Fatal Trucking
Accidents
Large truck accident
fatalities are classified as occupant fatalities in
single-vehicle crashes or multiple vehicle crashes and
non–occupant fatalities. Single-vehicle fatalities,
multiple-vehicle fatalities, and non-occupant fatalities in
combination truck crashes account for 7 percent, 63 percent
and 6 percent, respectively, of all large truck fatalities. By
comparison, the portion of all large truck fatalities
associated with single-unit trucks are 2 percent, 20 percent,
and 2 percent for single vehicle, multiple-vehicle and
non-occupant fatalities, respectively.
Just over half of all large
truck accident fatalities occur on non-divided 2-lane
roadways, that is, conventional 2-lane roads with one lane in
each direction. Analysis of geometrical data was used to
analyze two-vehicle crashes involving a large truck.
The data suggest that for some
types of trucking crashes, the driver of the other
vehicle may have contributed more to the crash than did the
driver of the large truck.
A speed limit of 55 mph or higher, poor weather, and a curved
road significantly increase the odds of both a rollover and a
jackknife for large trucks. As the weight of the large truck
and its cargo increases, the odds of a rollover increase, but
the odds of a jackknife decrease.
Conversely, as the length of a
large truck increases, the odds of a rollover decrease, but
the odds of a jackknife increase.
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-30/NCSA/Rpts/2003/809-569.pdf
|
