We have all these reports, but no one is putting it all together. How many of these reports have involved semis, logging trucks, etc. How many have had fatalities involved. Are these more than say 5 years ago, 10 years ago, 15 years ago. Is the fault the commercial tuck, the sedan/suv/pickup, or any other type of vehicle.

Do the ICBC/RCMP stats show increases/decreases over the last 10 to 15 years?

Something, please. Individually, based on the reporting here, it just seems that there are more crashes and that more of them involve commercial vehicles. Which makes sense if commercial vehicle traffic is up, which records for elsewhere show.

Some data from the USA

“In 2010 over 500,000 Large Truck and Commercial Vehicles were involved in accidents; with over 100,000 people sustaining serious injuries, and over 5000 people dying in these crashes.

“This was compared to only 3200 deaths involving large trucks in 2009, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

“Many safety groups have called for the U.S. DOT to increase safety regulations to stem the death toll due to the increasing high number of Semi Truck, Tractor Trailer, and Commercial Vehicle Accidents that continue to rise year over year.”

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/semi-truck-accident-statistics-continue-to-rise-in-us-for-2010-116668889.html

I suspect the trend is similar in Canada.

Semi VS smaller vehicle

whatever the cause or reason
the result is usually not good.

Is always the fault of the Semi’s. I don’t think so. I would have to say it is equally the passenger car that is at fault. but it always becomes the fault of the trucker, because they are a easy target.

there are idiots out there that use summer tires, even now. You can’t tell me that they are not on a death wish. sorry, if you can not afford winter tires, find alternative means of getting around, and make our roads safer.

If you can not handle the ice driving, slow down. pull to the side and let people pass.

Sometimes its OK to follow a Semi’s. Its a lot easier than being in a rush.

Give them room, check your mirrors all the time, if they are wanting to pass you. don’t race them, let them pass you. Chances are you were doing 80km/hr so you deserved to be passed.

No accidents with winter tires?

I agree with He spoke. People seem to forget that the big bad truck drivers are just people doing a job, trying to get home safe to their families.

My butt it’s always the car drivers fault! Give your head a shake and think about what your talking about. Singling out vehicles and drivers against semi trucks is a very stupid comparison. You weren’t there so be quiet. So sick of people being so judgemental when they have no clue!

Heres my .02…
We keep building “safer” cars. They give an incredible false sense of security. A dozen air bags, crumple zones, traction control, antilock brakes, speed sensitive steering etc etc. No one learns HOW to drive any more. They learn how to pass a test and they sit in a bubble, insulated from the world and simply steer. This may be fine 99.9% of the time but when something does go wrong they have zero ability to correct it. Controlling or correcting a slide is becoming a lost skill. So when a rut or some slush takes the car for a ride that the computer cannot control than there is a crash. Hopefully its minor, such as a ditch or snowbank. I have a friend who was side swiped by a spinning car and got a scratch down the side of the car – no injuries but scary at 100km/h. BUT when things happen and there is a semi oncoming then its a disaster. No crumple zone and airbag is going to help you when you hit a rig with a combined closing speed of close to 200 km/h. Add in the increased number of trucks on the road and I have no problem believing that the stats for serious accidents involving transport trucks go up – but it is RARELY the fault of the truck driver IMO.

gus: “We have all these reports, but no one is putting it all together. How many of these reports have involved semis, logging trucks, etc. How many have had fatalities involved. Are these more than say 5 years ago, 10 years ago, 15 years ago. Is the fault the commercial tuck, the sedan/suv/pickup, or any other type of vehicle.”

This site and others like it lend to instantaneous reporting of such incidents, which makes some believe that there must be a spike in crash rates. These days, we hear about everything in the ‘age of information’, whereas that wouldn’t necessarily be true by just reading the newspaper. I would be surprised if the rates were any higher than say 10-15 years ago.

Seamut: Who said there would be no accidents with winter tires? He Spoke was merely saying that there are still some that are not using them.
Pookerjams: Who said it was always the car drivers fault?
Am I not reading the same posts as you guys?

Interceptor: Good post, I have heard that brought up many times, I don’t know if there’s concrete data to back that theory up, but in my opinion it’s makes sense. Put an 8 inch spike pointed at your throat on the steering wheel instead of the airbag. I know I’d be driving a little more carefully.

And …no.. Seamut. I was not actually suggesting that people put spikes on their steering wheels.