Heavy vehicle deaths falling

The Federal Government's latest quarterly bulletin detailing fatal heavy vehicle accidents shows 197 people died from 171 fatal crashes in the 12 months to the end of September 2015, the figure representing a drop in deaths of 7.5 per cent from the previous corresponding period.

Of those 197 deaths, 102 stemmed from 89 crashes involving articulated trucks, 82 were from 73 crashes involving rigid trucks, and 16 were from 12 crashes involving buses.

The figures for fatal accidents involving articulated trucks over 12 months fell by 15.2 per cent from the previous corresponding period and by an average of 8.3 per cent over the three years to September 2015. Deaths from accidents involving articulated trucks fell by 12.8 per cent over the 12-month period and by 9.3 per cent over the three years.

Fatal crashes involving rigid trucks remained the same for the year and increased by 1.6 per cent over the three years, while deaths in the category remained unchanged over the year and were down 1.0 per cent over the three years.

Fatal crashes involving buses fell by 20.0 per cent for the year and fell by 14.7 per cent over the three years to September 2015, while deaths from accidents involving buses remained the same for the year and fell by 8.4 per cent over the three years.

Click here to view the full report.