Deaths in truck crashes jumped 13% as feds continued to ignore recommended safety steps
More than 5,600 people were killed last year in crashes involving large trucks, a 13% increase over 2020 and the largest number in almost four decades, according to preliminary figures released by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.
The 5,601 deaths from crashes involving trucks weighing more than 10,000 pounds was the most since the 5,613 recorded in 1985, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Last year, 4,965 fatalities were recorded.
“What more is needed to take safety seriously?” said Dawn King, board president of the Truck Safety Coalition, an advocacy group comprised of Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways and Parents Against Tired Truckers.
It came as federal transportation officials, with some prodding from Congress, finally moved ahead on long-sought improvements to improve truck safety and reduce crashes.
President Joe Biden’s $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law would require automated braking systems for trucks heavier than