Accidents involving larger commercial trucks often result in major injuries and property damage for drivers in Arizona. Here, we want to examine the most recent truck accident statistics available for this state. If you or somebody you care about has been injured in a truck accident caused by the negligence of another party, please reach out to an experienced Phoenix personal injury attorney as soon as possible.
Data From the Arizona Department of Transportation
When we examine information available from the
Arizona Department of Transportation, we can see that the state breaks down the types of vehicles involved in vehicle accidents each year. Instead of having one single data point for larger trucks, the state DOT lists multiple types of larger trucks when displaying accident statistics each year. In 2022, the following types of vehicles were involved in crashes:
- Truck tractor (with or without semi-trailer) - 2,760 accidents
- Concrete mixer trucks "36
- Dump trucks "138
- Garbage trucks "101
- Tanker trucks "33
- Wrecker or tow trucks "43
- Other truck combinations - 11,648
When examining the data surrounding accidents involving larger trucks in Arizona, we have to look deeper than just the initial number of accidents. Unfortunately, these larger vehicles often lead to significant injuries and property damage, particularly for those inside smaller passenger vehicles on state roadways. Overall, there were 152 fatal crashes involving larger trucks in 2022. Additionally, thousands of these incidents led to driver or passenger injuries.
How Large Truck Collisions Occur in Arizona
Accidents involving large trucks in the state of Arizona occur in a wide variety of ways, and fault could lie with multiple parties. For example, these incidents could be caused by a commercial truck driver, a trucking carrier, third parties responsible for the vehicle, and even others on the roadway. An extensive investigation must be conducted after every truck accident that occurs in Arizona in order to determine how the incident occurred.
Some of the main causes of truck accident cases handled by our
Phoenix truck accident attorneys involve driver error. Truck drivers can make mistakes, and they can also operate vehicles negligently. Some truck driver-related causes of accidents include:
- Fatigued driving
- Hours of service violations
- Impaired driving
- Distracted driving
- Speeding or driving too fast for conditions
- Not conducting daily inspections
- Other traffic violations
Commercial trucking carriers and truck owner-operators can also be negligent but in other ways. Trucking companies will typically be responsible for the actions of their drivers as long as the driver was carrying out job-related duties at the time an incident occurred. However, truck companies can also be responsible in their own right, often due to the following:
- Failing to regularly inspect and maintain each vehicle
- Encouraging drivers to operate in an unsafe manner
- Failing to adequately train drivers
- Inadequate hiring and background check processes
- Failing to follow up on driver complaints
There are certainly other parties that could be held liable for a truck collision in Arizona. These incidents must be investigated thoroughly, and we encourage all crash victims to reach out to a skilled truck accident attorney who can help with this process.
In the state of Arizona, there are currently more than 386,000 commercial vehicles registered with the state DMV. Accidents involving larger commercial trucks will happen, and data from previous years shows that these incidents have increased over the last decade.
