Motor vehicle collisions are one of the top causes of severe injury and death in the United States. People of all ages and backgrounds end up hurt in collisions either while in a vehicle or when walking near the road. High-speed collisions tend to cause worse damage, as do crashes involving particularly large vehicles.
Semi-truck collisions are some of the worst wrecks reported in the United States. 18-wheelers can very easily cause fatalities and catastrophic injuries when they strike smaller passenger vehicles. Drivers therefore need to be aware of this risk if they hope to keep themselves and their passengers as safe as possible.
When crashes occur
The time of day that someone is on the road can directly influence their chance of a crash with a semi-truck. Almost two-thirds of collisions between passenger vehicles occur during the daytime. Slightly more than a third of these crashes, 36.46%, take place at night. There are trends throughout the year as well. The lowest number of collisions occur during the winter and early spring, with February averaging the lowest number of collisions. Late summer and early fall see the highest number of collisions, with the peak occurring during September.
Where crashes occur
Location is also a noteworthy risk factor. Roughly 5.59% of semi-truck collisions occur in road work zones. Although people might think that interstates are where their risk is highest, the statistics paint a different picture. Only 26% of semi-truck crashes occur on the highway, and the other 73.99% happen on surface streets. There is similar risk in both rural and urban areas. Rural roads are where 45.47% of semi-truck crashes occur, while urban streets see 54.53% of these wrecks.
Semi-trucks use most roads in the United States and are present at every time of day, so there is no way to eliminate exposure to commercial crash risk. However, those who are aware of the threat can adjust their driving habits when they encounter large commercial vehicles in traffic.