Data collected from a variety of government and private sources show flat or negative trends in commercial vehicle safety throughout most of this decade, according to a report from Wards CV Intelligence.
These numbers contrast with the industry’s ongoing efforts to improve commercial vehicle safety through education, best practices and new technologies. While the economy of trucking is healthy, industry leaders have recognized that an emphasis on improving safety for both drivers and the vehicles around them is paramount to continued success.
The Wards 2018 Commercial Vehicle Safety Report analyzes the most credible public and proprietary data sources to bring an objective perspective to the trucking industry’s safety performance. It examines the most recent data available on truck-related accidents, comparing fatalities, injuries and property incidents over the last decade.
The report also brings insight into trucking’s current safety trends by looking at Federal records for 2017. FleetSeek’s proprietary database and platform has been utilized to filter additional equipment and fleet operational attributes. Plus, the report features a proprietary survey examining current and future fleet adoption of various advanced safety system technologies.
The report’s author and longtime editor-in-chief of Fleet Owner magazine, Jim Mele, led the analysis behind the Wards Commercial Vehicle Safety Report.
“I worked closely with FleetSeek analysts to compile the most up-to-date statistics on a broad range of truck-safety metrics collected over the last ten years,” said Mele, who draws from 35 years of experience covering the trucking industry.
“We examined each individual metric, pointing out significant changes and the likely causes for those changes. The result is a detailed look at the industry’s successes and failures, as well as most likely opportunities for future safety improvements.”
To supplement the historical data featured in the report, Mele oversaw a survey on fleet use and future interest in advanced safety systems. It indicates current fleet investment in existing systems and their willingness to adopt new systems in the near future.
Lead chapters included are accident history, 2017 overview and advanced safety technology. Each chapter has multiple sections on a wide variety of topics, including truck safety performance by state, injury crashes involving large trucks, current safety systems, future installation plans and more.
The report is available at http://wardsintelligence.com/commercial-vehicle-safety-report.