Truck Fatal Crash Rate Declines 1.6%, Says ATA of Federal Data
In a statement released Feb. 2, ATA said the 2013 large-truck fatality rate declined to 1.441 per 100 million miles traveled from 1.465 per 100 million miles traveled in 2012.
Likewise, the 2013 truck injury rate declined to 34.5 per 100 million miles traveled from 38.6 per 100 million miles traveled in 2012, according to ATA calculations.
“The trucking industry’s efforts to improve safety on our highways are showing results,” ATA President Bill Graves said. “While there is still much work to do, we should feel good that because of the efforts of ATA and others in the industry, our highways are safer, even as our trucks deliver more goods all across our nation.”
Although the number of large-truck fatalities increased by 20 in 2013 to 3,964, the number of large-truck miles traveled likewise increased to 275 billion in 2013 from 269 billion in 2012, according to preliminary Federal Highway Administration data released earlier this month. The truck-involved fatal and injury accident numbers came from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
It was the fourth straight yearly uptick in truck-involved deaths since hitting a low point during the recession of 3,380 in 2009. In comparison, there were 5,282 fatalities in truck-involved deaths and 140,000 injuries in 2000.
ATA said that with 2013’s fatality crash-rate decline, the fatality rate has plummeted 39.2% over the past decade. The injury rate saw a 34.2% decline over the past decade as well.
“Safety isn’t just job one for trucking, its jobs one, two, and three,” said ATA Chairman Duane Long, also chairman of Longistics, in Raleigh, North Carolina. “The commitment that carriers like mine have made to ensure that not just our drivers, but everyone on the road arrives safely, is producing results.”
