Maryland Truck Accident Law Firm

Truck Accident Statistics

In 2008, there were 255,917,664 registered passenger vehicles in the U.S. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), there were 10,873,275 registered large trucks that same year. These numbers, though they may vary slightly year-to-year, are likely very similar today as in 2008. Based on these numbers, there are still significantly less large commercial trucks on the road than passenger cars. Because of this, truck accidents do not occur as often as passenger vehicle accidents. While they may not happen as often, big rig accidents in Maryland are much more likely to cause serious injuries or fatalities.

National Truck Crash Statistics

NHTSA

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) includes the following as "large trucks:" step vans, single unit trucks, single unit heavy trucks (with a gross vehicle weight rating, GVWR, of more than 26,000 pounds), truck tractors, medium/heavy pickup trucks (such as Ford Super Duty 450/550), and any other heavy or large truck type. According to the NHTSA, a total of 296,000 large trucks were involved in accidents in 2009. Of these:

• 3,215 were involved in fatal accidents;
• 53,000 were involved in injury accidents;
• 239,000 were involved in property damage only;
• 10,000 were involved in rollover accidents (422 were fatal and most involved combination trucks);
• 2,000 were involved in vehicle fires; and
• 4,000 were involved in jackknife crashes.

FMCSA

The FMCSA defines a large truck as one with a GVWR of more than 10,000 pounds. Additional large truck crash statistics from the FMCSA find that:

Since 2005, the number of registered large trucks has increased annually, reaching almost 11 million in 2009;

The number of fatal large truck crashes has decreased yearly from 2005 through 2009;

In 2009, there were 2,987 fatal large truck accidents, the lowest number since at least 1975, which had 3,722;

3,054 people were killed in large truck accidents in 2009. Most were occupants of passenger cars;

326 non-motorists were killed in fatal truck crashes in 2009; and

11,000 injury truck accidents occurred at intersections in 2009.

Maryland Large Truck Accident Statistics

According to the NHTSA, there were 547 motor vehicle accident fatalities in Maryland in 2009. Of these, 48 were killed in crashes involving large trucks. In 2008, there were a total of 591 traffic accident fatalities, 52 of which were caused by large truck accidents.

Obtaining Justice after a Maryland Semi Truck Crash

There are measures that motorists can take to avoid becoming a crash statistic, such as driving defensively and attentively; however, no amount of preventative measures can protect you from every accident situation. Sustaining an injury in a truck crash, or losing a loved one in a wrongful death truck accident, can have significant consequences for the victim and their family. If you have been involved in a Maryland truck crash caused by the negligence of a truck driver, trucking company, or truck manufacturer, you may be entitled to compensation. Contact the experienced Anne Arundel County truck accident injury attorneys at Alpert Schreyer to learn more about your legal rights and options at 1 (800) 489-1577.