Some recent statistics about fatal truck accidents

People in the Reno area who take a few moments to look at a truck can probably recognize that, if a trucker gets in to an accident, it is going to be a serious affair. Given that trucks are much larger and heavier than most of the vehicles around them, motorists in private passenger cars can quite easily suffer a fatal injury following a truck accident. This is true whether the collision happens on Nevada’s interstates and principal highways and city streets.

According to recent statistics , which date back to 2016, about one-third of all deadly truck crashes can be attributed to what the study refers to as a driver-related factor, that is, some error or omission on the part of the truck driver or other motorist involved in the accident. In all types of fatal crashes, the predominant contributing factor was driving at an excessive speed. However, the second most common driver-related factor varied with whether or not a large commercial vehicle was involved in the accident.

For large trucks, the second most common driver-related factor was inattentiveness. In cases involving family cars and other private vehicles, the second most common factor was impairment, which includes drunk and drugged driving, fatigued driving and even accidents caused by a driver’s physical health.

The inattentiveness category is rather broad and covers a lot more than just texting and driving or talking on a cell phone. Suffice it to say that it is very important that truckers pay full attention to the road at all times. No matter how much of a hurry they may be in, it is also important for them to maintain a safe speed.