At least according to some reports, the number of deadly truck accidents has declined over the past decades. In 1980, for instance, there were just over 5,000 crashes involving both a semitruck and at least one fatality. In 2015, this number was basically 3,600. This represents a decrease of over 30 percent between 1980 and 2015.
According to the report, there has also been a pronounced drop in the rate of deadly crashes per 100 million miles driven by truckers. This rate was 4.65 in 1980 but had fallen to 1.29 by just a few years ago.
While this is certainly good news, there are still some areas for additional improvement with respect to truck safety.
For instance, even the organization which put out these numbers, and which represents the trucking industry, acknowledged that truck driver fatigue likely plays a far greater role in fatal truck accidents than what is being reported.
While trucker fatigue was only mentioned as a factor in less than two percent of all fatal accidents, government sources believe the number is actually closer to seven percent. The reason for the underreporting is not entirely clear, but it could be that fatigue often manifests itself in the form of a driving mistake.
As we have discussed on previous occasions, truck drivers who are subject to them must follow all laws pertaining to when they must stop and take breaks. Likewise, drivers have an ongoing obligation to pull over and take a rest if they are too tired to drive, even if they are in a hurry to make their next delivery.
If drivers fail to take this simple step, and cause an accident, a resident of Northeast Wisconsin who gets hurt or loses a loved one as a result should consider speaking to semitruck accident injury lawyers in the area in order to evaluate their legal options.