{"id":10518,"date":"2025-07-26T07:55:07","date_gmt":"2025-07-26T11:55:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.trafficsafetystore.com\/blog\/?p=10518"},"modified":"2025-07-29T07:55:21","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T11:55:21","slug":"do-cars-or-trucks-cause-more-accidents-what-do-the-statistics-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trafficsafetystore.com\/blog\/do-cars-or-trucks-cause-more-accidents-what-do-the-statistics-say\/","title":{"rendered":"Do Cars or Trucks Cause More Accidents? What do the statistics say"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n\r\n
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Do Cars or Trucks Have More Accidents? What the Statistics Say<\/h1>\r\nBy Traffic Safety Store<\/a> | Published: July 29, 2025\r\n\r\n<\/header>
When it comes to road safety, a common question arises: do cars or trucks have more accidents? The answer depends on the type of accident, the vehicles involved, and the context in which these incidents occur. By examining recent statistics from authoritative sources, we can uncover key trends and patterns to better understand the risks posed by cars and trucks on U.S. roads. At Traffic Safety Store<\/a>, we\u2019re committed to promoting road safety through education and high-quality safety products.<\/section>
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Defining the Vehicles: Cars vs. Trucks<\/h2>\r\nFor clarity, “cars” refer to passenger vehicles such as sedans, SUVs, minivans, and station wagons, typically weighing around 3,000 to 4,000 pounds. “Trucks” encompass a range of vehicles, from light pickup trucks to large commercial vehicles like semi-trucks and tractor-trailers, with gross vehicle weight ratings (GVWR) often exceeding 10,000 pounds, and some large trucks weighing up to 80,000 pounds. This size and weight disparity significantly influences accident outcomes.\r\n\r\n<\/section>
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Accident Frequency: Cars Dominate the Numbers<\/h2>\r\nIn terms of sheer volume, cars are involved in far more accidents than trucks. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)<\/a>, in 2022, approximately 5.93 million police-reported motor vehicle crashes occurred in the United States, with passenger vehicles (cars, SUVs, and light trucks) accounting for the majority. Specifically, passenger vehicles were involved in 33% of fatal crashes and 43% of crashes involving light trucks (including pickups and SUVs). By contrast, large trucks were involved in only about 9% of fatal crashes.\r\n\r\nThis disparity is largely due to the prevalence of cars on the road. With over 276 million registered vehicles in 2019, 108 million were cars, while large trucks represented only about 4%. With more cars on the road, it\u2019s unsurprising they account for a higher number of accidents overall.\r\n\r\n<\/section>
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Severity of Accidents: Trucks Pose Greater Risks<\/h2>\r\nWhile cars are involved in more accidents, trucks\u2014particularly large trucks\u2014are associated with more severe outcomes. In 2023, 5,375 large trucks were involved in fatal crashes, resulting in 5,472 deaths, a 40% increase over the past decade, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)<\/a>. Of these fatalities, 70% were occupants of passenger vehicles, 18% were truck occupants, and 12% were non-occupants like pedestrians or cyclists.\r\n\r\nLarge trucks weigh 20-30 times more than passenger cars, leading to devastating consequences in collisions. For example, “underride” crashes, where a car slides under a truck\u2019s trailer, are particularly deadly. In 2022, 32% of passenger vehicle occupants killed in two-vehicle crashes with large trucks were in vehicles struck head-on, per IIHS data<\/a>.\r\n\r\n<\/section>
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Who\u2019s at Fault? Cars Cause More Truck-Related Crashes<\/h2>\r\nSurprisingly, passenger vehicles are often responsible for accidents involving trucks. The FMCSA\u2019s Large Truck Crash Causation Study found that in two-vehicle collisions, passenger vehicles were at fault in 56% of cases, while trucks were responsible for 44%. A University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI)<\/a> study noted that car drivers were at fault in 70% of fatal car-truck collisions.\r\n\r\nCommon car driver errors include:\r\n