There’s both good news and bad news for truck drivers. The good news? A recent Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s report found that in 2014 the number of truck accident fatalities dropped five percent. However, here is where the bad news comes in: the number of truck accident injuries when up twenty-one percent. This conflicting report has some experts scratching their heads, while others have their theories.
The decline in truck-related deaths is likely due to the number of new safety implementations automobiles and trucks have rapidly seen over the last decade. Some of these safety technologies include forward and backward collision warnings, back-up cameras, lane departure as well as ESC (“Electronic Stability Control”). ESC allows truck drivers to gain more control in the event the driver has to conduct extreme steering or maneuvers.
Another theory is that injuries could have increased due to the “34-Hour Restart Provision,” which in a nutshell meant more trucks and semis on the roads during daytime hours. Overall, crashes that occur during the day tend to have less fatalities but more bumps, fender benders and injury-related crashes.
However, truck accidents and other motor vehicle crashes create data that is not all that predictable and still somewhat random. That is why it is imperative that truck drivers and all motorists use precautions and adhere to safety standards.