As Bexar County residents might well imagine, truck accidents can inflict serious injury and death on victims. The federal government has compiled some statistics showing the terrible toll that truck accidents take on the nation’s drivers and passengers each year. Below is a quick summary of some of the government’s findings.
In 2014, the most recent year for which this information is available, nearly 4,000 large trucks and buses were involved in deadly crashes. Although this represents a decrease from the prior year, there had previously been a steadily increasing number of fatal crashes from 2009 to 2013. As for buses, among all fatal crashes involving buses, 41 percent of these involved school buses, 33 percent of these involved transit buses and 13 percent of these involved intercity buses.
As for crashes with injuries but no deaths, the number increased a staggering 55 percent between 2009 and 2014. Between 2013 and 2014, the number of large trucks involved on these crashes increased from 73,000 to 88,000, a 21 percent jump. Finally, for large truck crashes with property damage but no deaths, the number of these increased to 346,000 from 265,000 between 2013 and 2014. This represents a 29 percent increase.
The large size and mass of trucks means that truck drivers must take precautions to avoid a collision. If negligence by a truck driver or truck company contributes to a truck accident, either or both of those parties may be liable for any resulting injuries and related accident expenses. People who have suffered injury in a truck accident should investigate their legal options for getting compensation.
Source: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, “Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts 2014,” accessed on May 1, 2016
