Our truck accident statistics are based on research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the Federal Highway Administration, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
How Common Are Large Truck Accidents?
In 2012, there were around 317,000 large truck crashes reported to the police.
More than 33 percent of long-haul commercial drivers have been in at least one serious collision over the course of their career.
Fatal Truck Accident Statistics
In 2016, large truck crashes resulted in 4,317 fatalities. This represents a 5.4 percent increase in the number of deaths that were attributed to large truck crashes in 2015. The number of tractor-trailers involved in collisions that resulted in fatalities also increased, from 4,074 in 2015 to 4,213 in 2016, which is a 3 percent jump.
At least 4,079 collisions that resulted in fatalities in 2016 involved a bus or large truck. In other words, buses or large trucks were involved in 11.8 percent of fatal crashes that occurred that year.
In 2012, 697 occupants of large trucks died in collisions.
In 2012, approximately 26,000 occupants of large trucks sustained injuries in collisions.
In 2012, fatalities resulting from bus and large truck crashes cost the economy approximately $99 billion.
In 2016, approximately 79 percent of the large truck crashes that resulted in fatalities happened on a weekday, between 6 a.m. on Monday and 6 p.m. on Friday.
Truck Accident Injury Statistics
From 2002 to 2009, there was a steady decline in the number of bus or large truck crashes that caused bodily injury. With 102,000 injury crashes in 2002 and 60,000 in 2009, there was a total drop of 41 percent. In the years since, the number of injury crashes has risen, reaching 97,000 in 2015, representing a 62 percent increase.
Drunk Driving Truck Accident Statistics
Of the commercial drivers who were operating large trucks and were involved in a fatal collision in 2016, around 2 percent registered a blood alcohol concentration of at least 0.08. This is significantly lower than the percentage of those driving other kinds of vehicles who were found to be impaired following a fatal crash (25 percent of motorcyclists, 21 percent of passenger vehicle drivers, and 20 percent of light truck drivers).
Stats That Show Truck Drivers Tend to Be Safer
In 2016, commercial drivers who were operating large trucks and were involved in a fatal collision were much less likely to have prior license revocations or suspensions than the passenger vehicle motorists were.
Number of Large Trucks on the Road
Among the United States’ 268,799,083 registered vehicles in 2016, 8,746,518 were straight trucks (single-unit trucks) and 2,752,043 were tractor-trailers (combination trucks). Buses accounted for 976,161 registered vehicles that year.
In 2016, all motor vehicles traveled 3,174.4 billion miles. Large trucks accounted for 287.9 billion of these miles, or 9.1 percent, while buses accounted for 16.3 billion of them, or 0.5 percent.
Truck Accident Seat Belt Statistics
At least 39 percent of tractor-trailer occupants who are killed in collisions were not properly restrained at the time of the incident.
Truck Accident Risk Factor Statistics
In 2016, around 61 percent of all fatal truck crashes happened in rural locations, while 27 percent happened on Interstate highways. Additionally, 15 percent occurred on rural Interstate highways.
In 2016, 8 percent of injury accidents and 27 percent of fatal accidents that occurred in work zones involved one or more large trucks.
Commercial trucks are about 20 times heavier than standard passenger vehicles.
Truck Accident Statistics by State
In Alabama, 119 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In Alaska, 4 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In Arizona, 69 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In Arkansas, 60 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In California, 293 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In Colorado, 82 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In Connecticut, 29 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In Delaware, 9 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In Florida, 260 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In Georgia, 169 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In Hawaii, 5 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In Idaho, 32 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In Illinois, 135 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In Indiana, 100 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In Iowa, 56 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In Kansas, 62 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In Kentucky, 92 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In Louisiana, 79 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In Maine, 14 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In Maryland, 58 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In Massachusetts, 24 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In Michigan, 94 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In Minnesota, 50 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In Mississippi, 71 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In Missouri, 104 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In Montana, 20 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In Nebraska, 40 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In Nevada, 26 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In New Hampshire, 5 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In New Jersey, 55 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In New Mexico, 31 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In New York, 98 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In North Carolina, 144 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In North Dakota, 12 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In Ohio, 112 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In Oklahoma, 114 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In Oregon, 49 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In Pennsylvania, 143 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In Rhode Island, 2 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In South Carolina, 95 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In South Dakota, 5 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In Tennessee, 104 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In Texas, 484 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In Utah, 18 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In Vermont, 7 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In Virginia, 81 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In Washington, 48 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In Washington, D.C., 0 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In West Virginia, 23 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In Wisconsin, 59 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
In Wyoming, 19 of the fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 involved a large truck.
