Punitive Damages Need to be Considered in many Truck Accident Cases: Here’s Why

• More than one out of every four trucks that are inspected on the roads today are put out of service.

• One in every 12 drivers are taken off the roads by out-of-service inspections.

• Worse yet, one in every 16 trucks that haul hazardous materials are pulled out of service by inspectors.

• As unthinkable as it is to contemplate, more than half the truck crashes involve driver fatigue.

• Every 16 minutes, someone is killed or injured in accidents involving 18-wheelers, tractor-trailers, or semi-trucks.

• In 2001, 429,000 large trucks were involved in traffic crashes (both fatal and minor) in the United States:

4,793 were involved in fatal crashes

5,082 people died

131,000 were injured

• In 2003, 58,512 total vehicle accidents occurred involving fatal crashes in the U.S.; 4,669 were large trucks involved in fatal truck accidents. Large trucks are more likely to be involved in a fatal multi-vehicle crash than passenger vehicles are.

• Trucking revenues totaled $610 billion last year and revenues are forecasted to nearly double by 2015.

• The majority of fatal truck accidents occur in rural areas (68 percent) during the daytime (66 percent) and on weekdays (78 percent).

• In 2002, the majority of large truck crashes occurred in good weather (71 percent), on dry roads (71 percent), during the daytime (75 percent), and on weekdays (88 percent).

• About 27 percent of all large truck drivers involved in fatal truck accidents throughout the United States had at least one prior speeding conviction compared to 19 percent of the passenger vehicle drivers involved in fatal crashes.

• Between 1992 and 2002, the number of large trucks involved in fatal crashes has increased by up to 10 percent due to driver fatigue, unsafe vehicle operation, large, unstable loads, or defective equipment.

• About 700 heavy truck drivers and passengers in truck cabs die each year. In addition, almost 3,700 persons in cars and other passenger vehicles die annually in collisions with heavy trucks.

• The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports that in crashes involving large trucks and other vehicles, 98 percent of the fatalities occur to the people in passenger vehicles.

• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has warned groups using 15-seat passenger vans about the dangers of fully loading the fans and then putting an inexperienced driver behind the wheel. The NHTSA also stated that 15-passenger vans are large trucks and should only be driver by people with experience driving large trucks.

• A recent survey showed that 64 percent of fatal truck crashes had one trailer. Thirty-two percent of those involved single-unit trucks (no trailer) and fewer than 4 percent of those involved multi-trailer vehicles (more than one trailer).