Most Truck Crashes Occur During Daytime, Data Provider Vigillo Says
A two-year compilation of federal crash data shows that most fatal, injury and tow-away truck-involved crashes occur during daytime hours, peaking from about 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., according to Data-analytics provider Vigillo.
The numbers also suggest that truck-involved crashes peaked during the snowy and icy winter months in late 2013 and early 2014, and also were high during late 2014 and early 2015, Vigillo CEO Steven Bryan said.
The Vigillo crash data, released June 11, was taken from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Motor Carrier Management Information System. The data covered from March 2013 to March 2015.
The MCMIS contains FMCSA inspection, crash, compliance review, safety audit, and registration data.
“Truly, the crashes are happening during the daylight hours when all the cars are on the road,” Bryan told Transport Topics.
He said the numbers would seem to support safety concerns raised by some motor carriers and trucking trade groups, including American Trucking Associations, that FMCSA’s hours-of-service 34-hour restart provision, temporarily suspended by Congress, dumps a large number of trucks on the road during busy traffic times, beginning early Monday morning.
However, Bryan said the numbers do not necessarily prove the contention that the 34-hour restart rule plays a significant role in truck driver fatigue.
“But what we really ought to be encouraging, perhaps, is when it’s feasible to move more of the truck traffic into the nonpeak hours, the late evening and early morning,” Bryan said.
