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Employment
89.5 million people employed in jobs directly related to trucking.
83.08 million drivers, of which 5.7% are women.
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Freight
8Hauled 6.7 billion tons of freight in 1997
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Volume
8205 + million cars, light trucks, buses and motorcycles
87 + million single & combination trucks
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Roads
8Interstate Highway: 46,334 miles
8Other National Highway System: 113,757 miles
8Other roads: 3,760,876 miles
8Roads added between 1987-1997: 55,000 miles
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Large Truck Facts
8Drove 7% of all vehicle miles traveled. (1999)
84% of all registered vehicles in U.S.
89% of vehicles involved in fatal crashes.
83% of vehicles involved in injury crashes.
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Crash Facts
8Motor Vehicle Crashes are the leading cause of death for Americans ages 1-34 and the leading cause of injury for all age groups.
8Alcohol is the leading factor contributing to fatal crashes. (39%) (Note: After midnight, one of every ten drivers on the road is drunk.)
8Speed is the second most common factor. (30%)
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Fatalities and Injuries Involving Large Trucks
8In fatal crashes involving large trucks, crash-related factors were cited for 38% of the truck drivers.
Annual Highway Fatalities That Involved Large Trucks:
82001 - 5,192 fatal crashes involving large trucks
(41,730 total fatalities in all traffic crashes)
Note: 2001 marks the fourth year in a row that fatalities involving large trucks declined.
82000 - 5,211 fatal crashes involving large trucks (41,821 total fatalities in all traffic crashes.)
81998 - 5,374
81997 - 5,398
81996 - 5,142
81995 - 4,918
Annual Highway Injuries That Involved Large Trucks: 142,000 (1999)
The question of the day is can we attribute the fewer fatalities to safer drivers, safer roads, safer cars or just dumb luck?
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Crash Costs*
8Average Cost Per Injury Crash: $217,005.00
8Average Cost Per Fatality Crash: $3.4 million
8Average Cost, All Large Truck Crashes: $24 billion (1997)
*(One Tractor, one trailer)
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Large Trucks and Speeding
8Speeding was a factor in 17% of all injury crashes and 20% of all fatal crashes that involved a large truck.
839% of speeding related crashes in which the truck driver is at fault are rear end collisions.
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Rollover
8Estimated $3 billion in annual property damage, injuries and lost productivity.
813% of all fatal crashes involving large trucks.
83% of all crashes involving combination trucks.
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Wages
Getting into trucking for the $ ? Drivers seem to be losing ground...
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|
National Wage Survey Averages (Per Hour) |
|
Job/Career |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
+/- |
|
Truck Driver |
13.92 |
13.93 |
12.72 |
12.95 |
- .97 |
|
Telephone Installers/Repair |
17.54 |
18.00 |
18.21 |
18.98 |
+ 1.44 |
|
Janitor |
8.72 |
9.09 |
9.27 |
9.56 |
+ .084 |
|
Garbage Collector |
12.99 |
12.63 |
13.94 |
14.18 |
+ 1.19 |
|
Meter Readers |
14.15 |
15.08 |
14.75 |
14.83 |
+ .68 |
|
Dispatchers |
12.40 |
12.92 |
13.21 |
13.58 |
+ 1.18 |
|
Sales Workers/Apparel |
8.10 |
8.28 |
8.99 |
10.02 |
+ 1.92 |
|
Source: http://data.bls.gov/labjava/outside.jsp?survey=nc
Getting Paid What You're Worth?? (Who is? :)) Wage Data For US Occupations |
Road Check 2002
This year's 72 hour inspection blitz from June 4 to 6 resulted in 49,032 inspections done in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
8Vehicles
22.1 percent of vehicles were placed out of service due to various defects and violations, with the following the most common:
Brakes, 53.3%
Lights, 12.8%
Tires & Wheels, 8.1%
Load Securement, 6.8%
Suspension, 5.0%
8Drivers A total of 58.1 percent of drivers were placed out of service for hours-of-service violations, 8.4 percent of which were for falsifying records of duty status.
Timeline
81911: The first truck to travel from coast-to-coast was a "Sauger", which was a Swiss built truck.
81912: A Packard truck went from New York to San Francisco in 46 days. This was the year that trucks were first equipped with electric lights.
81920's: The fifth wheel came along. The Federal Government spent $75 million on construction and improvement of roads. The Federal Aid Highway Program of 1921 was more or less the beginning of the interstate system.
81930's: The number of new trucks registered in the U.S. totaled some 329,000+
81966: The Department of Transportation was created by an act of Congress. The DOT became responsible for safety issues.
81980: The Motor Carrier Act basically deregulated the industry.
81982: The Federal Surface Transportation Act (STAA) set uniform weight and length laws throughout the United States. Previously, many states' individual laws differed.
81994: The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) opened borders between the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Thank you to all the drivers that made this country what it is today -- for it's new drivers. You've gotten a lot done, a lot changed over the years. Utmost respect is owed to the "Drivers of Yesteryear."
Truck Driver's Blues (poem)
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Sources:
See where your hard earned tax payer dollars are going...Check out the Pocket Guide to Transportation.
1998 Motor Vehicle Crash Data from FARS & GES
Traffic Safety Facts 1998, Table 9: Large Truck Occupants Killed or Injured and Fatality and Injury Rates per Registered Vehicle and Vehicle Miles of Travel, 1975-1998
Chart Source: FMCSR 1999 Large Truck Crash Overview, http://www.ai.volpe.dot.gov/CrashProfile/99overview.asp
Transport Topics, No 3359 (Dec 13, 1999), Pg 28: “Study Faults Car Drivers for most truck collisions” Report by Univ of Michigan by Dan Blower, University of Mi. Trans Research Institute, Study of 5500 Fatal Truck-Automobile Crashes.
FMCSA 1999 Large Truck Crash Overview.
Speeding Related Multi Vehicle Fatal Crashes Involving Large Trucks, OMCS, December 1999
ATA's Economics & Statistical Analysis Department, Trucking and Transportation Statistics, February / March 1999
Pocket Guide to Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, December 1999
"The Scope of the Problem: Death & Injuries on Our Nation's Highways". February 1999. Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety. http://www.saferoads.org
Journal of Transportation and Statistics, Volume 2, Number 1, May 1999, ISSN 1094-8848
Costs of Large Truck and Bus Involved Crashes, December 14, 2000
"Researchers to test new rollover warning system for truckers" by Duncan Mansfield, Associated Press, 8/31/99
NHTSA Heavy Vehicle Stability, Phase II ITS 10b, updated 6/2000.
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Statistical Research Links...
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Action Links
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