ATA: Industry data shows improvement in trucking safety

The rate of fatal crashes involving heavy-duty trucks fell for the second straight year to 1.40 per 100 million miles traveled, according to an American Trucking Associations analysis of data from the Department of Transportation.    The rate of fatal crashes involving heavy-duty trucks is continuing to decline, according to an American Trucking Associations analysis of data from the Department of Transportation.
   The ATA said its analysis of miles traveled data from the Federal Highway Administration and highway fatality data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicates the truck-involved fatality rate fell to 1.40 incidents per 100 million miles traveled in 2014, the second straight year of decreases.
   Per NHTSA data, there were 3,903 truck-involved fatalities in 2014, 61 fewer than in the previous year, while the number of miles traveled by large trucks rose to more than 279 billion.
   The truck-involved fatality rate dropped 2.78 percent from 2013 and has fallen 4.76 percent over the past two years. The rate has fallen an impressive 40.6 percent over the past decade, according to ATA.
   ATA noted, however, that the NHTSA figures “only represent fatalities where a large truck was involved in the crash and do not reflect causation.”
   “Numerous studies have found that trucks are responsible for initiating less than a third of all fatal car-truck crashes, which is why ATA supports aggressive traffic enforcement and education programs aimed at changing the unsafe behaviors of all motorists,” the association said.
   “America’s trucking industry has invested billions to improve safety and that commitment is paying off,” ATA President and CEO Bill Graves said in a statement.
   “The short-term decline is welcome news, but the important figure is the long-term trend,” he said. “Short-term changes, whether they’re increases or declines, can be blips – and just like you shouldn’t track your 401k on a daily basis, they shouldn’t be the primary lens truck safety is viewed through. The long-term trend – in this case, a more than 40% improvement – is of paramount importance.”
   “Our industry has worked hard, and invested in technology and training to improve highway safety not just for our drivers, but for all motorists,” said ATA Executive Vice President for National Advocacy Dave Osiecki. “And while there is more work to do, it is gratifying to see those efforts paying off in safer roads for all of us.”