People in Illinois may have heard that in 2017, more than 4,100 individuals died in crashes that involved large trucks. Seventeen percent of these fatalities were suffered by the occupant of the truck. Sixty-eight percent were occupants of other passenger vehicles, and the remaining fatalities included pedestrians, motorcyclists and bicyclists. These numbers represented a 28 percent increase over what was seen in the year 2009.

These numbers should be startling. A person gets a better feel for just how startling these numbers are when looking at them in comparison to aviation. For the same number of individuals to have died in aviation that died as a result of trucking accidents, it would be necessary for two 737s to crash each month and kill every individual on board. If that happened, there would be immense public outcry.

While these numbers may be startling to some, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the regulatory agency that is tasked with keeping the roads safe, has not mandated the changes that many feel are necessary if the roads are made to be safer. Many are calling for an expanded use of technology in this regard. They feel that the technology currently available can go a long way in making the roads safer for truckers, other vehicles and pedestrians.

One of the reasons why accidents involving large trucks may be on the rise is the fact that there are simply more people and more trucks on the road. Until certain dangerous aspects of truck driving are addressed, accidents will likely continue to be on the rise.

When a person is a victim of a trucking accident, they may be entitled to financial compensation. A personal injury attorney may be able to help an individual in this circumstance by providing them with the information needed to file suit against the liable party. An attorney may be able to review investigations done by law enforcement and information gathered from eyewitnesses and on cameras. The attorney may then be able to advise their client on whether a civil suit seems practical.