DOT: Fatalities, Crashes Declined in 1999
The number of crashes involving trucks took another dive during 1999 as the industry improved its safety record for the second year in the row, according to preliminary statistics from the Department of Transportation.
Federal figures released April 3 showed truck-involved accidents fell from 412,000 in 1998 to 394,000 in 1999, a 4.3% decline. It marks the lowest count since 1996, when 395,000 such accidents were reported.
Of the 1999 crashes, 4,463 resulted in one or more fatalities — a 2% decline from the 4,561 fatal crashes in the previous year. However, truck crashes resulting in injuries increased 1% to 90,000 in 1999 from 89,000 in 1998. The number of crashes resulting in property damage declined to 304,000 last year, compared with 318,000 in 1998.
The statistics come a month after the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced that the number of truck-related fatalities declined about 3%, from 5,374 in 1998 to 5,203 in 1999 ("Truck Safety Gaining, Cirillo Tells Hill Panel," 3-6, p. 1).
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