Prioritizing Supply Chain Safety

According to the FMCSA, there were 5,340 fatal crashes involving large trucks and buses across the United States in 2021. A majority of those fatal crashes, 5,149, involved large trucks which are defined as a vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) or gross combination weight rating (GCWR) greater than 10,000 pounds.

Data Sources: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).

In 2021, large trucks accounted for 10.4% of the 3.1 trillion vehicle miles traveled in the United States—equivalent to 327 billion miles. With 494,000 large trucks involved in injury crashes that year, this translates to one injury crash for every 662,000 miles traveled by large trucks.

Data Sources: FMCSA, Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS), data snapshot as of December 30, 2022.

13,859,181 large trucks were registered in the United States in 2021. Of the 327 billion vehicle miles travelled by large trucks in 2021, each truck drove an average distance of 23,594 miles.

Data Source: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Highway Statistics 2021, Table VM-1

Data Sources: FMCSA, Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS), data snapshot as of December 30, 2022.

Over 327,000 single-unit and combination large trucks travelled at least 1 million vehicle miles in 2021. That means over 327,000 vehicles met the vehicle mile travelled distance of 662,000 miles—which is the average number vehicle miles travelled by large trucks involved in an injury-related crash.

Data Source: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Highway Statistics 2021, Table VM-1.

Just over 11.7 billion tons of freight were moved by truck in 2021. This compares to rail at just over 1 billion tons of freight shipped.

Data Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics and Federal Highway Administration, Freight Analysis Framework, version 5.3, 2022, https://www.bts.gov/faf.

2,984,331 inspections were conducted by Federal and State inspectors in 2022. An inspection is an examination of an individual commercial motor vehicle (CMV) and/or driver by an authorized safety inspector. State inspectors conduct approximately 95 percent of inspections, with the remainder conducted by Federal inspectors. The inspection determines whether the driver and/ or the CMV is in compliance with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) or the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMRs), as appropriate. Serious violations result in the issuance of vehicle or driver out-of-service (OOS) orders. These violations must be corrected before the affected driver or vehicle can return to service.

Data Source: FMCSA, Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS), data snapshot as of January 27, 2023.

Over 2 million vehicle inspections resulted in 455,079 OOS violations issued in 2022.

Data Source: FMCSA, Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS), data snapshot as of January 27, 2023.

In 2021, of the 39,508 fatal crashes on the Nation’s roadways, 5,340 (13.5 percent) involved at least one large truck or bus. In addition, there were an estimated 6,064,000 nonfatal crashes, 531,000 (8.7 percent) of which involved at least one large truck or bus. For more information on large truck and bus crashes, please refer to the annual Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts publication available at https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safety/data-and-statistics/large-truck-andbus-crash-facts.

Data Sources: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).

It is estimated that the cost of large truck and bus crashes is $73 billion for fatal crashes, $37 billion for injury crashes, and $18 billion for property damage only crashes.

Data Sources: Crash Costs for Highway Safety Analysis, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA); The Economic and Societal Impact of Motor Vehicle Crashes, 2019 (Revised), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA); and Delay and Environmental Costs of Truck Crashes, Volpe Center, adjusted to current dollars, and a year 2021 value of a statistical life (VSL); NHTSA, FARS, and CRSS.

As an average figure, a commercial truck accident that includes an injured person could have an average cost of $148,279. If the truck accident involves a fatality, then this cost can increase significantly to over $7 million.

On average, a commercial truck accident resulting in an injury could cost you $148,000. If the truck accident involves a fatality, that cost would increase significantly, costing carriers over $7 million.

Learn how a safety-oriented transportation provider could help.

Source: https://missionfinancialservices.net/average-cost-of-a-commercial-truck-accident/

According to the FMSCA, the comprehensive cost of a large truck accident involving a fatality is $14,578,771.

*Comprehensive costs include economic costs and costs associated with Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALY). Economic costs include lost productivity; medical costs; legal and court costs; emergency service costs; insurance administration costs; congestion costs; property damage; and workplace losses.

Source: https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safety/data-and-statistics/fmc-pre-240812-001-federal-motor-carrier-safety-administration-crash

According to the FMSCA, the comprehensive cost of a large truck accident involving an injury is $383,168.

*Comprehensive costs include economic costs and costs associated with Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALY). Economic costs include lost productivity; medical costs; legal and court costs; emergency service costs; insurance administration costs; congestion costs; property damage; and workplace losses.

Source: https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safety/data-and-statistics/fmc-pre-240812-001-federal-motor-carrier-safety-administration-crash