As the number of large trucks registered in the United States surpasses 9 million, the amount of semi-truck crashes, 18-wheeler accidents, tractor-trailer accidents and other commercial truck crashes continue to amount to thousands of deaths and personal injuries in America every year. Truck driver fatigue, driving excessively fast or unsafely, and driver inexperience or lack of proper training can all cause a devastating truck crash.

Important statistics and information about truck crashes in the United States from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), or the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

• Over 4,200 total deaths resulted from more than 3,700 fatal large truck crashes in the U.S. in 2008.
• In 2008, 90,000 people sustained injuries in approximately 64,000 large truck injury crashes in the United States.
• Per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, large trucks continually account for a higher percentage of crashes than other vehicles.
• Nearly 300,000 large truck Property Damage Only (PDO) incidents involving 309,000 vehicles occurred in the country in 2008.
• There are over 9 million large trucks currently registered in the United States.
• Truck drivers distracted by texting are more than 20 times likely to be involved in a crash than non-distracted drivers.
• On average, truck drivers who send and receive messages are distracted 4.6 out of every 6 seconds while texting. This means that operators, travelling at 55 miles per hour, will drive the full length of a football field without looking up from their phone.

Over the past two decades (from 1988 to 2008):

• There has been a 47 percent increase in registered large trucks and a 65 percent increase in miles traveled by large trucks.
• The number of large trucks involved in Property Damage Only (PDO) crashes has increased by (4) four percent.

Florida Truck Crash Statistics:

The State of Florida had 2,978 total traffic fatalities in 2008.Florida continually ranks third in the country (behind Texas and California respectively) in the number of fatal motor vehicle crashes every year.

Breakdown of the total number of Traffic Fatalities in the State of Florida in 2008 by county:

• Palm Beach County: 198
• Broward County: 227
• St. Lucie County: 33
• Martin County: 30

In 2008, the State of Florida reported 11,500 accidents involving medium, heavy and tractor-trailer trucks.

• Florida had over 290 truck crash fatalities and more than 6,400 truck accident injuries in 2008.
• Medium Truck (Four Rear Tires): 72 Fatal Crashes; 2,596 Injury Crashes
• Heavy Truck: 77 Fatal Crashes; 1,939 Injury Crashes
• Tractor-Trailer (Cab): 145 Fatal Crashes; 1,867 Injury Crashes

In 2008, there were 2,760 total fatal crashes that occurred in Florida in both Collision and Non-Collision crashes. The leading cause of  Florida truck crashes is careless driving. Some of the other contributing causes include:

• Failure to Yield Right of Way
• Improper Lane Change
• Improper Turn
• Exceeded Safe Speed Limit

If you have been injured in a truck accident, or if a truck crash took the life of a person you love, you deserve the representation of an experienced and ethical truck accident lawyer. The truck accident attorneys at LaBovick Law Group will defend your rights and fight to ensure that you receive the justice you deserve. Our team will also aggressively pursue any compensation you may be entitled to receive. If you have been injured in a truck accident, call 1-888-777-3884 now.

We help truck accident victims throughout Florida, including Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, and Broward counties, and the cities of Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, West Palm Beach, Boynton Beach, Stuart, Port St. Lucie, Vero Beach, Ft. Pierce, Boca Raton, Pompano Beach, Fort Lauderdale and many other areas.