Every year, nearly half a million trucking accidents occur on American roads. Some of those crashes result in death. Many more tractor-trailer and big rig accidents lead to injuries, property damage, and hefty insurance bills.
Since trucking accidents are a fact of life in the United States, you should be aware of the dangers posed by large vehicles. Almost everyone, including bicyclists and pedestrians, comes into daily contact with trucks and buses. Since we all share the same road, it’s important to understand the risks.
It’s also imperative to know your rights and responsibilities if you have been involved in a truck accident, beginning with the necessity of contacting a Houston truck accident lawyer immediately after an incident. Learn more by contacting an experienced personal injury attorney.
HOW COMMON ARE TRUCK ACCIDENTS IN HOUSTON?
Everyone knows large trucks (any vehicle over 10,000 pounds) and buses (any vehicle built to transport at least nine people) are common sights on both urban and rural roads throughout the country, but how common are accidents involving these behemoths? Here are some basic statistics, courtesy of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Administration:
- The police reported 415,000 large truck crashes in one year alone.
- For every million people in the U.S., there were 11.2 fatal large truck accidents in that eyar.
- Fatal crashes involving large trucks increased by 6 percent between 2010 and 2015.
- In 2015, the number of both large trucks and buses involved in fatal crashes rose to 4,311.
Experts generally divide large vehicle crashes into three categories according to the severity of the accident: 1) fatal accidents; 2) injury accidents; 3) property damage accidents. While only a small percentage of crashes are fatal, the number of incidents resulting in at least one death remains far too high.
- 1 percent (3,598) of all large truck accidents were fatal.
- 90 of those crashes involved only one fatality.
- 20 percent (83,000) of incidents with large trucks resulted in injuries only.
- 79 percent (328,000) caused only property damage.
Any large vehicle can pose a danger to nearby drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists. Nevertheless, some types of vehicles have a higher accident rate than others. The following facts and figures will give you a sense of the danger:
- The number of large trucks involved in fatal accidents totaled 4,050 in 2015.
- The number of large trucks involved in injury-related crashes came out to 53,263.
- Buses accounted for only 261 of fatal crashes.
- During the years 2005 to 2015, school buses accounted for 41 percent of all fatal bus crashes.
- 33 percent of fatal bus crashes involved transit buses.
- Only 13 percent of fatal bus accidents involved intercity buses.
Large truck crashes can occur anywhere, anytime, from Midtown and Montrose to the outer suburbs. Protecting yourself against danger means always being vigilant. Nevertheless, some places and times are more dangerous than others. Weekdays and nights, for example, are particularly treacherous, most likely because most truck drivers travel on business days. Surprisingly, rural roads seem to pose the greatest hazard, more so than even interstates.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation:
- Most large truck accidents (60 percent) occur on rural roads.
- A quarter of all large truck crashes happened on Interstate highways (either rural or urban).
- More than a third (35 percent) of all fatal large truck crashes in 2015 took place at night, between the hours of 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.
- An overwhelming majority (83 percent) of fatal large truck crashes happened on a weekday.
- A similar percentage (89 percent) of nonfatal crashes also took place between Monday and Friday.
No matter when, where, or how your 18-wheeler accident occurred, our trusted team of Houston truck accident lawyers will fight for your rights from beginning to end. Every truck accident case is different. The damage a semi-truck does to one truck accident victim differs from what another semi-truck does to another trucking accident victim.
Truck accident victims have the right to seekunable to send to backend
