How Common Are Big Truck Accidents In Illinois?

Sharing the road with huge tractor-trailers is part of driving American highways, but accidents with big rigs can be disastrous. If a truck hits you, your body and vehicle damage can be severe. If you were injured in a truck accident recently, our Rockford trucking accident lawyers at Fisk & Monteleone Ltd. will hold the at-fault party accountable for their actions.

State And Federal Truck Accident Statistics

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) keeps statistics on big truck accidents throughout the US, detailing injuries, fatalities, and property damage. Also, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported in 2015 that 433,000 big trucks were involved in accidents. In most of them, the accident victims were drivers and passengers of other vehicles.

Illinois had at least 19,000 truck crashes in 2014, accounting for about 13% of all traffic accidents that year. Also, most of these big truck accidents happened during daylight hours.

In 2019, there were 22,008 truck crashes in the state, with 1,337 incidents happening in a construction zone. Of those crashes, 859 included a tractor with a trailer attached. So, work zone crashes involving big trucks were three times more likely than construction zone accidents involving smaller trucks.

What Causes Most Big Truck Crashes?

Understanding why large trucks crash is critical to preventing them from happening. Recent research by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) looked at large truck crashes that occurred across the country with injuries or deaths between 2010 and 2012. There were 197 truck crashes with injuries and fatalities analyzed, and these were the most common causes:

Truck Safety Violations

Almost 75% of the truck crashes analyzed had vehicle defects found during the post-crash inspection. Trucks with safety violations of any type were four times more likely to be in a collision. The crash risk for any truck with a safety defect found to be the striking vehicle was 10 times as high as for big trucks without vehicle defects.

Commercial truck safety defects that should result in the rig being put out of service include faulty brakes, worn tires, and burned-out headlights or taillights. Trucks with brake violations were 50% more likely to be in truck accidents.

Driver Fatigue

The truck crash study also found that truckers who drove at least 12 hours after resting were 86% more likely to be involved in a crash than drivers awake for under eight hours. Truckers who drove more than five hours without a break were twice as likely to crash as truckers who drove 1.5 hours.

Technology Can Lower Crash Risk

Research also showed that safety features can reduce truck crash risk. For example, antilock braking systems for commercial trucks lower the crash risk by 65%. There also were benefits for electronic and roll-stability control, electronic logging devices, and speed governors.

Contact Our Rockford Injury Lawyers Now

After a truck accident caused by someone’s negligence, hiring a personal injury attorney is vital to ensuring you get the money you deserve after a severe injury. Please contact our Rockford injury lawyers at Fisk & Monteleone Ltd. at (815) 962-0044 for legal assistance.