In March 2019, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) released its report on commercial trucking crashes for 2017. The FMSCA issues this report to inform the public about statistics about the trucking industry, such as the number of commercial vehicles involved in crashes, the number of people injured in these incidents, and details about these injuries and fatalities.

This report provides some important insights into wrecks caused by large trucks and busses and brings to light some alarming trends in the trucking industry’s safety record during 2017. For example, fatal crashes in large truck crashes increased by 8% from 2016. In fact, there were a total of 4,761 fatalities in large truck crushes in 2017 and which includes 470 non-motorists and vehicle occupants killed (pedestrians and people on bikes). In addition, a portion of the truck drivers involved in fatal crashes, about 5%, had a blood-alcohol level of .08% or greater.

The top contributing factors to truck crashes were speeding, distracted driving, impairment (which also includes driver fatigue), and careless driving. In Texas alone, there were 649 fatalities from crashes involving large trucks in 2017, up from 558 fatalities in 2016. Texas had the most fatalities caused by large truck accidents in 2017—the next closest state being California with 361 fatalities.

As motorists, these statistics tell us that many of the fatalities and injuries caused by commercial trucking accidents could have been avoided. All too often, these crashes are caused by distracted big rig drivers, speeding, mechanical problems, carelessness, or impairment. Unfortunately, because these wrecks involve large machines traveling at high rates of speed, substantial injuries are common.

If you were injured in a truck accident then the negligent truck driver who is responsible for the crash is required to pay for your damages, which also includes your medical bills. An experienced attorney in trucking accident crashes will be able to recover compensation from the truck driver and the trucking company to cover your medical bills and other medical costs.