Most Dangerous States for Truckers
Trucking is one of the most dangerous jobs in the U.S. It’s riskier than ever to become a truck driver these days with the number of traffic and transportation accidents that have been on the rise in recent years.
According to a 2014 study, The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration found that exhaustion, speed, and alcohol account for 87% of truck driver accidents. Other factors include a limited field of vision, operating a large vehicle on the highway, and road hazards.
Trucking accidents can take place anywhere, no matter the road or weather conditions. The recent data from Simplex reveals three of the most dangerous states for truckers. This survey was conducted with recent data analysis from over 50 states.
Top 3 Dangerous States For Truck Drivers
The research found that the most threatening states for truck drivers. According to the information from the past 13 months from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA) 2021 report, most of these states are between 11% to 18%. Here are the three states who took the top spot.
Wyoming
Wyoming had 174 deadly crashes in the past year alone. Thirty-three of those accidents involved truckers. The shocking study found that it had four times more accidents than Michigan, which is regarded as the safest state for truck drivers.
Idaho
Deadly crashes take place in Idaho. The 300 reported crashes included fatalities. Despite this shocking result, Idaho only had 49 crashes that involved truckers.
Nebraska
Nebraska rounds out the list with 333 reported crashes. The results found that there were 15.9% of deadly crashes that involved truck drivers. Almost 60 trucks were involved in car accidents. However, its percentage is lower than the percentages in Idaho and Wyoming.
The other deadly states for trucker drivers include:
- Alaska
- Kansas
- Indiana
- Iowa
- North Dakota
- South Dakota
- Texas
Safest States
The study revealed a stark difference between the least safe and the safest states for truckers. Michigan, Vermont, and Hawaii were found to be the states with the lowest occurrences of accidents involving trucks. Michigan ranked as the safest state with 4.72% of deadly crashes involving trucks or 74 of the 1,567 vehicular deaths in the 12-month period. This was a significant difference from the 18.97% of fatalities involving trucks in the least safe state of Wyoming.
Factors that Contribute to the Numbers
One life lost is too many and it is worth looking at the factors contributing to high numbers of truck related vehicular fatalities. Some states have significantly more trucks on the roads and some areas of the country are prone to more dangerous weather conditions such as snow, ice, and fog. Understanding what contributes to high numbers of truck accidents, may give us insight into improving safety.
Preventing Trucking Accidents
Road safety is a major concern for truckers and those that share the road with them. While the Department of Transportation requires commercial truck drivers to take part in regular drug screenings, there are many other ways we can advance safety on our roads. Increasing awareness of and monitoring driver fatigue and improving road conditions are steps we can take to protect drivers.
Technological advances are also driving towards safer roads. Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving are two types of technology that can assist in reducing road accidents among truck drivers. ADAS includes features such as adaptive cruise control, brake assist, lane departure, and lane keep.
While many theorize that autonomous driving may prove safer than human drivers, there is still a lot of work to be done. Truly autonomous vehicles would not require truck drivers to stay behind the wheel — especially during long hauls. This could be a big step towards eliminating accidents caused by human error or driver fatigue. However, this technology has yet to be explored thoroughly in the trucking industry. For now, there’s artificial intelligence (AI) software that uses cameras and sensors to reduce accidents from happening.
Conclusion
Trucking continues to be vital to industry and commerce throughout the US. Analyzing truck accident data can help us gain insights into the factors that contribute to making trucking a dangerous job and leading us to solutions in technology and infrastructure to create a safer working environment for drivers and safer roads for everyone.