41,059 people died in motor vehicle crashes in 2007. 4,602 of them died in large truck crashes.
http://www.iihs.org/research/fatality_facts_2007/largetrucks.html
Based on the number of large trucks on the road and on the amount they travel, large trucks (tractor-trailers, single-unit trucks, and some cargo vans weighing more than 10,000 pounds) account for more than their share of highway deaths. Large trucks have higher fatal crash rates per mile traveled than passenger vehicles, although a higher percentage of large truck travel occurs on interstates, the safest roads.
Most deaths in large truck crashes are passenger vehicle occupants rather than occupants of large trucks. The main problem is the vulnerability of people traveling in smaller vehicles.
Trucks often weigh 20-30 times as much as passenger cars, and are taller with greater ground clearance.
Truck braking capability can be a factor in truck crashes. Loaded tractor-trailers take 20-40 percent farther than cars to stop, and the discrepancy is greater when trailers are empty, on wet and slippery roads, or with poorly maintained brakes.1 Truck driver fatigue also is a known crash risk. Drivers of large trucks are allowed by federal hours-of-service regulations to drive up to 11 hours at a stretch and up to 77 hours over a 7-day period. Surveys indicate that many drivers violate the regulations and work longer than permitted.
A total of 4,602 people died in large truck crashes in 2007. Sixteen percent of these deaths were truck occupants, 70 percent were occupants of cars and other passenger vehicles, and 12 percent were pedestrians, bicyclists, or motorcyclists. Large truck crash deaths have declined 30 percent overall since 1979, when they were at an all-time high. There has been a greater percentage decline among occupants of large trucks (46 percent) than among occupants of passenger vehicles (24 percent).
Occupant deaths in two-vehicle crashes involving a large truck and a passenger vehicle, 2007
Occupant type Deaths %
Passenger vehicle occupants 2,494 97
Large truck occupants 78 3
All occupant deaths 2,572 100
Large trucks accounted for 4 percent of registered vehicles and 7 percent of miles traveled in 2007.5 Eleven percent of motor vehicle crash deaths in 2007 occurred in large truck crashes.
Percentage of motor vehicle crash deaths occuring in large truck crashes and other crashes, 2007
Crash type Deaths %
Large truck crashes 4,602 11
Other crashes 36,457 89
All crashes 41,059 100
Comments: 2
2 Comments
Best travel review websites
July 6, 2010 at 12:39 PM
I bealive the bigger the safer. Anyway a bigger truck needs always a good driver.
Jan
July 6, 2010 at 4:28 PM
Here in Australia trucks and semi-trailers are too often involved in our road deaths. One of the reasons is that the drivers are subjected to long hours driving with short time spans to get the goods from one city to another. Tiredness plays a big part in some incidents.
Did you know that the University of SA in Adelaide, has done a lot of research on the effects of driver fatigue and they have concluded that driving while tired is similar to driving while under the influence of alcohol. Scary stuff to remember when you are diving on the freeway between Brisbane and Sydney and you have a big b-double sitting on your bumper bar!
Leave a comment