Opinion: Truck Driver Fault: What Are the Odds?

By Rob Abbott

Vice President of Safety Policy

American Trucking Associations

This Opinion piece appears in the April 22 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today.

American Trucking Associations recently released a report citing numerous studies showing that passenger vehicle (car) drivers are principally responsible for between 70% and 75% of fatal car-truck crashes.

Some advocacy organizations and special interest groups took strong exception to ATA’s report, saying its conclusions lack “scientific basis.” Aside from evaluating the merits of the research ATA cited in its report, the question of whether or not ATA’s claim is valid can be answered by the laws of probability. In other words, knowing what we do about the demographics of the trucking industry and the factors involved in most fatal crashes, we can easily determine the likely odds of a truck driver being responsible for a fatal car-truck crash.

Here are some things to consider:

• Alcohol Use — Sadly, 31% of all traffic fatalities result from crashes involving a driver who was impaired by alcohol (>.08 blood alcohol content). However, truck drivers are rarely the ones responsible for these crashes. In only 2% of fatal truck crashes was the truck driver alcohol-impaired. Conversely, car drivers were impaired in more than 20% of all fatal crashes. Consider also that only two-tenths of 1% of all random alcohol tests administered to truck drivers reflect an alcohol violation.

• Driver Age — Both younger drivers (<20 years old) and older drivers (70+) have higher fatal crash rates than middle-age drivers. Members of neither group typically drive trucks, however. The minimum age to operate a truck in interstate commerce is 21, and most truck drivers retire by age 70, if not sooner. In fact, the average age for truck drivers is 48, well within the group of drivers that are the least crash-prone.

• Driving Record — One of the best predictors of future crash risk is past driving behavior. For instance, drivers convicted of certain moving violations are far more likely to be involved in a future crash. For this reason, most trucking companies refuse to hire applicants who have been convicted of multiple moving violations.

Also, federal regulations outright prohibit individuals who have been convicted of certain egregious moving violations from driving a truck. But the standard for driving a car is much lower. In fact, tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of people who drive cars don’t meet the minimum standards to drive trucks. Not surprisingly, a car driver is twice as likely to have a previous license suspension than a truck driver.

Those still not convinced that truck drivers are far less likely to be responsible for a fatal car-truck crash should look more closely at the nature of these crashes. For instance:

• In 85% of fatal head-on collisions between a large truck and a car, the car crossed the center median into the truck’s lane of travel.

• In 80% of rear-end collisions involving a large truck and a car resulting in a fatality, the passenger vehicle rear-ended the truck.

Though one can’t definitively conclude fault in each of these crashes from their descriptions, the likely cause in the vast majority of them is quite obvious to most.

Other clues: Car drivers are far more likely than truck drivers to be involved in single-vehicle crashes. In 2010, 60% of fatal car crashes were single-vehicle crashes, compared with only 19% of fatal truck crashes. In addition, trucks have an overall crash rate per million miles less than half that of all vehicles combined.

Anyone who has driven on a congested interstate lately can attest to the fact that there are many bad drivers on the road. But what does this tell us? Car drivers are more prone to engage in risky behavior. As a result, they sometimes strike fixed objects and sometimes strike other vehicles — including trucks.

Looking past the statistics, a glimpse at industry standards provides more compelling evidence that truck drivers are safer. In addition to meeting minimum standards with respect to age and moving violations, truck drivers must meet a host of medical qualification requirements, be examined at least biennially and submit to random drug and alcohol tests. Again, the bar is set much lower for car drivers.

Many car drivers simply don’t meet the minimum physical requirements to drive a truck. For example, an individual who is blind in one eye, missing a hand or suffers from any number of other physical limitations would be allowed to drive a car in most states but would not be permitted to drive a truck.

In addition to holding their drivers to higher standards, trucking companies employ stricter requirements for their vehicles. For example, truck drivers are required to conduct safety inspections of their vehicles twice each day. In contrast, car drivers rarely take the time to walk around their vehicles to inspect the lights and tires, let alone twice a day.

Also, consider that many trucking companies set the electronic control modules on their trucks to limit the top speed at which they may be operated, usually 65 mph or less. Maximum car speed is typically limited only by its mechanical capability, which is almost always well above the highest maximum speed limit on any roadway in the country.

While some attempt to dispute the many studies cited in ATA’s recent publication on crash responsibility, the conclusion that car drivers are responsible for the majority of fatal car-truck crashes simply makes sense.

As ATA concluded based on a review of multiple large-scale, in-depth crash investigation studies, the preponderance of evidence demonstrates that car drivers are primarily responsible for approximately 70% of fatal car-truck crashes.

These research findings have been replicated repeatedly and are consistent with what we know about the demographics of the trucking industry, the nature of truck crashes and the factors that lead to them.

In other words, for trucks to instead be responsible for a majority of these crashes — as some have contended — would be entirely inconsistent with the preponderance of research evidence and, moreover, would simply defy the odds.

American Trucking Associations, the largest national trade federation for the trucking industry, has headquarters in Arlington, Va., and affiliated associations in every state. ATA owns Transport Topics Publishing Group.