Metro Atlanta truck crash statistics: Occupants of large trucks (2020-2024)

Deaths and fatal crashes by year

The annual series records 12 selected deaths in 10 fatal crashes in 2020, followed by 8 selected deaths in 7 fatal crashes in 2021. Among the supplied annual rows, 2022 has the largest selected-death count, with 25 deaths in 21 fatal crashes. The figures for 2023 are 11 selected deaths in 10 fatal crashes.^{[6][1][2][3][4][5][7][8][9]}

The provisional 2024 Annual Report File records 6 selected deaths in 6 fatal crashes. The earlier years use FARS Final Files. Each crash count covers distinct fatal crashes containing the selected deaths, so the death and crash columns measure different things.^{[6][1][2][3][4][5][7][8][9]}

Person categories

The person-category table contains 62 selected deaths, all classified as people in the large truck. The operational selector is A_PTYPE in 1,2 and A_BODY = 6, within A_LT=1 crashes. A_PTYPE distinguishes person categories, while A_BODY identifies the deceased person's vehicle type. This selection therefore concerns deceased large-truck occupants.^{[6][1][2][3][4][5][7][8][9]}

Other people killed in these same crashes are excluded from the selected-death total. The table does not describe everyone who died in crashes containing a truck occupant death, nor does it count surviving occupants. Its person-based scope also differs from the vehicle inventory and the distinct-crash counts elsewhere in the supplied figures.^{[6][1][2][3][4][5][7][8][9]}

Manner of collision

For selected large-truck occupant deaths, the largest supplied manner-of-collision category is not a collision with a motor vehicle in transport, with 31 deaths. Rear-end collisions account for 11 selected deaths and head-on collisions for 9. Angle and sideswipe collisions each account for 5 selected deaths, while the other category records 1.^{[6][1][2][3][4][5][7][8][9]}

These categories describe the first harmful event, rather than every event in the crash. A motor vehicle in transport can include a vehicle stopped in traffic. The entries count selected deceased people, not collisions, and the category labels do not establish a cause or assign fault.^{[6][1][2][3][4][5][7][8][9]}

Recorded counties

Bartow County has the largest selected-death count among the supplied county rows, with 11. Cobb County and DeKalb County each record 6. Gwinnett County, Henry County and Newton County each record 4, while Carroll County and Douglas County each record 3.^{[6][1][2][3][4][5][7][8][9]}

The remaining supplied county rows show selected-death counts of 2 or 1. Every entry assigns deaths to the county where the crash occurred, not the county of residence of the deceased person. These are counts of selected large-truck occupants killed during 2020-2024. They do not provide county population rates or account for differences in mileage or traffic exposure.^{[6][1][2][3][4][5][7][8][9]}

Recorded interstate routes

Among the recorded interstate routes supplied, I-75 has the largest selected-death count, with 13. I-20 and I-85 each have 6 selected deaths, I-285 has 4, and I-575 has 1. These figures concern selected large-truck occupants killed in 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 identifier in TWAY_ID. The table consequently reflects that operational selection, rather than an inventory of every road. It does not describe the entire length of any listed interstate outside metro Atlanta, and its death counts do not measure risk per mile traveled.^{[6][1][2][3][4][5][7][8][9]}

Trucks in the selected crashes

The distinct fatal crashes containing the selected occupant deaths include 77 large-truck vehicles. Among those vehicles, 41 are truck tractors. These vehicle counts refer to the crashes containing the selected deaths; they are neither counts of deceased truck occupants nor counts of fatal crashes.^{[6][1][2][3][4][5][7][8][9]}

For this dataset, 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. The vehicle inventory provides a different view of the selected crashes from the person tables. A truck's involvement 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, with an occupant or nonoccupant dying within 30 days. Crashes with no deaths are outside its scope. This page further restricts the deceased population to the specified large-truck occupant selection.^{[6][1][2][3][4][5][7][8][9]}

The 2020 through 2023 records come from Final Files; the 2024 Annual Report File is provisional and subject to revision. All geographic counts follow crash location. No population rate, mileage denominator or traffic exposure denominator is supplied, so these figures support descriptions of recorded deaths and crashes, not exposure-adjusted risk comparisons.^{[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)