According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there were more than 1,370 vehicles involved in fatal crashes in Tennessee during 2012. More than 100 of the vehicles involved in these incidents were large trucks, accounting for under 8 percent of the total. The number of large trucks in fatal accidents within Tennessee only accounted for less than 3 percent of the country’s total. Nationwide, there were more than 45,600 fatal motor vehicle accidents reported during 2012.
Large trucks accounted for more than 8 percent of the nation’s fatal accidents in that year. Almost 4,000 people were killed and over 100,000 suffered injuries in an accident involving a large truck. The NHTSA notes that there were more than 330,000 large trucks involved in traffic accidents during 2012. More than 80 percent of the fatal accidents involving large trucks were multi-vehicle crashes.
Multi-vehicle crashes accounted for less than 60 percent of the fatal accidents only involving passenger vehicles. Researchers also found that large trucks were over three times as likely to be involved in a fatal rear-end collision than passenger vehicles. More than 30 percent of the fatal crashes involving a large truck and one other vehicle resulted in damage being inflicted on both front-ends. In over 45 percent of the fatal accidents, a large truck and another vehicle were heading in a straight direction when the incident occurred.
Anyone who has suffered an injury in a large truck accident might benefit from consulting a lawyer. Legal counsel may be able to investigate the crash and determine who may be held accountable for the ensuing damages. Plaintiffs in these cases are often entitled to receive restitution that can help compensate for medical costs, repair expenses, loss of income and other hardships caused by the accident.
Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “Large Trucks”, accessed on Feb. 4, 2015