Did you know that the first semi-truck was invented as early as 1898? Ever since then, these trucks have become essential for transporting all sorts of products across the country. Without them, it would be much harder for the supply chain to function.
The big problem with these trucks is that they can cause catastrophic accidents due to their large size. What you might not know is that certain trucking companies have truck accidents much more often compared to others. But what trucking company has the most accidents of all?
Keep reading this semi-truck guide and learn more about truck accidents and which companies have them most frequently.
Why Are Semi-Truck Accidents So Dangerous?
You likely already know that ordinary car accidents can be quite dangerous and even fatal, but semi-truck accidents can be even worse. This is often due to the sheer size of a semi-truck. While there are different truck sizes, in general, these trucks are very large, especially when compared to ordinary cars.
This is not to mention that these trucks carry loads of products that weigh several thousands of pounds. The weight of the truck’s trailer combined with the size of the truck itself is a recipe for disaster. Even though trucks cannot drive as fast as cars, it can still be hard for a truck to stop moving suddenly due to the sheer momentum carried by the weight of the trailer.
Stopping suddenly is often why trucks get into accidents. While cars can stop at a moment’s notice, a large semi-truck needs plenty of space and time to come to a complete stop. Stopping suddenly may cause the truck to skid across the road or it may cause the products in the trailer to shift or come loose, causing even more damage.
Truck drivers have to be specially trained for several weeks or even months before they are allowed to take these trucks out on the open road. They are trained on how to avoid accidents and how to drive as safely as possible. But even so, trucks still get into thousands of accidents every year.
The Details
While some of those accidents result in injuries or no injuries at all, others may end up causing fatalities. A semi-truck collision may occur for many reasons, but it usually has to do with the truck moving at a fast speed or having to stop without warning.
Whatever the case, such an accident can be detrimental to many cars and passengers since a single semi-truck could easily destroy or damage several vehicles at once.
But what trucking companies get into the most accidents and why? The frequency of accidents from company to company may also have to do with the drivers themselves or how well they are trained. It may also have to do with what kind of driving those truck drivers need to accomplish.
For example, many of them may need to drive for long distances and for several hours which may lull them to sleep which, as you can imagine, could easily cause an accident. But which trucking companies are the most dangerous?
Which Trucking Companies Have the Most Accidents?
You might wonder why different trucking companies have different rates of truck accidents. After all, they all do more or less the same work, so why would they have such varied accident rates? It has to do with a variety of factors such as the training that the drivers go through, the size of the truck, the size of the loads that they carry, and so on.
It may even have to do with the routes that the trucking companies take, the weather, and more. The first trucking company you should know about is Swift Transportation, Inc. You likely have seen trucking trailers or semi-trucks themselves with the brand “Swift” printed on the side.
Swift is one of the largest trucking companies in the United States and it isn’t surprising to see their trucks out on the road. The thing about this trucking company, however, is that it often is involved in road accidents. Many of its drivers are often given citations due to them incorrectly following certain procedures or laws.
This company alone has been involved in almost 300 crashes. Fortunately, less than 30 of them were fatal. But even so, such a large company should not be involved in so many crashes, especially since semi-truck crashes can be so detrimental and dangerous.
This is especially true since there are more than 10,000 Swift truck drivers out on the road. Crashes may have to do with poor training of truck drivers or the laziness of some truck drivers who may not care to follow certain safety regulations.
Some truck drivers may only care about getting to their destination as quickly as possible rather than keeping themselves and others on the road safe.
What You Need to Know
Another trucking company that has had quite a few accidents is FedEx. Keep in mind that there are two main branches of FedEx transportation: FedEx Freight and FedEx Ground. Both of these branches are in charge of shipping products all across the country, even though FedEx Ground has more drivers and more trucks.
Whatever the case, FedEx is arguably one of the most dangerous trucking companies out there since it is involved in so many accidents on a yearly basis. In only a couple of years, this company alone has caused more than 100 fatalities due to truck accidents.
This is not to mention that it has also caused more than 1,000 non-fatal truck accidents which may or may not have resulted in injuries.
The reason why FedEx is involved in so many accidents is likely because there are so many of these trucks on the road at any given moment. After all, this company is one of the main companies that ships goods and products across the country to deliver to paying customers.
With so many FedEx trucks on the road, it only makes sense that it will be more likely for them to be in accidents just because there are more of them to get into accidents.
Other Trucking Companies Involved in Accidents
UPS is another trucking company that is often involved in a large number of accidents. As with FedEx, UPS is a massive shipping company that delivers products and other goods to customers that order them online or otherwise. For that reason, you will often see UPS trucks out and about on the road.
Again, because there are so many of them, they are often involved in accidents. Interestingly, UPS has not been involved in as many accidents as FedEx. This may have to do with the fact that UPS is quite careful about the way it trains its drivers.
After all, these trucks have to start and stop quite often, especially if the traffic is bad, so it only makes sense that the drivers have to be trained as well as possible to avoid accidents. Whatever the case, this company has been involved in less than 100 fatalities, although it has been involved in more than 1,000 non-fatal truck crashes.
UPS handles thousands of shipments every day, so it is inevitable that trucks like these get into an accident at some point. Even if the driver is as careful as possible, statistics show that even the safest driver will get into an accident at some point.
What to Know
Another trucking company that is often involved in accidents is Werner Enterprises. Interestingly, this trucking company has not been in nearly as many trucking accidents as the other trucking companies previously described. This may have to do with the fact that this company only has around 10,000 drivers.
This is in contrast to other trucking companies like FedEx which have more than 100,000 drivers. Naturally, with fewer drivers on the road, the company will experience fewer accidents. For that reason, Werner Enterprises has only been involved in a little more than 10 fatal crashes.
In total, it has only been involved in a little more than 200 other crashes as well. Whatever the case, the trucking companies described above are those that have experienced the most crashes of all.
Companies With the Most Frequent Semi-Truck Accidents
Semi-truck accidents happen all the time, but some companies are involved in them more often than others. For example, FedEx and UPS are involved in more accidents than most other types of trucking companies. If you have been in a trucking accident and don’t know what to do, you should contact an attorney in Houston, Texas.
To learn more, contact us here.