| Data years | 2020-2024[1][2][3][4][5] |
|---|---|
| Route segment | I-81 in Pennsylvania[1][2][3][4][5] |
| Deaths in large-truck crashes, 2020-2024 | 55[1][2][3][4][5] |
| All deaths on the route segment, 2020-2024 | 107[1][2][3][4][5] |
| Share of segment deaths in large-truck crashes | 51.4%[1][2][3][4][5] |
| Fatal crashes involving large trucks, 2020-2024 | 36[1][2][3][4][5] |
| 2024 data file | FARS Annual Report File[5] |
Fatal truck accidents assigned to I-81 in Pennsylvania recorded 55 deaths from 2020 to 2024. Those deaths represented 51.4% of the 107 deaths recorded for all fatal crashes assigned to the route in the state. The large-truck death count came from 36 fatal large-truck crashes. These truck accident deaths include everyone killed in the qualifying crashes, rather than only people riding in the large trucks. Death counts and fatal-crash counts are distinct measures.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]
For I-81 in Pennsylvania, a truck accident means a fatal crash involving at least one medium or heavy truck with a gross vehicle weight rating greater than 10,000 pounds, excluding buses and motor homes. Assignment uses the crash-level fields ROUTE=1 and a parseable I-route number in TWAY_ID, the recorded trafficway identifier. Those fields identify route signing and crash location; they do not describe the highway's full geographic extent.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]
Contents
I-81 truck accident deaths in Pennsylvania by year
Annual truck accident deaths on I-81 in Pennsylvania were 14 in 2020, 5 in 2021, 12 in 2022, 9 in 2023 and 15 in 2024. The count fell from 2020 to 2021, rose in 2022, fell in 2023 and rose in 2024. The highest large-truck death count was 15 in 2024; the lowest was 5 in 2021.[1][2][3][4][5]
All-route deaths followed a different sequence: 19 in 2020, 23 in 2021, 19 in 2022, 21 in 2023 and 25 in 2024. The all-route count was highest in 2024, while 2020 and 2022 tied for the lowest count. In 2021, truck accident deaths fell while all-route deaths rose. In 2022, the large-truck count rose while the all-route count fell.[1][2][3][4][5]
| Year | Deaths in large-truck crashes | All deaths on the route |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 14 | 19 |
| 2021 | 5 | 23 |
| 2022 | 12 | 19 |
| 2023 | 9 | 21 |
| 2024 | 15 | 25 |
Crashes are placed on the route by the trafficway identifier recorded for each fatal crash. 2024 is the Annual Report File.
Counties along I-81 in Pennsylvania
The I-81 Pennsylvania segment recorded truck accident deaths in 8 counties. Among the listed rows, Lackawanna County had the highest death count, 11, and share, 20.0%. Lebanon County followed with 10 deaths and 18.2%. Franklin County and Schuylkill County each recorded 9 deaths and 16.4%. Cumberland County recorded 8 deaths and 14.5%.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Luzerne County had 4 deaths, representing 7.3%. Susquehanna County and Dauphin County each had 2 deaths and 3.6%, tying for the lowest count among the listed rows. Each share uses the segment's large-truck death total. These county figures locate the fatal truck accidents within Pennsylvania; they do not identify where the people killed lived.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
| County | Deaths in large-truck crashes, 2020-2024 | Share of the route total in the state |
|---|---|---|
| Lackawanna County | 11 | 20.0% |
| Lebanon County | 10 | 18.2% |
| Franklin County | 9 | 16.4% |
| Schuylkill County | 9 | 16.4% |
| Cumberland County | 8 | 14.5% |
| Luzerne County | 4 | 7.3% |
| Susquehanna County | 2 | 3.6% |
| Dauphin County | 2 | 3.6% |
How the truck crashes on I-81 happened
Rear-end crashes accounted for 28 truck accident deaths, or 50.9%, the largest count among the listed manner-of-collision rows. Angle (side impact) recorded 5 deaths and 9.1%. Sideswipe and head-on each recorded 2 deaths and 3.6%. "Not a collision with another moving vehicle" recorded 18 deaths and 32.7%. That label means the first harmful event was not a collision with a motor vehicle in transport, such as a rollover or striking a fixed object. A vehicle stopped in traffic can be in transport.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Daytime (6 a.m. to 5:59 p.m.) accounted for 26 deaths and 47.3%; nighttime (6 p.m. to 5:59 a.m.) accounted for 29 and 52.7%. Urban locations recorded 27 deaths and 49.1%, versus rural locations with 28 and 50.9%. Work-zone truck accident deaths numbered 2. These classifications count deaths on Pennsylvania's I-81 segment, not vehicles or crashes.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
I-81 in other states
Across 6 states with recorded large-truck crash deaths on I-81, the supplied route-wide total was 169 deaths from 2020 to 2024. Pennsylvania's 55 deaths represented 32.5% of that total. The listed Virginia segment recorded 84 deaths, a higher count than Pennsylvania's 55. Both segment counts concern deaths in fatal truck accidents assigned to I-81 within the named state.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
The other-state table supplies a subset of segments; the route-wide total is supplied separately. These truck accident counts are not traffic-adjusted risk rankings and cannot establish relative risk per trip or mile. For a reader searching for a truck accident lawyer, the grouping here is by crash location and recorded route.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
About these figures
For I-81 in Pennsylvania, the source is NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System, a census of fatal motor vehicle traffic crashes. Inclusion requires a motor vehicle on a trafficway customarily open to the public and a death within 30 days. Nonfatal crashes and injuries are excluded. Truck accident involvement does not establish fault.[8][6][7]
Pennsylvania and county assignments use crash locations, not residence. I-81 assignment requires ROUTE=1 and a parseable I-route number in TWAY_ID; these crash-level fields describe signing and location, not the highway's full extent. The 2020 to 2023 figures use FARS Final Files. The 2024 figures use the Annual Report File and can change when NHTSA replaces it with the Final File.[8][6][7]
See also
On related publications
- Truck accident statistics for Franklin County, Pennsylvania (2020-2024) (truckaccidentlawyer.wiki)
- Truck accident statistics for Lebanon County, Pennsylvania (2020-2024) (truckaccidentlawyer.wiki)
- Truck accident statistics for Cumberland County, Pennsylvania (2020-2024) (truckaccidentlawyer.wiki)
- Truck accident statistics for Dauphin County, Pennsylvania (2020-2024) (truckaccidentlawyer.wiki)
References
- abcdefghijklmnopqrst "Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2020 national data files (Final File)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record
- abcdefghijklmnopqrst "Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2021 national data files (Final File)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record
- abcdefghijklmnopqrst "Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2022 national data files (Final File)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record
- abcdefghijklmnopqrst "Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2023 national data files (Final File)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record
- abcdefghijklmnopqrstu "Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2024 national data files (Annual Report File)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record
- abcdefghij "Fatality Analysis Reporting System Analytical User's Manual, 1975-2024 (DOT HS 813 794)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record
- abcd "Large trucks: 2024 data (DOT HS 813 816, June 2026)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record
- ab "Overview of motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2024 (DOT HS 813 791, April 2026)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record