Truck accident statistics for Harris County, Texas (2020-2024)

Truck accident deaths in Harris County by year

Annual truck accident deaths fell from 52 in 2020 to 49 in 2021, rose to 60 in 2022, then fell to 44 in 2023 and 42 in 2024. The highest count was 60 in 2022; the lowest was 42 in 2024. The 2024 count was 10 deaths lower than the 2020 count.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

The truck accident share of all traffic deaths followed the same sequence of changes: 10.6% in 2020, 8.5% in 2021, 10.8% in 2022, 8.2% in 2023 and 7.2% in 2024. All traffic deaths numbered 492, 576, 558, 537 and 583 in those respective years. These annual figures count deaths, rather than fatal crashes.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Deaths within 30 days in crashes on public roads. 2024 figures come from the FARS Annual Report File and can be revised.

Who died in Harris County truck accidents

People in other vehicles accounted for the largest category of truck accident deaths: 157, or 63.6%. People in the large truck accounted for 27 deaths, or 10.9%. The row "Pedestrians, bicyclists and other people outside vehicles" recorded 63 deaths, or 25.5%, during 2020 through 2024.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

That quoted label identifies the FARS nonoccupant grouping, which includes pedestrians, pedalcyclists and other or unknown nonoccupants. The other category can include occupants of parked motor vehicles. It is therefore not a literal test of whether a person was outside a vehicle.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

The trucks involved

The truck accident vehicle counts show 249 large trucks in fatal crashes during 2020 through 2024. Truck-tractors, described as semi or tractor-trailer units, numbered 132 and represented 53.0% of those trucks. Single-unit and other large trucks numbered 117. The number of large trucks recorded as jackknifed was 2.^{[1][2][3][4][5][8][7]}

Each figure in the trucks table counts vehicles, not crashes or deaths. A fatal crash can involve multiple large trucks. The 249 large trucks and 234 fatal crashes are distinct measures of the county's fatal truck accident records.^{[1][2][3][4][5][8][7]}

Counts are trucks, not crashes. One crash can involve more than one large truck.

How the fatal truck crashes happened

Manner of collision describes the first harmful event. Deaths were 60 for angle (side impact), 17 for head-on, 64 for rear-end, 8 for sideswipe, 13 for other and 2 for not reported. "Not a collision with another moving vehicle" recorded 83 deaths, or 33.6%. This means no collision with a motor vehicle in transport; examples include pedestrians, cyclists, parked vehicles, fixed objects and rollovers. A vehicle stopped in traffic can be in transport.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Separately, truck accident deaths by crash configuration were 64 in single-vehicle crashes (25.9%), 129 in two-vehicle crashes (52.2%) and 54 in crashes involving three or more vehicles (21.9%). These shares describe deaths grouped by the number of vehicles involved in the crash, rather than by manner of collision.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Interstates, time of day and setting

Interstate-coded truck accident deaths numbered 65, or 26.3%. The listed route-coded counts were 25 on I-10, 19 on I-45, 11 on I-610 and 10 on I-69. These figures require an interstate route classification and a parseable interstate route number; the listed routes are a coded subset, not a full road network.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Daytime accounted for 129 deaths (52.2%), and nighttime for 118 (47.8%). The urban classification recorded 240 deaths (97.2%); the rural classification recorded 7 (2.8%). Work-zone records counted 7 deaths. These road, time and land-use figures describe deaths in truck accidents, not numbers of trucks or fatal crashes.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Truck accident death rate compared with Texas and the United States

The Harris County truck accident death rate was 1.0 average annual deaths per 100,000 residents for 2020 through 2024. Texas recorded 2.5, and the United States recorded 1.6. The county rate was lower than both.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

Among the listed neighboring counties, rates were 1.5 in Montgomery County, 1.7 in Brazoria County, 0.7 in Fort Bend County and 5.4 in Liberty County. Liberty County had the highest rate among the listed neighboring counties, while Fort Bend County had the lowest. These rates use annual population estimates and do not adjust for miles driven or visitors. Readers searching for a truck accident lawyer should distinguish these population-based rates from the death counts.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

Rates divide deaths by the sum of annual Census population estimates, so they show deaths per 100,000 residents per year. They do not adjust for miles driven or for visitors.

About these figures

NHTSA's census of fatal motor vehicle traffic crashes is FARS. For inclusion, a motor vehicle must be traveling on a trafficway customarily open to the public, and an occupant or nonoccupant must die within 30 days. Neither nonfatal crashes nor injuries are included. Counts by county are based on where the crash occurred, not where the deceased person resided.^[9][6][7][8]

The 2020 through 2023 records are Final Files; 2024 uses the Annual Report File and remains subject to revision. Rates divide 2020 through 2024 deaths by summed annual Census Bureau population estimates from Vintage 2025, then multiply by 100,000. The separate July 1, 2024 estimate of 4,996,331 is not the rate denominator. The resulting measure is average annual deaths per 100,000 residents, without adjustment for miles driven or visitors.^[9][6][7][8]

See also

• Truck accident statistics for Brazoria County, Texas (2020-2024)
• Truck accident statistics for Chambers County, Texas (2020-2024)

On related publications

• Car accident statistics for Harris County, Texas (2020-2024) (caraccidentlawyers.wiki)