| Data year | 2024[1] |
|---|---|
| U.S. deaths in large-truck crashes | 5,340 people[1] |
| Large trucks in fatal crashes | 5,218 trucks[1] |
| 2024 data file | FARS 2024 Annual Report File[1] |
In 2024, 5,340 people died in U.S. traffic crashes involving large trucks. NHTSA counted 5,218 large trucks in fatal crashes that year. These figures measure different things: people killed and trucks involved. Neither is a count of crashes caused by truck drivers. The state table below keeps those measures separate.[1]
The figures come from NHTSA's Large Trucks: 2024 Data, published in June 2026. Its fatal-crash figures use the 2024 Fatality Analysis Reporting System Annual Report File (FARS ARF). The United States totals include the 50 states and the District of Columbia, but exclude Puerto Rico. The annual file can change when NHTSA publishes its final file.[1]
Contents
What counts as a large truck?
NHTSA defines a large truck in this report as a medium or heavy truck with a gross vehicle weight rating above 10,000 pounds. Buses and motor homes are excluded. The category includes commercial and noncommercial trucks, so it is broader than tractor-trailers or trucks operated by a trucking company (page 1).[1]
FARS includes a crash when a motor vehicle travels on a trafficway customarily open to the public and someone dies within 30 days as a result of the crash (page 11). A death counted here may be a truck occupant, an occupant of another vehicle or a person outside a vehicle. A truck being involved does not, by itself, identify who was at fault.[1]
State counts: deaths and large trucks in fatal crashes, 2024
Each row gives the number of people killed in traffic crashes involving large trucks, followed by the person-type breakdown. The final column counts large trucks in fatal crashes, not the number of crashes. A crash can involve more than one large truck, and more than one person can die in a crash. The rows follow NHTSA's state table order rather than a ranking.[1]
Deaths and person types are from Table 7, page 10. Trucks involved are from Table 6, page 9. "Nonoccupants" includes people outside motor vehicles, such as pedestrians and pedalcyclists. These are fatal-crash data only, not counts of all injury or property-damage crashes.[1]
On a phone, scroll the table sideways to read every column.
| State or district | People killed | Truck occupants killed | Other vehicle occupants killed | Nonoccupants killed | Large trucks in fatal crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 135 | 32 | 95 | 8 | 140 |
| Alaska | 10 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 10 |
| Arizona | 140 | 29 | 96 | 15 | 154 |
| Arkansas | 103 | 32 | 60 | 11 | 108 |
| California | 391 | 38 | 285 | 68 | 386 |
| Colorado | 105 | 19 | 76 | 10 | 98 |
| Connecticut | 33 | 4 | 26 | 3 | 31 |
| Delaware | 11 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 12 |
| District of Columbia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Florida | 353 | 42 | 242 | 69 | 342 |
| Georgia | 197 | 24 | 142 | 31 | 189 |
| Hawaii | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Idaho | 46 | 7 | 37 | 2 | 47 |
| Illinois | 148 | 27 | 105 | 16 | 144 |
| Indiana | 145 | 21 | 109 | 15 | 145 |
| Iowa | 58 | 19 | 34 | 5 | 59 |
| Kansas | 66 | 10 | 53 | 3 | 61 |
| Kentucky | 86 | 21 | 57 | 8 | 89 |
| Louisiana | 94 | 22 | 63 | 9 | 91 |
| Maine | 29 | 6 | 20 | 3 | 28 |
| Maryland | 64 | 12 | 42 | 10 | 63 |
| Massachusetts | 31 | 0 | 22 | 9 | 30 |
| Michigan | 112 | 12 | 91 | 9 | 107 |
| Minnesota | 81 | 8 | 67 | 6 | 73 |
| Mississippi | 103 | 25 | 66 | 12 | 96 |
| Missouri | 144 | 25 | 103 | 16 | 143 |
| Montana | 31 | 11 | 19 | 1 | 33 |
| Nebraska | 61 | 10 | 48 | 3 | 59 |
| Nevada | 43 | 7 | 26 | 10 | 39 |
| New Hampshire | 13 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 12 |
