Wyoming tops deadly truck crash list

WASHINGTON — Wyoming and New Mexico top a list of deadliest states for truck crashes as compiled by a victim advocates group using the latest federal data.

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The Truck Safety Coalition’s “Deadliest Truck Crash States” report, released on Monday, looks much the same as last year’s report, with most of the 12 states in the latest “Worst Fatal Truck Crash States” table rankings the same that appeared last year.

Based on 2023 data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the death rates (per 100,000 people) of the 12 deadliest states are:

Wyoming (7.0)
New Mexico (4.6)
Mississippi (3.6)
North Dakota (3.3)
Oklahoma (3.2)
Idaho (3.2)
Nebraska (3.0)
Arkansas (3.0)
Kansas (3.0)
Montana (3.0)
South Dakota (2.9)
Alabama (2.7)

The top three deadliest truck-crash states by total number of fatalities were also the same as in last year’s report: Texas (730), California (392), and Florida (341).

While the nearly 5,500 deaths and 150,000 injuries related to truck crashes were lower than the nearly 6,000 deaths and over 160,000 injuries in 2022 – as compiled by the coalition last year – “these fatal crashes are not inevitable,” commented coalition president Tami Friedrich, a truck crash victim herself.

“On behalf of victims and survivors across the nation, I call on Congress to take necessary and overdue action to substantially improve safety in the upcoming Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill.”

The coalition is urging lawmakers and the Trump administration to update regulations aimed at reducing truck crashes, including requiring that all new classes of commercial trucks come equipped with Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB).

According to the latest regulatory agenda from the White House, a final rule on AEB for heavy trucks, which had been scheduled for rollout in January, will be reissued as a supplemental proposed rule scheduled to be published in December.

TSC is also pushing Congress to require the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to ensure that new motor carriers pass a knowledge exam “proving that they know and can implement Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations required to safely operate a motor carrier business,” the group stated. “Currently, new carriers do not have to prove any knowledge to start a business and put trucks on the road.”

FMCSA’s Entry-Level Driver Training requirements, implemented in February 2022, focuses on individual drivers and do not include a requirement that new motor carriers pass an exam of current motor carrier regulations before being given operating authority.

In addition, TSC wants Congress to “provide greater incentive for carriers to comply with existing statute that requires truck drivers to be tested for drugs and alcohol following a fatal crash. Currently, over 40% of regulated carriers disregard this requirement.”