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Gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR)

From TruckAccidentLawyer.wiki, a sourced reference on large-truck crashes

Gross vehicle weight rating, or GVWR, describes a manufacturer's recommended loaded weight rating. In truck accident data, it provides a way to group vehicles by their rated weight rather than their weight during a crash. The supplied national figures select medium trucks with 10,001 lb to 26,000 lb GVWR and heavy trucks with over 26,000 lb GVWR involved in fatal crashes. For 2024, those counts were 1,618 medium trucks and 3,578 heavy trucks. These are vehicle counts from NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System, not counts of crashes or people killed.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

Contents

Official definition

The FARS Analytical User's Manual defines element V18 as the manufacturer's GVWR range for the power unit, identified through the vehicle identification number submission. GVWR_FROM records the lower end of that range, while GVWR_TO records its upper end. The range concerns the manufacturer's recommended loaded weight. This official definition is distinct from the selection used for the illustrative figures: NHTSA's Large Trucks: 2024 Data includes GVWR greater than 10,000 lb as part of its large truck definition, then separates medium and heavy trucks by their GVWR ranges.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

National figures

The national illustration covers fatal crashes located in the United States, across the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Among medium trucks with 10,001 lb to 26,000 lb GVWR, the supplied counts include 1,297 in 2020 and 1,705 in 2022. Among heavy trucks with over 26,000 lb GVWR, they include 3,519 in 2020 and 4,144 in 2022. The table matches the vehicle counts in NHTSA's Table 1. Its 2024 figures come from the FARS Annual Report File.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

National figures[1][2][3][4][5]
YearMedium trucks, 10,001 lb to 26,000 lb GVWRHeavy trucks, over 26,000 lb GVWR
20201,2973,519
20211,6034,099
20221,7054,144
20231,5403,816
20241,6183,578

United States, 50 states and the District of Columbia. Vehicle counts, equal to DOT HS 813 816 Table 1 (fatal crashes). Large trucks with other or unknown GVWR are not shown. 2024 is the FARS Annual Report File.

What the term does not tell you

GVWR does not establish how much a truck actually weighed or carried when a crash occurred. The FARS element describes the power unit; trailer weight ratings have separate data elements for each trailer. The displayed medium and heavy categories exclude large trucks whose GVWR is other or unknown, so they do not represent every large truck in fatal crashes. These fatal-only vehicle counts do not describe all truck crashes or establish their causes. No population rate or exposure denominator is supplied, so the figures do not measure comparative crash risk.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

On related publications

References

  1. abcde "Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2020 national data files (Final File)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record
  2. abcde "Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2021 national data files (Final File)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record
  3. abcde "Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2022 national data files (Final File)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record
  4. abcde "Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2023 national data files (Final File)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record
  5. abcde "Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2024 national data files (Annual Report File)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record
  6. abcd "Fatality Analysis Reporting System Analytical User's Manual, 1975-2024 (DOT HS 813 794)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record
  7. abcd "Large trucks: 2024 data (DOT HS 813 816, June 2026)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record
  8. abcd "Overview of motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2024 (DOT HS 813 791, April 2026)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record