| Auto & Truck Accidents
Every year thousands of motorists, both drivers and their passengers, are killed and injured by the negligence of truck and tractor/trailer drivers and the trucking companies they work for. Unsafe driving, oversized and overweight loads, large blind spots, driver fatigue, poor vehicle maintenance procedures - these and other unreliable practices but the public in danger.
3% of all registered vehicles in the US are large trucks - trucks that weigh in excess of 10,000 pounds - yet they account for more than 25% of the deaths in multiple vehicle traffic accidents. 98% of those killed or injured in accidents are NOT the truck drivers.
Consider the following statistics:
Every 16 minutes, someone in the US will be killed or injured in a truck related accident.
Over 450,000 large trucks were involved in accidents in the year 2000.
Over 1 million people were involved.
Over 5,000 people were killed.
Over 140,000 people were injured.
One-third of the injured suffered catastrophic damage.
Driver fatigue is an overwhelming cause of many accidents. The National Highway Transportation Safety Association (NHTSA) estimates that driver fatique is responsible for 30% to 40% of all large truck accidents. 20% of truck drivers admitted to falling asleep at the wheel at least once in the previous 3-month period.
Link to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, with information on automobile safety
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