Metro Atlanta truck crash statistics: Dark, not lighted (2020-2024)

Deaths and fatal crashes by year

The annual figures pair deaths with the distinct fatal crashes containing those deaths. In 2020, the selection recorded 38 deaths in 33 fatal crashes; in 2021, it recorded 24 deaths in 24 fatal crashes. The figures for 2022 were 33 deaths in 30 fatal crashes, followed by 30 deaths in 25 fatal crashes in 2023 and 31 deaths in 30 fatal crashes in 2024. Among the supplied annual rows, 2020 had the largest death count and fatal-crash count. The 2024 figures come from the provisional Annual Report File and remain subject to revision.^{[6][1][2][3][4][5][7][8][9]}

Person categories

People in other vehicles accounted for 97 deaths, the largest death count among the supplied person categories. Nonoccupants accounted for 44 deaths, while people in the large truck accounted for 15 deaths. Each category covers people killed in the selected metro Atlanta crashes during 2020-2024, regardless of their place of residence.^{[6][1][2][3][4][5][7][8][9]}

The nonoccupant category follows the FARS A_PTYPE 3,4,5 grouping, which includes occupants of vehicles not in transport. It should therefore not be read as a count of pedestrians alone. These categories describe the people who died, while the crash selection depends on large-truck involvement and the recorded light condition.^{[6][1][2][3][4][5][7][8][9]}

Manner of collision

Manner of collision identifies the first harmful event, rather than describing every event within a crash. Among the supplied categories, not a collision with a motor vehicle in transport had the largest selected death count, at 55. Rear-end events accounted for 42 deaths, angle events for 36, head-on events for 14, sideswipe events for 8, and other events for 1.^{[6][1][2][3][4][5][7][8][9]}

These are deaths in selected crashes during 2020-2024, not counts of collisions of each type. A motor vehicle in transport can be stopped in traffic, so that classification does not require the vehicle to be moving.^{[6][1][2][3][4][5][7][8][9]}

Recorded counties

The county figures assign deaths to the county where the crash occurred. Among the supplied county rows, DeKalb County had the largest selected death count, with 23. Cobb County and Fulton County each recorded 20, followed by Clayton County with 13. Douglas County and Gwinnett County each recorded 8; Bartow County, Coweta County and Henry County each recorded 7.^{[6][1][2][3][4][5][7][8][9]}

These counts concern the dark, not lighted large-truck fatal-crash selection for 2020-2024. They do not count deaths by county of residence. Without population or traffic-exposure rates, the county totals do not establish comparative risk for residents or road users.^{[6][1][2][3][4][5][7][8][9]}

Recorded interstate routes

Among the supplied interstate rows, I-75 had the largest selected death count, with 29. I-20 recorded 28 deaths, I-285 recorded 16, I-85 recorded 15, and I-675 recorded 1. These figures cover deaths in the selected crashes within metro Atlanta during 2020-2024.^{[6][1][2][3][4][5][7][8][9]}

The route selection requires ROUTE = 1 together with a parseable I-route designation in TWAY_ID. It is an operational selection from the records, not a legal classification of roads omitted from the table. The figures do not cover every road or portions of these routes outside metro Atlanta, and no route-specific traffic-exposure denominator is supplied.^{[6][1][2][3][4][5][7][8][9]}

Trucks in the selected crashes

The distinct crashes containing the selected deaths involved 157 large-truck vehicles, including 106 truck-tractor vehicles. Both figures count vehicles involved in the selected metro Atlanta crashes during 2020-2024. Neither figure is a death count or a count of distinct crashes, and the truck-tractor figure describes vehicles among the large trucks.^{[6][1][2][3][4][5][7][8][9]}

For this data, a large truck is a medium or heavy truck with a gross vehicle weight rating greater than 10,000 pounds. Buses and motor homes are excluded from that definition. A truck's inclusion establishes involvement in a selected fatal crash; it does not establish fault.^{[6][1][2][3][4][5][7][8][9]}

Sources and limits

NHTSA FARS covers fatal traffic crashes involving a motor vehicle on a trafficway customarily open to the public when an occupant or nonoccupant dies within 30 days. Nonfatal-only crashes are excluded. The geography is the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA MSA, CBSA 12060, containing 29 counties under OMB Bulletin 23-01, July 2023.^{[6][1][2][3][4][5][7][8][9]}

The 2020 through 2023 records use FARS Final Files; 2024 uses the provisional Annual Report File. The 34.8% share uses all metro Atlanta large-truck-crash deaths as its denominator, not population or travel. No mileage or traffic-exposure denominator is supplied, so these counts cannot support a risk comparison.^{[6][1][2][3][4][5][7][8][9]}

See also

• Georgia's two-year limit for truck accident injury claims

On related publications

• Georgia truck accident statistics (2020-2024) (truckaccidentlawyers.wiki)
• Large truck (crash data definition) (truckaccidentlawyer.wiki)