over the past 10 years, and the vehicle involvement rate for large trucks in property damage only crashes has declined by 17 percent.
• Alcohol involvement

Semi Truck Crashes

Large Florida truck crashes are becoming more common, and more deadly.

Of the 394,000 police-reported crashes involving large trucks in 2007, 4,190 (1 percent) resulted in at least one fatality, and 72,000 (18 percent) resulted in at least one nonfatal injury.

Single-vehicle crashes made up 20 percent of all fatal crashes, 15 percent of all injury crashes, and 31 percent of all property damage only crashes involving large trucks.

Just over three-fifths (62 percent) of all fatal crashes involving large trucks occurred on rural roads, and one-fourth (25 percent) occurred on Interstate highways.

Thirty-four percent of all fatal crashes and 21 percent of all property damage only crashes involving large trucks occurred at night.

The vast majority of fatal crashes (84 percent) and of nonfatal crashes (87 percent) involving large trucks occurred on weekdays (Monday through Friday).

Collision with a vehicle in transport was the first harmful event in 75 percent of fatal crashes involving large trucks.

Rollover was the first harmful event in only 5 percent of all fatal crashes involving large trucks and in only 3 percent of all nonfatal crashes involving large trucks.

Large trucks involved in fatal, injury, and property damage only
crashes.

SAFETYNET nonfatal crashes tend to be more serious than GES nonfatal crashes, because the SAFETYNET threshold requires at least one injury involving immediate medical attention away from the crash scene, or at least one vehicle disabled as a result of the crash and transported away from the crash scene. Below is a summary:

• In 2007, 4,584 large trucks were involved in fatal crashes, 76,000 were involved in injury crashes, and 333,000 were involved in property damage only crashes.
• Large trucks made up 8 percent of all vehicles in fatal crashes, 2 percent of all vehicles in injury crashes, and 4 percent of all vehicles in property damage only crashes.
• Hazardous materials (HM) placards were present on 4 percent of the large trucks involved in fatal crashes and 1 percent of those in nonfatal crashes. HM was released from the cargo compartments of 13 percent of the placarded trucks.
• “Collision with motor vehicle in transport” was recorded as the most harmful event for 76 percent of the large trucks involved in fatal crashes.
• Singles (truck tractors pulling a single semi-trailer) accounted for 62 percent of the large trucks involved in fatal crashes. Doubles (tractors pulling two trailers) made up 3 percent of the large trucks involved in fatal crashes. Triples (tractors pulling three trailers) accounted for 0.1 percent of all large trucks involved in fatal crashes in 2007.

Drivers of large trucks in fatal, injury, and property damage only
crashes and on people killed or injured in large truck crashes.

Some statistics are also listed for passenger vehicle drivers in order to make comparisons. It is important to note that the number of large
truck drivers in crashes is not exactly equal to the number of large trucks in crashes, because no driver information is provided for some crashes. Below is a summary:

• Fatalities in crashes involving large trucks made up 12 percent of all fatalities in motor vehicle crashes in 2007.
• Injuries in large truck crashes made up 4 percent of all injuries in motor vehicle crashes in 2007.
• Of the 4,551 drivers of large trucks involved in fatal crashes, 257 (6 percent) were 25 years of age or younger, and 176 (about 4 percent) were 66 years of age or older. In comparison,
  12,959 (29 percent) of the 44,212 drivers of passenger vehicles in fatal crashes were 25 years of age or younger, and 5,049 (about 11 percent) were 66 years of age or older.
• About 2 percent of all the drivers of large trucks involved in fatal crashes were female, as compared with 31 percent of all drivers of passenger vehicles involved in fatal crashes.
• One or more driver-related factors were recorded for 70 percent of the drivers of large trucks involved in single-vehicle fatal crashes but only for 31 percent of the drivers of large trucks
  involved in multiple-vehicle fatal crashes.
• Of the 4,551 drivers of large trucks involved in fatal crashes, 555 (12 percent) were not wearing a safety belt at the time of the crash; of those, 26 percent were completely or partially ejected from the vehicle.

Injured in a Trucking Accident?
Truck-Car Accident?
Contact a Personal Injury Attorney
Harris Law Firm

Injured in a truck accident, truck-car accident, or semi accident?  Contact the Harris Law Firm for a truck accident lawyer, personal injury lawyer, personal injury attorney, semi accident lawyer, trucking accident lawyer.

Check our qualifications, and then contact us to represent you in your serious tractor trailer accident injury claim.  Because we limit the number of clients, we provide truck accident claims with personal attention and service throughout the representation.

We proudly serve clients throughout Florida, but our focus is on those who, like us, live here in Southwest Florida, including Arcadia, Alva, Avon Park, Bonita Springs, Bradenton, Cape Coral, Clewiston, Collier, DeSoto County, Englewood, Felda, Fort Myers, Ft Myers, Glades County, Golden Gate, Hendry County, Highlands County, Immokalee, La Belle, Labelle, Lake Placid, Lee County, Lehigh, Lehigh Acres, Manatee County, Moore Haven, Naples, Nokomis, North Port, Osprey, Palmdale, Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda, Sarasota, Sebring, Venice.

Importantly, at the Harris Law Firm, we act quickly and ethically on your behalf. Theexperienced personal injury lawyer for your serious trucking accident claim is right here at the Harris Law Firm.

Our personal injury lawyers will help you to battle for your rights. Choosing the best lawyer for your case can be critical -- choose wisely.

Attorney David Harris and the Harris Law Firm proudly serve clients throughout Southwest Florida, including Arcadia, Alva, Avon Park, Bonita Springs, Bradenton, Cape Coral, Charlotte County, Clewiston, Collier County, DeSoto County, Englewood, Felda, Fort Myers, Ft Myers, Glades County, Golden Gate, Hardee County, Hendry County, Highlands County, Immokalee, La Belle, Labelle, Lake Placid, Lee County, Lehigh, Lehigh Acres, Manatee County, Moore Haven, Naples, Nokomis, North Port, Osprey, Palmdale, Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda, Sarasota, Sebring, Venice, Wauchula, Zolfo Springs.

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