Large Truck Crashes on the Rise
The number of large truck crashes causing injury in the United States continues to grow, according to a recent analysis by Statista. The data, culled from NHTSA, covers a two-decade period from 2001 to 2020.
In 2001, there were 90,000 large truck crashes where people were injured. In 2020, there 107,000. While that is a significant rise, the crashes actually dropped from 2019 to 2020. In 2019, there were 119,000 crashes, and the dip is attributed to reduced traffic on the roads due to the global pandemic.
In a related report, the number of fatal large truck crashes also increased. There was a 17 percent increase from 4,842 deaths in 2020 to 5,788 in 2021. After a low point of 3,211 in 2009, numbers generally increased over roughly two decades.
Statista also reported on data from road accidents, noting that the U.S. has some of the busiest roads with almost 284 million vehicles in operation. This amount of traffic can lead to more road accidents, and in 2019, 12.5 million vehicles were involved in crashes. The U.S. also has among the highest traffic-related fatalities per population. In 2019, the rate of traffic deaths was 1.11 per 100 million vehicle miles traveled. As the country reopened following the COVID-19 pandemic, crash-related deaths began to increase year over year.
If you have been injured in a road accident and suspect that it was due to negligence on the part of the other driver, a road flaw, or product malfunction in your vehicle, you might want to consider contacting a top trucking accident law firm to discuss your legal options. We are here to help you.