10 Startling Trucking Accident Facts

You don’t need to read this post to know that driving near large trucks can be dangerous. Despite the sheer size of many semi-trucks and tractor-trailers, truck drivers are often fatigued and deprived of sleep, which can be especially dangerous. Below, you will find a few important truck accident statistics that ought to keep you fully cautious, the next time you approach an 18-wheeler on the freeway.

1. Every 16 minutes, an individual sustains an injury or is killed in an accident involving an 18-wheeler or tractor-trailer.
2. Large trucks are much more likely to be involved in a fatal, multi-vehicle crashes than large passenger vehicles like vans and buses.
3. Most fatal truck accidents happen in rural areas (68 percent) during the daytime (66 percent) and on weekdays (78 percent).
4. About 700 drivers of heavy trucks and passengers in truck cabs die every year in truck accidents.
5. Nearly 3,700 individuals in cars and other passenger vehicles die every year in collisions with heavy trucks.
6. Roughly 27 percent of drivers of large trucks involved in fatal truck accidents throughout the US had at least one prior speeding conviction. In contrast, passenger vehicle drivers involved in fatal crashes who had a prior speeding conviction was about 19 percent.
7. Wheel and tire defects account for the largest number of equipment-related truck accidents: 80 crashes, annually.
8. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says that in crashes involving large trucks and other vehicles, 98% of the fatalities happen to the people in passenger vehicles.
9. The majority of fatal accidents involving tractor-trailer trucks include trucks that are pulling one trailer.
10. Trucking revenues totaled $610 billion last year, and revenues are predicted to nearly double by 2015.

If you’ve been injured in a truck accident, don’t hesitate to contact Bruce A. Hagen, your premier Atlanta personal injury attorney!