Texas recorded 730 fatalities in crashes involving “large trucks” in 2023, way above the national average, according to a new study.
The deaths represent 17% of Texas’ overall 4,291 traffic fatalities for that year, the highest share among the nation’s biggest states, according to researchers at Pegasus Legal.
On a per-capita basis, Texas showed close to 24 large-truck deaths per 1 million residents – 48% above the national average.
California (392 deaths) and Florida (341) ranked second and third across the U.S., but both states recorded much lower per-capita crash rates. Tennessee posted the highest relative risk at around 30 deaths per million residents, followed by Georgia.
The Pegasus report combines 2023 fatality data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration with Texas Department of Transportation records. It shows the concentration of risk along major highways, including Interstate 35 through Dallas-Fort Worth and I-10 across Texas, as well as oilfield routes in the Permian Basin and the Eagle Ford Shale.
More than half (around 51%) of all Texas traffic deaths in 2023 occurred on rural roads, many of which carry both high-speed “large-truck” traffic.
Statewide, speed was listed as one of the main contributing factors in crashes that killed approximately 1,467 people through the first ten months of 2024, per TXDot Data.
Texas has experienced its fair share of tragic truck crashes going viral, as seen in a November 2024 chain-reaction crash on U.S. 75 in Richardson, where an 18-wheeler struck vehicles amid debris from earlier collisions, injuring several drivers and passengers in a pileup that shut down the highway for hours.
In response to the dangerous roadways, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has recently proposed strict new limits on non-citizens obtaining or renewing U.S. commercial driver’s licenses, calling it an “emergency action” to close some safety loopholes.
A public comment period opened in October of this year after the agency found widespread noncompliance in states including Texas, California, Colorado, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Washington.
Nationally, large trucks were involved in 13% of all traffic deaths in 2023, despite making up only about 4% of registered vehicles.