NTI review of truck accidents in 2021

October is National Safe Work month so the Editor asked me to take a look at the NTI NTRAC report for 2022 which reviews the major truck crashes within the fleet of insured heavy vehicles in 2021. One of the key objectives of the report is to identify areas of concern and instigate actions that will reduce fatalities in the trucking industry.

While the report outlines in depth the causes for major truck crashes, it should be noted that the number of incidents has increased to 1,001. The authors of this report attribute this gain in sample size to an increase in the company’s portfolio, and inflationary pressures seeing an increase in claims exceeding the fixed $50k threshold for reporting. 

Since the annual reporting by NTI began in 2005, speed and fatigue related related truck crashes have been on a consistent downward trend. It’s encouraging to see the reduction and perhaps some focus could now be shifted to other areas highlighted in report such as driver inattention. 

Key Findings

• In 2021 the overall frequency of serious truck crashes increased slightly from a COVID-19 related low in 2020, however it did not return to pre-pandemic levels.
• The proportion of serious crashes attributed to human-factor continued a trend of increasing year-on-year to reach 63.5% of all losses.
• A significant increase in losses caused by Driver Error losses from 40.6% in 2020 to 42.9% which increased the overall proportion of losses due to ‘human factors’.
• At 8.2%, the proportion of losses due to fatigue remained largely consistent with the proportion seen in 2020 (8.0%), which represents a significant improvement when compared to earlier years.

Of the key findings, I find points two and three a little concerning.

With the introduction of a myriad of driver assistance aids such as, lane departure warnings, blind spot monitoring, active emergency braking, driver monitoring cameras and alerts, driver error and human factors crashes (which includes driver distraction and inattention) are on the rise, accounting for nearly two out of every three serious crashes (63.5%).

This figure has been steadily climbing since 2019. The most common NTI code for “inattention / distraction” in the report was ”off-path on straight”. This could be attributed to drifting out of lane, or off the road due to distraction/inattention or swerving to avoid a collision, with the latter being difficult to appoint “true fault”.

While the report does not differentiate, it would be interesting to gauge whether the emerging safety technology fitted to modern trucks is having any appreciable impact on the results, or are the statistics overly represented by older trucks without the latest safety features fitted?

Regardless, it would seem, based on the data in the report, there are a lot of drivers not 100% focused on the task at hand.

The ‘All truck and car crash, truck at fault’ category shows the truck at fault for 68% of incidents, with ‘Ran into rear’ as the prevalent cause. What it does not quantify however, is whether or not other vehicles changing lanes and reducing available braking distance was a contributing factor?

Midnight until dawn still remains the most frequent time period for fatigue related crashes, accounting for 38.3% of events, which is around double the proportion for ANY other six hour period. This should continue to provide crucial consideration for load scheduling.

Rolled while tipping, showed a marked increase from 4.9% to 6.9%. Engine Bay/Cabin fire contributed to the majority of fire losses, with a small decrease on 2020, but still accounting for 53.1% of losses.

I also read with concern the decreasing percentile of truck not at fault, ‘Fatal truck and car crashes’ category.

In 2021, 70% of fatal truck and car crashes were not the fault of the truck. According to the report, this is the lowest figure in the history of reporting this statistic, however it still reflects that in the significant majority of crashes, the truck is not at fault. 

My concern is that this statistic has been in steady decline from plus 90% in 2015, to the current 70% figure. Could this be the canary in the coal mine as to the level of skill represented in the transport industry? Or, a lessening of skills and increase in risk taking behavior among car drivers? Either way, to me this statistics trajectory is concerning. By contrast the distribution of fault for non-fatal car and truck crashes remained consistent with prior years at 65.3%.

The take-away

While I’m certainly no statistician, and this is just my opinion, I can attest to the wide spread digital distraction problem plaguing all road users (car and truck drivers).

I would guess a figure of one in ten vehicles that pass me on a dual carriageway, would have drivers in them distracted by their phones or electronic devices, that’s 10% of road users that I actually see. This must surely be attributing to unnecessary negative outcomes across the board.   

While this report covers just a portion of the insured heavy vehicle market, such reports should serve as a barometer for the whole transport industry to focus on key areas to drive positive change and ensure truck drivers and all road users have the best chance to make it home safe from a job which is statistically, one of the most dangerous occupations in the nation.