Someone in the United States is either injured or killed in a truck accident every 16 minutes. That means that about 90 accidents involving big trucks occur every day.

Of these wrecks, there are over 6,000 fatalities each year, with 133,000 injuries reported. Of the 133,000, an estimated 26,000 injuries are considered catastrophic—including brain injury, paralysis, or amputation.

When a big rig and a passenger car collide, it is likely for the injuries or fatalities to occur in the passenger vehicle. While a passenger car is approximately 3,000 pounds, large trucks can easily be 80,000 pounds.

Out of the 6,000 fatalities occurring each year in truck accidents, almost 75 percent of the deaths were of occupants in passenger vehicles and, according to a CDC from 2005, unintentional injury led by motor vehicle accidents were the leading cause of death of people under the age of 44 in the United States.

These accidents often occur because drivers of big rigs are negligent, poorly trained, overtired, or under the influence. Driver fatigue is blamed as a probable factor in 20-40 percent of truck crashes, and even though driving hours are limited by law, many drivers dismiss the limit because of their shipping companies or desire for more income.

Anyone holding a commercial driver’s license is subject to drug testing. A study by the Insurance Institute for Traffic Safety randomly tested truck drivers and showed that 15 percent of all interstate truck drivers had marijuana in their system, 12 percent had stimulants (non-prescription), 5 percent had prescription stimulants, 2 percent had cocaine and less than 1percent had alcohol in their system.

Truck driving is also a job with high demand and high turnover, which can lead to an influx of inexperienced, and in some cases, poorly trained drivers. Driving a truck takes a lot more skill than driving a passenger car, and poorly trained drivers loose on the roads can be a deadly hazard.