Truck-Involved Fatalities Drop 12.3% in 2008

The rate of truck-involved fatalities in the United States dropped 12.3% in 2008 to a record low, American Trucking Associations said Wednesday.

The figure fell to 1.86 fatalities per 100 million miles, the lowest since records began in 1975, from 2.12 per 100 million miles in 2007, ATA said in a statement.

ATA calculated the figures based upon vehicle miles traveled data recently released from the Federal Highway Administration and crash data previously released by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.

The drop is the largest year-to-year drop on record and the fifth consecutive drop in the annual rate.

Injuries from truck-involved crashes fell 11% to 39.6 per 100 million miles, from 44.4 per 100 million miles in 2007, the association said.

ATA attributes the declines to the hours-of-service regulations that took effect in 2005. The truck-involve fatality rate fell more than 20% since that year.