Truck fatalities fall, but not by much

During the 12 months to the end of September 2018, 169 people died from 152 fatal crashes involving heavy trucks.

These included 93 deaths from 84 crashes involving articulated trucks, 86 deaths from 76 crashes involving heavy rigid trucks and 10 deaths from eight crashes involving both a heavy rigid truck and an articulated truck.

Fatal crashes involving heavy trucks decreased by 10.1 per cent compared with the corresponding period in 2017 (from 169 to 152 crashes) and decreased by an average of 2.2 per cent per year over the three years to September 2018.

In the same period, fatal crashes involving articulated trucks decreased by 16.0 per cent from 100 to 84 crashes. And they also decreased by an average of 1.6 per cent per year over the three years to September 2018.

Fatal crashes involving heavy rigid trucks were unchanged compared with the corresponding period one year earlier (76 crashes), however they increased by an average of 0.3 per cent per year over the three years to September 2018.

During the 12 months to September 2018, 16 people died in 16 fatal crashes involving buses. Fatal crashes involving buses decreased by 42.9 per cent compared with the corresponding period one year earlier (from 28 to 16 crashes), and they increased by an average of 9.4 per cent per year over the three years to September 2018.

Commenting on the data, the ATA said that it’s good news, but not good enough.

The ATA said it won’t be satisfied until the number of fatal and serious injury crashes is zero.

Last week, the ATA appeared before a Senate committee and pointed out the massive safety benefits of mandating autonomous emergency braking for new trucks.

The Association also called for stability control to be mandated for new rigid trucks, as well as new prime movers and heavy trailers, and stronger truck driver licensing standards.

Authoritative NTI statistics show that 93 per cent of the fatal multi-vehicle truck crashes that it looked at in 2015 were caused by light vehicle drivers.