News Release

COLUMBUS, OHIO — Nebraska is the most dangerous state for large truck drivers, while Indiana ranks as the seventh most dangerous.

Ohio personal injury lawyer John Fitch, Columbus, Ohio, analyzed data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to find the percentage of fatal traffic crashes involving a large truck throughout 2021.

NHTSA defines a large truck as any commercial or non-commercial vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of greater than 10,000 pounds, excluding buses and motor homes.

Nebraska leads the way as the most dangerous state for large truck drivers, with 16.1% of vehicles involved in fatal crashes in the state being large trucks. The total number of fatal traffic crashes involving a large truck in 2021 was 50 out of a total 311 fatal traffic crashes.

Iowa is the second most dangerous state for large truck drivers as 15.5% of vehicles involved in fatal crashes were a large truck. The total number of fatal truck crashes was 76 out of 491 total fatal vehicle crashes.

In third place is Kansas. The Sunflower State had 14.4% of all fatal crashes involving a large truck. There were 87 large trucks in total that were involved in a fatal crash throughout 2021.

In fourth place, is Wyoming, which saw 14.1% of all fatal crashes involving a large truck. The total number of fatal crashes involving a truck was 20, the lowest of the top 10 states.

With a total percentage of 13.8% of crashes involving a large truck, New Mexico is in fifth place. There were 89 fatal crashes involving a large truck in the state.

In sixth and seventh place, are Utah and Indiana with rates of 13.3% and 13.2% respectively. Although not much separates them in terms of percentage, Utah had 63 and Indiana had 184 total large trucks involved in fatal crashes.

Texas is the state in eighth place with 12.8% of all vehicles involved in fatal crashes being trucks. Texas also had the highest total amount of large trucks involved in fatal crashes compared to any other state, with 832.

In ninth and 10th place are Idaho and Arkansas with 12.5% and 12.2% respectively. Idaho had 47 total large trucks involved in a fatal traffic crash, while Arkansas had 117.

On the other end of the table, Rhode Island is the safest place for large truck drivers, with just three large trucks being involved in a fatal crash, which amounted to just 3.2% of all fatal crashes in the state.