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Email UsAccording to the World Health Organization, it is expected that by 2030, motor vehicle accidents (including semi-trucks, motorcycles, and automobiles) will be the fifth-leading cause of death in the United States.
Trucks.com reported that in 2017, deaths from semi-truck collisions reached the highest rate in 29 years even though the overall traffic fatality rate declined. In 2017, 4,761 people died in semi-truck accidents, with about 72 percent of the fatalities being individuals in smaller vehicles.
When an 80,000-pound, fully loaded semi-truck collides with a 3,500-pound passenger vehicle, people in the passenger vehicle are likely to be catastrophically or fatally injured.
What Trucking Accident Statistics Say About Crashes
According to the FMCSA, some of the more shocking truck accident statistics for 2017 include the following:
- While a passenger vehicle requires about 306 feet to stop after braking, a tractor-trailer requires about 525 feet—greater than the length of a football field. The faster a vehicle is traveling, the longer it takes to stop.
- About 57 percent of semi-truck accidents resulting in fatalities occurred in rural areas, with the majority of fatal truck crashes (83 percent) and non-fatal truck crashes (88 percent) occurring on weekdays.
- Thirty percent of fatal work zone crashes involved a large truck.
- Fatigue, drug and alcohol impairment, and excess speed were the primary factors in truck crashes.
- In almost 30 percent of large truck accidents, the truck driver lost control due to one of the following events: exceeding the speed limit, cargo shifting, poor road conditions and failures involving vehicle systems.
- Almost a full third of truck accidents were caused by a large truck traveling out of its lane.
- Nearly a third of large trucks were found to have brake problems.
- Nineteen percent of truck drivers surveyed said they were unfamiliar with their routes.
- About five percent of the truck drivers were driving in an aggressive manner at the time of the collision.
- The expenses caused by semi-truck accidents are astronomical, reaching roughly $20 billion in settlements for 2017. Half of the settlements were awarded to victims who suffered catastrophic injuries.
Have You Been Injured in a New Jersey Trucking Accident?
If you or a loved one suffered harm in an accident with a large commercial truck in New Jersey, we may be able to help. Truck accident survivors or their family members can benefit from speaking with an experienced New Jersey trucking accident attorney. However, it is important to contact an attorney as soon as possible after the accident to preserve crucial evidence.
After a devastating trucking accident in New Jersey, call the Vineland, New Jersey trucking accident attorneys at Rosner Law Offices, P.C. for a free initial consultation and review of your potential case. Contact us at (856) 502-1655 or fill out our confidential contact form. Our office is conveniently located in Vineland, New Jersey, and we are ready to help you through this difficult time.