Georgia Truck Accident Statistics

Thousands of people in Georgia are injured or lose a loved one in an auto accident. Truck accidents can be especially serious, as they involve massive vehicles weighing tens of thousands of pounds. Some even carry materials or cargo that are fatal in a collision.

Because trucks can pose a greater threat on Georgia roads than cars and other passenger vehicles, the statistics on truck accidents tend to involve more fatalities—even though they happen less frequently.

In the following statistics, “large trucks” refer to trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of more than 10,000 pounds. This includes semi-trucks, 18-wheelers, big rigs, and tractor trailers.

Truck Accident Statistics in Georgia 2006-2016

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s large truck crash facts from 2016, deaths from truck accidents in Georgia steadily decreased from 2006 to 2010. Beginning with 232 deaths in 2006, that number declined to 153 deaths per year in 2010.

But in 2011, the number of truck accident fatalities increased to 173 and went through periods of slight increases and decreases over the next five years:

Truck Accident Deaths from 2012 to 2016

• 153 fatalities in 2012
• 163 fatalities in 2013
• 155 fatalities in 2014
• 182 fatalities in 2015
• 179 fatalities in 2016

While the fatalities in 2016 were significantly less than truck accident death stats from 2006, the number has still increased slightly in the last few years.

Although truck accidents happen less often than other types of auto accidents (less than 200 truck deaths versus about 1,500 total road fatalities), they make up a large portion of total fatalities on Georgia roads. One out of every six traffic fatalities involves a large truck.

For every recorded fatal truck accident, there were 1.2 deaths. In 83% of those crashes, the fatalities were people in the other vehicle that crashed with the truck.

Fatal Accidents Involving Large Trucks in Georgia

Over a ten-year period from 2006 to 2016, fatal accidents in Georgia initially decreased. In 2006, there were 208 accidents involving trucks where someone died, followed by 197 accidents in 2007, 168 in 2006, and 129 in 2009, before increasing to 155 in 2011. The total fluctuated slightly until reaching 169 in 2016.

Single-Vehicle Versus Multiple-Vehicle Fatal Crashes with Large Trucks in Georgia

Breaking down fatal crashes with large trucks further, in 2016 there were:

• 37 single-vehicle accidents involving large trucks and
• 132 multiple-vehicle accidents involving large trucks

(Single-vehicle crashes mean the truck was the only motorized vehicle but might involve pedestrians, bicycle riders, or non-motorized vehicles.)

Clearly, when a fatal truck accident happens in Georgia, it more often involves other vehicles besides the truck.

Large Truck Accidents Involving Injuries

From 1996 to 2004, injury accidents in the U.S. that involved large trucks ranged between 80,000 and 90,000. That number began to increase until 2012 when the total injury accidents with large trucks increased to 73,000 from 60,000 the year before.

Unfortunately, that number has continued to increase and was at 104,000 in 2016. Also in 2016, there were 110,000 large trucks involved in injury crashes and 145,000 people injured in truck accidents.

Again, this is a small number compared to the total number of all injury accidents, which was 2,177,000 in 2016. However, truck accidents tend to produce more serious injuries and fatalities.

Property Damage Only Truck Accidents

Some large truck accidents involve only property damage without injuries, although they are less common. In the whole country, there were 388,000 large trucks involved in property-damage-only accidents.

Most Common Times and Locations of Truck Crash Fatalities

The most common locations for fatal accidents involving large trucks are interstate highways and in rural areas:

• 61% of fatal crashes with large trucks happen in rural areas
• 27% happen on interstate highways.
• 15% occur on rural interstate highways

Of all large truck crashes, 88% of non-fatal and 84% of fatal crashes happened on weekdays.

In contrast, 37% of fatal crashes, 23% of all crashes with injuries, and 20% of property-damage-only crashes happened at night (between 6 pm and 6 am).

In 2016, at least one large truck was involved in 27% of fatal auto accidents in work zones and eight percent of work zone injury crashes.

Contact a Truck Accident Lawyer After Your Accident

If you were hurt in a serious truck accident or lost a loved one in a fatal accident, you’re already dealing with the physical and emotional burdens after this type of collision. You shouldn’t have to deal with the financial burden of accident expenses caused by someone else’s negligence.

At John Foy & Associates, we’ve been helping truck accident victims seek justice for over two decades. You’re more than just another number to us. Our goal is full compensation of your losses so you can move on as fully as possible from the painful accident. For a FREE consultation with one of our experienced and compassionate attorneys today, call us at 404-400-4000 or fill out the form on this page.