Driver-Related Factors in Crashes Between Large Trucks and Passenger Vehicles

00763326https://doi.org/10.21949/15028561999PDFBriefTrucksHuman factors in crashesTractor trailer combinationsPassenger carsFatalitiesFatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS)University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI)United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Motor Carrier Safety AdministrationUnited States. Department of Transportation. Federal Motor Carrier Safety AdministrationUniversity of MichiganNTL-SAFETY AND SECURITY-AccidentsNTL-SAFETY AND SECURITY-Highway SafetyNTL-REFERENCES AND DIRECTORIES-StatisticsUnited States Federal Motor Carrier Safety AdministrationLarge trucks are involved in close to 400,000 police-reported crashes each year, of which 4,500 involve a fatality. About 60% of fatal truck crashes involve one large truck colliding with a single passenger vehicle. Prevention of these crashes requires understanding how and why these crashes occur to develop effective countermeasures. The analysis of the relative contribution of the truck driver versus the driver of the other vehicle involved in a fatal crash has been limited in the past to an examination of the driver-related factors variable in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA's) Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). The FARS analyst in each state records driver actions that may have contributed to the fatal crash. The coding is based on factors recorded on the crash report by the police officer. Analysts have been skeptical of relying solely on the judgments of officers at the scene of a crash to attribute cause or fault in fatal crashes. Thus, the Office of Motor Carrier and Highway Safety (OMCHS), in conjunction with the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI), examined the driver-related factors from FARS along with other data that could either verify or rebut the factor data. This Analysis Brief presents the findings of this study. 4 p.84