Atlanta Truck Accident and Injury Attorney - New Data Shows Speeding Is the Biggest Factor in Fatal Truck Collisions

Speeding, not driver fatigue, is the number one factor in truck accidents.  That information comes via new statistics released by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. 

The agency has just released a report titled 2009: Historic Truck Crash Decline.  The report indicates that driver fatigue was a factor in just 1.4% of all fatal commercial truck accidents last year.  An equal number of accidents were also linked to driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs and prescription medications.  However, the number one factor in all fatal truck accidents was speeding, which factored in 7.3% of all fatal truck wrecks.

The next most common factors were failure to maintain lane (6.5%) and distracted or inattentive driving (5.7%) of all fatal truck accidents.  This was followed by failure to yield right of way, failure to obey traffic signs and over correcting.  Driving while fatigued  was number seven on the list.  The least frequent factors in fatal truck collisions were following too close and improper turning.

The information gathering came as part of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's efforts to determine the reasons for the substantial truck fatality decline in 2009.  Last year, truck accident fatalities dropped to 3,380, a decline of 20.4% from 2008.  There was also a decline in the number of total accidents as well.

The agency has been analyzing truck accident fatality data from last year to try to determine the reason for the decline in order to replicate the trend in the future.