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Truck Accidents - Just how dangerous are truck accidents?
- Fact: One out of nine traffic fatalities in 2002 resulted from a collision involving a large truck.
- Fact: Of the fatalities that resulted from crashes involving large trucks, 79 percent were occupants of another vehicle, 7 percent were nonoccupants, and 14 percent were occupants of a large truck.
Moreover, a new study released by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration concluded that driver behavior causes most truck crashes. Drivers of large trucks and other vehicles involved in truck crashes are ten times more likely to be the cause of the crash than other factors, such as weather, road conditions, and vehicle performance according to a new study released by FMCSA.
The Large Truck Crash Causation Study was commissioned by FMCSA to review the causes of, and contributing factors to, crashes involving commercial motor vehicles. While previous data focused on specific crashes and/or individual causes of crashes, this study was the first nation-wide examination of all pre-crash factors.
"This study makes it clear that we need to spend more time addressing driver behavior, as well as making sure trucks and buses are fit for the road," FMCSA Administrator Annette M. Sandberg said. "The multitude of data now available will allow us to analyze specific areas of behavior and work with our industry and safety partners to develop an agenda on driver safety that will improve commercial motor vehicle driver performance."
FMCSA will conduct analysis to further examine driver factors such as use of prescription and over-the-counter drugs, speeding, fatigue, inattention, distractions, work environment, and unfamiliarity with the road.
The study, conducted with the help of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, investigated a national sample of fatal and injury crashes between April 2001 and December 2003 at 24 sites in 17 states. Each crash involved at least one large truck and resulted in at least one fatality or injury. The total sample of 967 crashes included 1,127 large trucks, 959 non-truck motor vehicles, 251 fatalities, and 1,408 injuries. Action or inaction by the driver of either the truck or other vehicle was the critical reason for 88 percent of the crashes.
The data offer unprecedented detail about the events surrounding truck crashes that are not available anywhere else. The study database eventually will be available to the public to encourage further analysis and increase the knowledge about large truck crash factors.
Large trucks are much more likely to be involved in a fatal multiple-vehicle crash — as opposed to a fatal single-vehicle crash — than are passenger vehicles (84 percent of all large trucks involved in fatal crashes, compared with 61 percent of all passenger vehicles). In 29 percent of the two-vehicle fatal crashes involving a large truck and another type of vehicle, both vehicles were impacted in the front. The truck was struck in the rear nearly 2.5 times as often as the other vehicle (17 percent and 7 percent, respectively).
As a result of their sheer size, truck accidents often end in fatalities, or serious permanent injuries. Trucking companies and their insurance companies usually offer little help to the victims of a truck accident. Truck accident lawsuits are very expensive for both the victim and the company involved and often the truck company will hire teams of lawyers, accident reconstructionists and expert witnesses to limit their exposure. An experienced lawyer can help level the playing field against a large trucking company or corporate defendant. If you have been injured in a truck accident due to the carelessness or negligence of another, you may be entitled to monetary compensation. For a free review of your tractor accident claim please fill out the form below. A personal injury lawyer will review your claim and may contact you to discuss your legal rights. There is no charge or obligation for this free evaluation.
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