Every day, you share the road with a variety of other vehicles. If you travel on state highways or interstates, you will notice there are a lot of large trucks.
Large trucks haul goods and materials all across the country, so they spend a lot of time on the roads. Because of their large presence, they are also, unfortunately, involved in many accidents. Typically, when an accident involving a truck and other vehicles occurs, it is the people in the smaller vehicles who are most at risk for serious injury or death.
Statistics about victims in crashes
The National Safety Council reported that in 2021, deaths in accidents involving large trucks increased by 47 percent from the previous year. However, the statistic is a bit off due to the unusual circumstances of 2020, which caused a great decrease in traffic on the roads.
In those crashes, fatalities were largely people in the other vehicles. Only 17 percent of deaths were the truck drivers.
Furthermore, injuries in large truck accidents occurred to the occupants in other vehicles most of the time. The percentage was 71 percent other vehicle passengers and only 27 percent being truck occupants.
Reasons for the statistics
The main reason why the occupants in other vehicles involved in truck accidents are more likely to suffer injuries or death is due to the size difference between trucks and passenger vehicles. The large size of the truck protects the driver while it poses a serious threat to a smaller vehicle. The main message when it comes to truck accidents is that drivers have more responsibility because the chances are good they will harm someone else if they cause an accident.
