New York drivers may be less likely to have fatal accidents on rural than urban roads, and fatal accidents are down overall across the country compared to 2015 and 2016. However, truck drivers could be at a greater accident risk than drivers of other types of vehicles.
On Oct. 3, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released information from its Fatality Analysis Reporting System. After a climb in fatalities in 2015 and 2016, they dropped in 2017, and appear to be continuing that trend in the first half of 2018. This was true for all vehicle types except SUVs, tractor-trailers and large straight trucks, which all showed increases. This was particularly significant for tractor-trailers, which showed nearly a 6 percent increase, and large straight trucks, which increased more than 18 percent.
The large straight truck category encompasses vehicles that weigh more than 10,000 pounds, and not all of them are commercial vehicles. For example, dual-wheeled pickup trucks would be included in this category. However, a better economy means more commercial vehicles on the road, and this could be one reason for more accidents. There was also a 16 percent increase in fatalities among people in large truck accidents who were not wearing seat belts compared to 2016. There were other changes as well such as a drop in alcohol-related fatalities but a rise in drug-related accidents.
People who suffer truck and car accident injuries may be able to get compensation from the driver who caused the accident. This can be important to the recovery of those who are seriously injured. Injured people may want to contact an attorney to discuss how to proceed.
