Crashes

This chapter contains information on the circumstances of large truck crashes. Below is a summary of some of the information in this section:

• Of the 409,000 police-reported crashes involving large trucks in 2001, 4,431 (1 percent) resulted in at least one fatality, and 86,000 (21 percent) resulted in at least one nonfatal injury.
• Single-vehicle crashes made up 18 percent of all fatal crashes, 17 percent of all injury crashes, and 25 percent of all property damage only crashes involving large trucks.
• Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of all fatal crashes involving large trucks occurred on rural roads, and nearly one-fourth (24 percent) occurred on Interstate highways.
• Nearly one-third (31 percent) of all fatal crashes and nearly one-fifth (19 percent) of all property damage only crashes involving large trucks occurred at night.

• The vast majority of fatal crashes (85 percent) and of nonfatal crashes (88 percent) involving large trucks occurred on weekdays (Monday through Friday).
• Collision with a vehicle in transport was the first harmful event in 77 percent of fatal crashes involving large trucks.
• Rollover was the first harmful event in only 4 percent of all fatal crashes involving large trucks and in only 3 percent of all nonfatal crashes involving large trucks.