| New Jersey | 69 | 10 | 40 | 19 | 67 |
| New Mexico | 84 | 25 | 49 | 10 | 92 |
| New York | 117 | 13 | 66 | 38 | 118 |
| North Carolina | 205 | 33 | 154 | 18 | 194 |
| North Dakota | 24 | 4 | 20 | 0 | 23 |
| Ohio | 174 | 37 | 124 | 13 | 173 |
| Oklahoma | 114 | 21 | 83 | 10 | 105 |
| Oregon | 83 | 9 | 58 | 16 | 71 |
| Pennsylvania | 167 | 26 | 111 | 30 | 162 |
| Rhode Island | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 |
| South Carolina | 139 | 22 | 96 | 21 | 135 |
| South Dakota | 32 | 8 | 23 | 1 | 33 |
| Tennessee | 171 | 23 | 129 | 19 | 170 |
| Texas | 720 | 136 | 511 | 73 | 699 |
| Utah | 49 | 10 | 35 | 4 | 46 |
| Vermont | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Virginia | 122 | 31 | 75 | 16 | 125 |
| Washington | 74 | 11 | 52 | 11 | 71 |
| West Virginia | 40 | 13 | 23 | 4 | 39 |
| Wisconsin | 89 | 9 | 75 | 5 | 73 |
| Wyoming | 22 | 7 | 14 | 1 | 22 |
| U.S. total | 5,340 | 920 | 3,753 | 667 | 5,218 |
Reading the Georgia figures
NHTSA counted 197 people killed in Georgia crashes involving large trucks in 2024: 24 large-truck occupants, 142 occupants of other vehicles and 31 nonoccupants. NHTSA counted 189 large trucks in fatal crashes in Georgia. Those trucks were 9.5% of the 1,983 vehicles in fatal crashes in the state (Table 6, page 9), not 9.5% of all crashes.[1]
For comparison, the national share of vehicles in fatal crashes that were large trucks was 9.3%. These involvement shares do not measure an individual driver's risk or a trucking company's safety record. They describe the mix of vehicles in fatal crashes, without adjusting for how much those vehicles traveled in each state.[1]
National figures and the recent trend
Of the 5,340 people killed nationally in 2024, 920 were large-truck occupants. Another 3,753 were occupants of other vehicles, and 667 were nonoccupants. NHTSA also estimated 161,201 people injured in crashes involving large trucks (Table 2, page 3). Unlike the FARS death counts, the nonfatal injury figure comes from a national sample and is an estimate.[1]
The following series starts in 2020 because NHTSA warns that a vehicle-classification change prevents direct comparison with 2019 and earlier years. It uses the revised figures in this one report, including the 2023 final file. The 2024 death count, which comes from the annual file and may still change, was 2.5% lower than the revised 2023 count. Deaths are from Table 2, page 3; trucks are from Table 1, page 2. The comparison does not explain why the change occurred.[1]
| Year | People killed in large-truck crashes | Large trucks in fatal crashes | FARS file |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 4,945 | 4,821 | Final |
| 2021 | 5,821 | 5,733 | Final |
| 2022 | 5,969 | 5,873 | Final |
| 2023 | 5,478 | 5,382 | Final |
| 2024 | 5,340 | 5,218 | Annual Report File |
How to use these statistics
A state with more deaths is not necessarily more dangerous per mile driven. Raw counts do not adjust for the volume of truck travel, road conditions or the mix of roads. This page does not turn counts into a state safety ranking. The state tables also do not establish negligence, liability or the value of a particular legal claim.[1]
Use the report title and data year when citing a figure. NHTSA can revise prior years: its 2024 report lists 5,478 deaths for 2023, replacing the 5,472 in the earlier annual file (page 11). Mixing editions can create a false trend. On this page, all state figures and the national series come from the June 2026 report.[1]
NHTSA distinguishes its fatal-crash census from estimates of nonfatal crashes and injuries. Do not apply the national injury estimate to an individual state or treat it as a state total. For additional analysis, retain the vehicle definition and file version alongside the number being compared.[1]