A highway safety advocacy group is asking Congress to review its “Deadliest Truck Crash States” report and take proactive measures to reduce highway fatalities.
The Truck Safety Coalition, an organization that partners with Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways (CRASH) and Parents Against Tired Truckers (P.A.T.T.), recently released data that highlights a rise in truck-related fatalities and names its Dirty Dozen states with the worst per capita safety records. The Deadliest Truck Crash States report also indicates which states saw the greatest loss of life in 2021.
“More action is needed to combat this deadly rise in crashes. Unfortunately, some lawmakers representing constituents in the deadliest states are endorsing unsafe policies that will lead to even more deadly crashes. One such example is banning the use of speed limiters in Commercial Motor Vehicles, a measure that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety estimates can help prevent or reduce the severity of 20 percent of all fatal crashes,” according to a statement from the Truck Safety Coalition.
The national average for truck collision fatalities hovered at 1.7 per 100,000 people in all 50 states. But the Coalition math, reportedly based on data from the National Center for Statistics and Analysis at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, shows these 12 states suffered higher per capita deaths.
- New Mexico: 4.2
- Arkansas: 3.8
- Mississippi: 3.6
- Montana: 3.4
- Wyoming: 3.3
- Alabama: 3.0
- Louisiana: 2.9
- Nebraska: 2.9
- Kentucky: 2.8
- South Carolina: 2.8
- Texas: 2.7
In terms of total annual fatalities in 2021, Texas suffered the most at 806. These states also landed in the top 12: California (437), Florida (373), Georgia (244), Ohio (220), Illinois (180), Tennessee (179), North Carolina (172), Indiana (167), Pennsylvania (162), Alabama (150), and South Carolina (144).
Following the suppressed travel during the pandemic, returning motorists were involved in 42,939 roadway deaths in 2021. That figure was the highest since 2005. Truck accidents also increased, accounting for upwards of 9 percent of all driving fatalities, according to the National Safety Council.
But what has been particularly concerning is that truck-involved collisions rose by 12 percent over 2020, and deaths soared to 18 percent or 5,788 lost lives.
“Truck crash deaths have continued to rise over the last 10 years, demonstrating the need for safety reforms,” Eleanor Holmes Norton, Washington, D.C.’s Congressional delegate and ranking member of the U.S. House Highways and Transit Subcommittee, reportedly said. “We can and must do more to reverse the rise in truck-related injuries and fatalities.”
https://trucksafety.org/issues/fact-sheets-reports/#letter-a
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