Truck Driving Stats and Facts

FACTS

  1. Most accidents occur during the day — between noon and 3 PM.
  2. Injuries in a truck accident are often severe because of their enormous size and weight. Severe injuries may include broken bones, back and neck injuries, head trauma, internal bleeding, spinal cord damage, and whiplash injury.
  3. Truck accident statistics show that among the top reasons for truck accidents are driver’s fatigue and inexperience. Because these vehicles are not simple to operate, truck drivers need to be experienced and well-rested before they hit the road to ensure safe vehicle operation and maximum control.
  4. When carrying hazardous cargo like flammable liquids, it is crucial to drive safely and cautiously. These are liquids that ignite, burn and thus catch on fire easily. Therefore, the risk of truck fatality is high in a collision for a trucker carrying hazardous cargo because it is likely to explode or catch fire.

STATS

  • 1 out of every 6 American workers killed on the job is a tractor-trailer truck driver.
  • In 2017 alone, 840 tractor-trailer truck drivers were killed while working.
  • Tractor-trailer drivers have the highest number of nonfatal injuries and illnesses that require days off from work across all occupations.
  • One person is injured or killed in a truck accident every 16 minutes.
  • Results showed that 26.3 percent of the injuries reported by truck drivers were to their arms, while 21.1 percent were neck- or back-related. The most common types of injuries were sprains and strains (60 percent) and fractures (11 percent). Drivers most often were injured because of a fall (38.9 percent) or contact with an object or equipment (33.7 percent). Of those injured, 53 percent required time away from work.
  • According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, long-haul truck drivers experience injuries and illnesses that involve days away from work at a rate of 355.4 incidents per 10,000 full-time workers, which is more than double those of other hazardous professions, such as construction and extraction (168.9) and farming, fishing and forestry (147.8).
  • 74% of all fatal passenger vehicle cases include a large truck.
  • Approximately 130,000 people suffer from injuries in truck accidents.