Truck accident fatalities rise in North Carolina

Like most people in North Carolina, you likely see tractor-trailers and other large commercial vehicles on the roads, highways and freeways quite regularly. While it is understood that these big rigs are necessary to help move goods from one place to another, it is also normal that you might feel a bit uneasy about being too close to them. Accidents involving semi-trucks can be extremely serious in large part due to their size and weight.

Despite laws and rules that truckers and trucking companies are supposed to follow in order to keep people safe, there continues to be too many people killed every year in crashes involving these vehicles. Records from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show that North Carolina has seen an increase in truck accident fatalities for four years in a row. In 2013, there were 121 people killed in these crashes but by 2017, that number rose to 164.

In looking at Cumberland County and its adjacent counties, only Robeson County lost more people in truck accidents that Cumberland County between 2013 and 2017. In the former 24 deaths occurred and in Cumberland County, 16 people died. Sampson and Bladen Counties recorded 11 and nine deaths, respectively. Another 20 people died between Moore, Harnett an Hoke Counties.

If you would like to learn more about how you might be able to get help after you or a family member has been involved in an accident involving a semi-truck or other large vehicle, please feel free to visit the trucking crash compensation page of our North Carolina personal injury website.