Motor Carriers have a lot at stake when they send their drivers out on the road in commercial vehicles – especially trucking companies.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) reports upwards of 400,000 crashes involving large commercial vehicles in the United States each year. For transportation companies, costly auto losses can hinder business growth, or even close down a company entirely.
Commercial drivers are generally considered to be above-average drivers due to their required certifications and experience being on the road, but that does not make them immune to mistakes – some of which have deadly consequences. According the most recent report on Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts from the FMCSA, 4,440 large trucks and buses were involved in fatal crashes – a 2% increase from 2015.
Commercial vehicle claims are typically the result of one of three main causes; vehicle breakdown, environmental factors or driver error. Of the most commonly cited crash-related factors in their Report to Congress brake problems were the number one cause overall at 29%, as well as the number one vehicle-related cause. Environmental factors categorized as “roadway problems” were associated with 20% of crashes, while weather was cited as a factor in 14%.
Of the top 20 factors in the study, 15 of them were caused by an action of the driver. Simply put, a driver is much more likely to be the cause of an accident than the conditions in which they’re traveling or the vehicle they’re driving. In the years that have passed since the FMCSA’s Large Truck Crash Causation Study was published, relevant data suggests that driver distraction, namely using a mobile device while driving, has become an even more significant factor in accidents.
