Nationally, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) says that 4,186 large trucks and buses involved in fatal crashes in 2013 represented a three percent increase from the previous year.
If you think of a large truck/tractor-trailer accident as something that happens on congested northeastern highways and not here in North Carolina, you are misinformed. Commercial truck accidents cause injuries and deaths on urban and rural highways across North Carolina at a rate of more than 10 deaths every month and nearly eight injuries every day of the year.
The FMCSA, in its 2015 annual report about commercial trucks and buses in the U.S., says that of those who died in large truck accidents in 2013:
According to FMCSA, of the 600 truck drivers killed in crashes in 2013, more than half were in single-vehicle accidents.
As the figures show, if you are driving a passenger car or truck and you collide with a large truck, it is most likely you will be injured or killed instead of the trucker.
The NC DOT, in its crash statistics for 2013, reports the figures for various types of commercial trucks in separate categories:
| Truck | All Crashes | Fatal Crashes | Injury Crashes |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Single Unit Truck (2-axle, 6 -tire) |
2,957 |
26 |
870 |
|
Single Unit Truck (3 or more axles) |
1,198 |
19 |
350 |
|
Truck/Trailer |
1,881 |
18 |
489 |
|
Truck/Tractor |
203
|
5 |
56 |
|
Tractor/Semi-Trailer |
3,462 |
53 |
1,029 |
|
Tractor/Doubles |
74 |
1 |
25 |
|
Unknown Heavy Truck |
209 |
0 |
61 |
TOTALS |
9,984 |
122 |
2,880 |
Here are some 2013 North Carolina truck accident figures for selected Western North Carolina counties (the NC DOT report, which we link to below, has all 100 counties):
| County |
Single Unit Truck (2-axle, 6-tire) |
Single Unit Truck (3 or more axles) |
Tractor Trailer Truck Crashes |
|---|---|---|---|
Alexander |
Total: 6 Injury: 3 Fatal: 0 |
Total: 0 Injury: 0 Fatal: 0 |
Total: 7 Injury: 4 Fatal: 0 |
Burke (Morganton) |
Total: 24 Injury: 5 Fatal: 0 |
Total: 8 Injury: 3 Fatal: 0 |
Total: 62 Injury: 14 Fatal: 1 |
Caldwell (Lenoir) |
Total: 24 Injury: 6 Fatal: 1 |
Total: 8 Injury: 3 Fatal: 0 |
Total: 31 Injury: 7 Fatal: 1 |
Catawba (Hickory) |
Total: 76 Injury: 20 Fatal: 0 |
Total: 23 Injury: 3 Fatal: 0 |
Total: 141 Injury: 24 Fatal: 1 |
Cleveland (Shelby) |
Total: 25 Injury: 5 Fatal: 0 |
Total: 13 Injury: 4 Fatal: 1 |
Total: 76 Injury 25 Fatal: 1 |
Gaston (Gastonia) |
Total: 58 Injury: 12 Fatal: 0 |
Total: 22 Injury: 3 Fatal: 1 |
Total: 177 Injury: 40 Fatal: 1 |
Iredell (Statesville) |
Total: 71 Injury: 14 Fatal: 0 |
Total: 24 Injury: 6 Fatal: 1 |
Total: 202 Injury: 42 Fatal: 2 |
Lincoln (Lincolnton) |
Total: 17 Injury: 4 Fatal: 0 |
Total: 17 Injury: 3 Fatal: 2 |
Total: 16 Injury: 0 Fatal: 0 |
Mecklenburg (Charlotte) |
Total: 508 Injury: 132 Fatal: 2 |
Total: 240 Injury: 46 Fatal: 2 |
Total: 1,005 Injury: 213 Fatal: 4 |
Statewide |
Total: 3,501 Injury: 870 Fatal: 26 |
Total: 1,467 Injury: 350 Fatal: 19 |
Total: 6,748 Injury: 1,604 Fatal: 72 |
(A crash may have involved more than one truck type. If so, the crash was counted in more than one category.)
These counties in Western North Carolina are served by Interstate and U.S. highways, including I-40, I-77, I-85, U.S. 321, and U.S. 64, as well as numerous state highways. However, the FMCSA says almost two-thirds of all fatal crashes involving large trucks in 2013 occurred on rural roads, and 25 percent occurred on rural or urban Interstate highways.
A truck accident can occur wherever large commercial trucks travel.
Among large truck crashes from 2011 to 2013, as reported by the FMCSA, the top 10 driver-related causes of accidents were:
Sometimes it’s not either driver’s fault. Many crashes are caused by vehicle parts or systems failing due to lack of maintenance or faulty manufacturing or design. In such cases, it may be that the owner of the truck is responsible for the breakdown and therefore the accident.
The truck’s owner is usually a trucking company, but sometimes the driver is an independent trucker who owns his or her rig. Sometimes, the manufacturer or distributor of a faulty vehicle part or system can be held liable for an accident.
The top truck-related factors in fatal large truck crashes from 2011 to 2013 as reported by the FMCSA in 2015 were:
The numbers make it clear: if you have been in a commercial truck accident in North Carolina, you have probably been injured and in many cases, the truck driver or the condition of the tractor-trailer was at fault. If so, you deserve compensation for the costs of your injuries, property damage, and other losses, as well as for your pain and suffering.
Contact us today to speak with one of our Charlotte, Hickory, Greenville, Rock Hill, or Columbia attorneys.
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If you have been in a commercial truck accident in North Carolina, you have probably been injured and in many cases, the truck driver or the condition of the tractor-trailer was at fault.
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