Despite an 11% drop in Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT), U.S. Department of Transportation traffic data shows that 38,824 people died in traffic crashes in 2020, the highest number since 2007. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s 2020 annual traffic crash data shows, that even though the total number of crashes and traffic injuries dropped in 2020, fatal crashes increased by 6.8% and the fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled increased to 1.34, a 21% increase from 2019. Data on crashes involving large trucks is still being compiled, but preliminary figures show that fatalities in large truck crashes were down 1.3%.
Truckers beware: in 45% of fatal crashes, drivers of passenger vehicles were either speeding, were impaired by alcohol or were not wearing a seat belt, or a combination of these three risky behaviors. The 2020 crash data report also breaks down data in key categories and compares it to 2019:
Several lawsuits were filed challenging the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) independent contractor (IC) regulation enacted by the Biden Administration and the DOL’s Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su in early 2024.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in a Federal Register notice published April 1, denied a petition from the Institute for Safer Trucking (IST) requesting an investigation of collisions that van-type semi-trailers experience with passenger vehicles and other vulnerable road users.
ICSA representatives attended the TCA Truckload event, the preeminent event hosted by the Truckload Carriers Association, held in our hometown of Phoenix, AZ. We also attended the Mid-America Trucking Show (MATS), the largest trucking show in North America, held in Louisville, KY.