Large Truck Crash Rates Keep Going Up: New FMCSA Crash Factors Study
Congress first demanded that the Department of Transportation study large, commercial truck accidents (i.e., semis, big rigs, 18-wheelers, tractor-trailer trucks) over twenty years ago, when a federal law was passed requiring a “comprehensive large truck crash causation study” (LTCCS) be conducted. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) undertook the task, with its resulting study being published in 2006.
Go here to read the original FMCSA Comprehensive Large Truck Crash Causation Study (LTCCS-2006).
It was described as the first national study to determine the reasons and associated factors contributing to serious large-truck crashes. LTCCS-2006, page 3. One of its major conclusions is that in most large truck crashes where the “critical reason” for the accident was the truck, the cause of the crash was the truck driver (i.e., “driver-related action or inaction.”)
2020: New Comprehensive Large Truck Crash Causation Study
Now, FMCSA wants to undertake a new large truck crash study, to be called the “Large Truck Crash Causal Factors Study.” Federal Register Doc. 2020–00557 Filed 1–14–20; Docket No. FMCSA–2019–0277.
The public is invited to comment on this proposal on or before March 16, 2020 (details here).
1. Changes over Time in Trucking
FMCSA explains the need for a new study lies in the “… many changes in technology, vehicle safety, driver behavior and roadway design [that] have occurred that effect how a driver performs.” Things have changed for commercial truck drivers and the trucking industry since the mid-2000s.
Among these changes, FMCSA points to: truck drivers’ cell phones; changes in the level of truck driver restraint use; the advent of in-cab navigation and fleet management systems; and new safety equipment such as automatic emergency braking (AEB) systems.
2. Rising Fatal Crash Statistics
However, the key factor for undertaking this new research is the reality that the number of fatal large truck crashes is rising. FMCSA data shows that “[s]ince 2009, fatal crashes involving large trucks have steadily increased to 4,415 fatal crashes in 2018, a 52.6 percent increase when compared to 2009. Over the last three years (2016-2018), fatal crashes involving large trucks increased 5.7 percent.”
Goals of the New Federal Large Truck Crash Study
FMCSA wants to pinpoint the reasons for the 52.6% increase in fatal large truck crashes, as well as the increase in bodily injury and property damage only (PDO) truck crashes. Its research will also provide “a baseline of large truck crash factors to help guide mitigating crash avoidance strategies to prevent future crashes….”
Another goal will be to assess how a driving automation system can help reduce large truck crash risk and how best to incorporate “Automated Driving Systems” (ADS) into commercial motor vehicles.
How Great is the Danger of a Fatal Large Truck Crash?
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), an independent, nonprofit organization working with the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) to research with the goal of reducing motor vehicle crashes, the danger is high – and looks to be increasing – for a fatal semi-truck, big rig, tractor-trailer, or 18-wheeler crash.
The IIHS data shows the following (2018 data):
- The number of deaths resulting from large commercial truck accidents was 31% higher than nine years earlier (2009).
- The number of truck occupants who died in a fatal truck crash was 51% higher than nine years earlier (2009).
- Almost every person who died (96%) in a truck crash where there was a collision between a passenger vehicle and a large truck was an occupant of the passenger vehicle.
- Fatal large truck crashes made up 11% of all fatal motor vehicle crash deaths in 2018.
- Tractor-trailers were involved in the most fatal large truck crashes (74%).
- Most truck drivers and large truck occupants who died in a truck crash (62%) were killed in a crash involving two large trucks.
- Interstates and freeways saw 33% of the fatal truck crashes, and 14% occurred on minor roads, with over half (52%) of the fatal large truck crashes happening on major roads other than interstates and freeways.
- Most people died in a fatal large truck crash (50%) during the daytime, between six o’clock in the morning and three o’clock in the afternoon (6 a.m. to 3 p.m.).
- Fatal large truck crashes are least likely to happen on a weekend, with 16% of large truck crash occurring on Saturday and Sunday.
Extreme Danger for Fatal Large Truck Crashes in Indiana and Illinois
The FMCSA study, as well as the IIHS data, comes with a national focus. However, when the perspective changes to individual states, things change.
For those of us living and working here in Indiana and Illinois, the reality is that there is much more commercial truck traffic on our roadways than in other parts of the country. With that increase comes an increased likelihood of being involved in a deadly semi-truck crash.
Why? We drive alongside these large commercial trucks in what is known as the “Crossroads of America.” It is a nickname originally given to the Hoosier State, which is geographically located within a day’s drive of 80% of both the United States and Canadian populations.
Consider this:
- According to the Indiana Department of Transportation, every year 724,000,000 tons of freight travels though Indiana, and this number is expected to jump 60% in the next two decades.
- Illinois enjoys a similar economic boost from commercial trucking, with Chicago alone having over 925,000,000 tons of freight moving through its metropolitan area each year.
For anyone driving the roadways of Indiana and Illinois, the risk of a collision involving a large truck carrying freight is much, much higher than it is in other areas of the nation. This is true both for truck drivers as well as occupants of other motor vehicles riding alongside the semi-truck, big rig, 18-wheeler, or tractor-trailer truck.
For more on serious or fatal semi-truck crashes, read:
- Federal Truck Driver Training Law Halted: The Danger of Inadequately or Improperly Trained Truckers Remains;
- FMCSA Intensifies Efforts to Stop Drugged Driving by Truckers: Random Drug Testing of Commercial Truck Drivers Jumps to 50% in 2020; and
- New Insurance Act Will Increase 40 Year Old Insurance Coverage Minimums in Truck Crashes.
The rising trend of commercial truck crash fatalities must be recognized by everyone driving on Illinois and Indiana roads. For those who are victims of a serious or fatal large truck crash, there are state laws in place to help the truck crash victim and his or her loved ones in seeking justice in its aftermath. Please be careful out there!
