Truck Fatality Figures Reach Record Lows, ATA Says

Three of the primary measures of large truck safety fell to record lows in 2006, American Trucking Associations said Friday.

The 2006 fatal crash rate for large trucks was 1.93 fatal crashes per 100 million vehicle-miles-traveled, lower than the previous record low of 1.97, set in 2002, ATA said, citing Department of Transportation figures.

The large truck-involvement rate fell to 2.12 per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, down from 2.21 a year earlier, and the fatality rate declined to 2.24, down from 2.34 in 2005, ATA said.

Transport Topics reported in December that overall truck-related fatality rate was 2.24 deaths per 100 million miles driven in 2006, down from 2005’s rate of 2.35 and the lowest rate of fatalities per mile since DOT began tracking the statistics in 1975.

TT also reported that the number of large-truck crashes in which someone was killed fell to 1.94 per 100 million miles in 2006 — down from 2.04 the previous year and also the lowest rate since 1975.

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