Information You Should Know Regarding Large Truck Crashes

Hartlaw - TruckDespite improvements in passenger vehicle safety, nothing can completely protect passengers from the catastrophic effects of a commercial trucking accident.

Commercial trucks include large trucks weighing over 10,000 pounds such as eighteen-wheelers, tractor-trailers, flatbed trucks, heavy trucks and tanker trucks. Each year more commercial trucks crowd onto the nation’s highways. In 2014, there were almost eleven million large trucks registered in the United States.

These are just a few of the important data points from the US Department of Transportation Federal Motor Safety Administration analysis of 2014 data:

  • In 2014, 3,744 large trucks were involved in fatal crashes, 88,000 were involved in injury crashes, and 346,000 were involved in property damage only crashes.
  • From 2013 to 2014, the number of fatal crashes involving large trucks or buses decreased by 4.5 percent, following an increase of 20% between 2009 and 2013.
  • Approximately 61 percent of all fatal crashes involving large trucks occurred on rural roads and 26 percent on rural or urban Interstate highways.
  • Thirty-seven percent of all fatal crashes, 19 percent of all injury crashes, and 20 percent of all property damage only crashes involving large trucks occurred at night (6:00 pm to 6:00 am).
  • The vast majority of fatal crashes (84 percent) and nonfatal crashes (88 percent) involving large trucks occurred on weekdays (Monday through Friday).
  • Thirty percent of work zone fatal crashes and 9 percent of work zone injury crashes involved at least one large truck.

TruckWhy am I publishing this FMCSA data? This post is meant to bring awareness to the very important topic of roadway safety. This information is not meant to suggest that the truck companies or drivers are responsible for each of the many heavy truck crashes that happened in 2014, or to determine responsibility in each of those instances.

The trucking industry and professional truck drivers are an important part of our economy. Many of those companies and their drivers operate safely and comply with traffic laws and safety regulations. But not all.

I have represented families who have been injured or lost loved ones in eighteen wheel truck crashes for years. These cases demand a detailed analysis of all available facts to evaluate causation and damages.

It is very important to gather as much information as soon as possible in order to determine and prove responsibility. I can assure you that trucking companies and their insurance companies begin to gather critical information immediately after an eighteen wheel truck crash to protect their interests. It is my belief that families should have that same protection if involved in a serious truck crash.

Eli Meir Kaplan for Home Front CommunicationsNational Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationFailure to comply with Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, speeding, driver fatigue, inadequate training, reckless driving, mechanical failures, and poor maintenance contribute to injuries and deaths on our roadways too frequently.

When trucking companies fail to meet their responsibilities, The Law Offices of John David Hart responds by aggressively seeking justice and fair compensation for losses for families and individuals who have been seriously damaged by trucking companies’ negligence and disregard for safety.

We strive to ensure that all those who share the road also share the responsibility for keeping it safe. If you or a loved one has been seriously injured in a trucking accident, please contact me at 1-800-247-1623 or johnhart@hartlaw.com for a free confidential consultation to discuss your legal rights.