The number of people killed in crashes involving large trucks fell by 1.3% in 2020 from 2019, despite an overall 6.8% increase in traffic fatalities in 2020, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s 2020 traffic crash data.
There were 4,965 people killed in crashes involving large trucks in 2020, which is down from 5,032 the year prior. The number of large truck occupants killed in crashes decreased from 893 to 831, while the number of other vehicle occupants and non-occupants (pedestrians, motorcyclists, pedalcyclists and more) fell minimally from 4,139 to 4,134 from 2019 to 2020.
The number of people injured in large truck-involved crashes also declined in 2020, falling 7.8% from 159,359 injuries in 2019 to 146,930 injuries in 2020.
NHTSA's 2020 annual traffic crash data revealed 38,824 lives were lost in traffic crashes nationwide, which marks the highest number of fatalities since 2007.
The increase in traffic fatalities was despite an 11% decrease in total vehicle miles traveled, a 22% decrease in police-reported crashes and a 17% decrease in injuries in crashes in 2020.
“The rising fatalities on our roadways are a national crisis; we cannot and must not accept these deaths as inevitable,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “People should leave the house and know they’re going to get to their destination safely, and with the resources from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, plus the policies in the National Roadway Safety Strategy we launched last month, we will do everything we can to save lives on America’s roads.”
Comments