Report: Large truck and bus fatalities decline

Mar 23, 2009

Large truck- and bus-related crash fatalities continue to decline, according to recent data from federal transportation safety agencies.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in February released its annual report, "Motor Vehicle Traffic Crash Fatality Counts and Estimates of People Injured for 2007." The report shows the number of people killed in crashes involving large trucks (gross vehicle weight greater than 10,000 pounds) was 4,408 in 2007 – a 4.4 percent decline from 2006. In 2007, 12,413 fatalities resulted from crashes in vans, SUVs and pickup trucks, which is a 2.7 percent decline from 2006.

Department of Transportation officials attributed the decline to improvements to all transportation modes, such as improved enforcement, vehicle safety features and enactment of safety laws.