• 06
  • January
    2012

It's no secret that collisions between a car and a semi-truck are much more dangerous than crashes involving two passenger vehicles. A fully-loaded eighteen-wheeler can weigh up to 80,000 pounds, whereas the average automobile weighs a mere 5,000. The laws of physics dictate that when the two collide, the results will often be catastrophic.

Add in human variables such as driver fatigue, distracted driving, excessive speed and other negligent behavior, and you have a recipe for tragedy.

Unfortunately, this reality is playing out on highways throughout the country. New preliminary data from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) indicates that 3,675 people were killed in large truck accidents in 2010 - an 8.7 percent increase from the previous year.

An additional 19,000 people were injured, up 12 percent from 2009. Both figures include truck drivers as well as drivers and occupants of passenger vehicles.

The increase isn't reflective of highway safety as a whole. In fact, in 2010, overall highway deaths hit their lowest level since 1949.

Cause of the Increase Remains Unknown

The NHTSA says it hasn't yet figured out what is responsible for the uptick in fatal truck accidents, opening the door to speculation by industry groups and safety advocates alike.

The American Trucking Association (ATA) - the trucking industry's lobbying group - is calling for further study of the data. The ATA insists that the increase is an outlier and notes that overall truck-related fatalities have decreased over the last several years, even though there are significantly more large trucks on the road.

On the other hand, safety advocacy groups - including the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety - see the increase as a call to action for stricter oversight of the trucking industry. They are pushing for adoption of proposed Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association rules that would help reduce trucker fatigue by limiting the number of hours truck drivers could be on the road each day.

Regardless of the cause, one thing is certain - truck accidents, fatal or otherwise, damage far too many lives. Our economy needs the trucking industry, but everyone needs to do their part to ensure our roads are safe for all motorists.