The Attorneys You Need When It Matters Most

2014 truck accident statistics have been released

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has released a report showing that the number of trucks involved in fatal accidents around the country in 2014 declined by 5 percent from the previous year. This is good news for Oklahoma travelers and truck drivers alike.

However, a more sobering statistic from the same report shows that in that same year, the number of injuries sustained in accidents involving trucks increased by more than 21 percent from 2013. There are a few thoughts on why this seeming anomaly has occurred.

A FMSCA spokesperson attributed the discrepancy to the advent of safety technology such as automatic braking and forward crash warnings. This could have made many rear-end collisions result in injuries that in the past would not have been survivable. A transportation researcher believes that federal trucking regulations designed to keep fatigued drivers off of the road in the middle of the night has led to more trucks being in use during morning rush hours, where the congestion could lead to more accidents but the attendant lower speeds could result in fatalities being less likely.

Whatever their cause, truck accidents have the potential to incur serious and catastrophic injuries to occupants of other vehicles that are involved in the crash. The size and weight of big rigs dwarfs that of passenger cars. Many of these accidents are the result of a truck driver being distracted by a cellphone, being fatigued or driving too fast for weather and road conditions. When that is the case, an injured victim may want to have legal help in attempting to obtain conversation from the negligent trucker.