Trucking Industry Marks Double Digit Drop in Fatal Crash Rate

1/21/2004

From: Mike Russell of the American Trucking Association, 703-838-7935

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 21 -- New statistics released today by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) show continued major improvement in highway safety for the nation's trucking industry.

According to DOT, the new fatal crash rate for large trucks is 1.9 fatal crashes per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT), an 11 percent reduction from the previous year. This puts the rate at its lowest point since the U.S. Department of Transportation began keeping large truck safety records in 1975.

"The trucking industry and our drivers continue to work hard every mile, every day to make our highways safer," said Bill Graves, President and CEO of the American Trucking Associations (ATA). "Their commitment is making a difference."

The drop in the large truck fatal crash rate coincides with a reduction in the number of truck-involved highway fatalities for the fifth year in a row. In 2002, trucking was the only highway user group to record a decline.

Along with a strong focus on highway safety by its member motor carriers and their professional truck drivers, ATA credits trucking industry safety outreach efforts with a role in the good news. Each year, thousands of motorists across the U.S. learn how to safely share the road with large trucks through the "Share the Road" program sponsored by Mack Trucks and ATA. The information is vital as studies by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute and the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety show that up to 75 percent of crashes between cars and large trucks result from an error by the car driver.