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Large truck (crash data definition)

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

Large truck has a defined meaning in NHTSA crash data that separates vehicle classification from the consequences of a crash. The national figures shown here count qualifying large trucks involved in fatal crashes and, separately, people killed in crashes involving those trucks. For 2024, the United States totals were 5,218 trucks and 5,340 deaths. These figures come from the 2024 Annual Report File of the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, or FARS. They describe fatal-crash involvement, rather than all truck accidents, and do not establish who caused a crash.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

Contents

Official definition

NHTSA's Large Trucks: 2024 Data defines a large truck as a medium or heavy truck with a gross vehicle weight rating greater than 10,000 lb. Buses and motor homes are excluded, and both commercial and non-commercial vehicles are included. The official definition therefore depends on vehicle type and exclusions as well as weight rating. The rating threshold does not mean the truck must actually be carrying that weight when a crash occurs. For the displayed data, the operational selection is vehicles meeting this definition that were involved in fatal crashes.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

National figures

The national figures cover the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Among the supplied years, 2022 had the highest count of large trucks in fatal crashes, at 5,873 trucks, and the highest count of people killed in crashes involving large trucks, at 5,969 deaths. The corresponding lowest counts were in 2020: 4,821 trucks and 4,945 deaths. Both measures declined in each subsequent supplied year after 2022.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

National figures[1][2][3][4][5]
YearLarge trucks in fatal crashesPeople killed in crashes involving large trucks
20204,8214,945
20215,7335,821
20225,8735,969
20235,3825,478
20245,2185,340

United States, 50 states and the District of Columbia. 2024 is the FARS Annual Report File.

What the term does not tell you

The large-truck label alone does not identify commercial use, actual load at the time of impact, or responsibility for an accident. Likewise, the truck column cannot be read as a crash count because a fatal crash may involve multiple trucks. The death column counts people killed in crashes involving large trucks, rather than only people inside those trucks. FARS supplies the fatal-only scope of these figures; they do not describe nonfatal crashes. No population rate or population denominator is supplied, so the displayed counts do not provide a population-based comparison.[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