The National Safety Council’s recent analysis, drawing on data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, has brought to light a worrying trend in the United States. Despite their crucial role in fueling the economy, semi-trucks are increasingly becoming agents of danger on roads in Georgia and beyond.
In 2021, there was a stark 18% jump in the number of large trucks involved in fatal accidents compared to the year before. This increase is not just a one-off due to COVID-19; it represents a 49% surge since 2010. Large trucks may only represent a fraction of the total vehicles on the road, but their involvement in deadly crashes is disproportionately high.
Collisions involving large trucks also up
Injury collisions are no different, with an unsettling 12% increase in large truck involvement from 2020 to 2021. Over five years, the rise is even more pronounced at 15%. These numbers translate to real-world results: more accidents per mile traveled by these large vehicles.
The human cost is significant, with nearly 5,800 lives lost in 2021 in accidents involving large trucks—a 17% increase from the previous year. The majority of these fatalities were not truck drivers but rather passengers in other vehicles, highlighting the broader risk these trucks can pose to the general public in private cars.
Insights into truck-crash patterns
Diving deeper into the data reveals patterns that might be unexpected to some:
- 63% of crashes were during the day
- Over half of fatal semi-truck crashes occurred on rural roads, and one-quarter were on interstates.
- 6% were in construction zones.
- February had the fewest fatal crashes, and September had the most.
Maybe this data is not a surprise
These statistics highlight the pressing need to make our roads safer. Safety technology will undoubtedly become a growing factor in truck safety. However, victims still need to hold the truck lines, drivers, parts and vehicle manufacturers and municipalities with poorly designed roads accountable for making the roads more dangerous. Injury attorneys work on contingency, which means you pay their fees when you get damages, and can help hold the negligent accountable.