Top Causes of Truck Accidents in the United States

 Posted on January 16, 2019 in Blog Post

In 2016, there were nearly 12.5 million large trucks registered in the United States, accounting for billions of vehicle miles traveled. Unfortunately, accidents involving large trucks accounted for around 13 percent of all fatal traffic accidents in the United States. What is even worse, is that even when truck drivers are at fault for accidents, 8 out of 10 people killed in crashes involving large trucks are people who were riding in the other vehicle. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is dedicated to understanding the causes of accidents involving commercial motor vehicles and putting measures into place to prevent them. The FMCSA, along with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), has determined a few top causes of commercial truck accidents in the United States.

Critical Reasons and Critical Events of Truck Accidents

There are two different causation variables for truck accidents: critical reasons and critical events. Critical events are the actions or events that put the vehicle into a situation in which a collision is unavoidable. Critical reasons are the immediate reason which caused the critical event. There are three types of critical events that were assigned to trucks:

• Running out of the travel lane;
• Loss of control of the vehicle; and
• Colliding with the rear end of another vehicle.

There are also three types of critical reasons that are assigned to truck accidents, which include driver errors, vehicle failures, and environmental conditions. Driver errors are by far the most commonly cited critical reason, accounting for 87 percent of truck crashes.

Associated Factors

Along with the critical reasons and events that lead up to a crash, there are also several factors that are recorded that are present during crashes. It is not assumed whether or not these factors contributed to the crash, but only that they were present at the time of the crash. Associated factors include:

• Brake problems;
• Traffic congestion;
• Speeding;
• Drug use; and
• Fatigue.

A Glenview Truck Accident Attorney Can Help

Most accidents that involve a large truck result in injury or death to the occupants of the other vehicle -- not the truck driver himself. This is because trucks are so much larger than other vehicles and can do so much more damage. If you have been injured in an accident involving a truck or a loved one has been killed in a truck accident, you need help from a Park Ridge, IL truck accident lawyer. At the Quinn Law Group, LLC, we understand how devastating accidents involving large trucks can be. Contact us today to see if we can help you claim rightful compensation. Call our office at 847-232-7180 today to schedule a free consultation.

Sources:

https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safety/research-and-analysis/large-truck-crash-causation-study-analysis-brief

https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/ourroads/large-trucks-and-buses-numbers