New study shows heavy trucks boast better safety record than medium-duty trucks
ARLINGTON, Va. — A new report from the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) suggests that combining medium- and heavy-duty truck crash statistics drags down the true safety record of the US heavy truck fleet.
The study separated and evaluated a decade’s worth of crashes for medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks, identifying notable crash trends for each vehicle population.
The analysis revealed noticeable differences in safety trends between the two vehicle types, with medium-duty trucks generally performing worse than heavy-duty trucks, ATRI reported.
“In order to continue to make progress in truck crash rates, we must improve our ability to target safety strategies across all segments of the industry,” said Keith Klein, COO of Transport America. “This research will enhance our industry’s ability to customize safety solutions.”
“This research also points out that blending medium-duty crash statistics with heavy-duty crash statistics may unfairly drag down the safety gains made by heavy-duty truck fleets,” added American Trucking Associations president and CEO Bill Graves. “When it comes to truck safety, clearly one-size solutions do not fit all scenarios.”
The full report can be found at www.atri-online.org.
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