Table 5-1. Fatalities by Freight Transportation Mode: 1980-2006
While the amount of freight transportation activity has increased in recent decades, the number of fatalities has declined or remained stable in each mode. Most fatalities involve people who are not in the freight business, such as trespassers on freight railroads.
Table in Excel format | Historical data
 |
1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 2005 | 2006 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total transportation fatalities (passenger and freight) | NA | (R) 47,350 | 44,384 | NA | NA |
| Highway (passenger and freight) | 51,091 | 44,599 | 41,945 | (R) 43,443 | (P) 42,642 |
| Large truck occupants1 | 1,262 | 705 | 754 | (R) 804 | 805 |
| Others killed in crashes involving large trucks | 4,709 | 4,567 | 4,528 | (R) 4,409 | NA |
| Large truck occupants1 (percent) | 2.5 | 1.6 | 1.8 | (R) 1.9 | NA |
| Others killed in crashes involving large trucks (percent) | 9.2 | 10.2 | 10.8 | (R) 10.1 | NA |
| Railroad (passenger and freight) | 1,417 | 1,297 | 937 | (R) 885 | 915 |
| Highway-rail crossing2 | 833 | 698 | 425 | (R) 358 | 368 |
| Railroad2,3 | 584 | 599 | 512 | (R) 528 | 553 |
| Waterborne (passenger and freight) | 487 | 186 | (R) 111 | (R) 80 | (R) 87 |
| Vessel-related4 | 206 | 85 | (R) 42 | (R) 45 | 48 |
| Freight ship | 8 | 0 | 0 | (R) 2 | 1 |
| Tank ship | 4 | 5 | 0 | (R) 0 | 0 |
| Tug / towboat | 14 | 13 | (R) 1 | (R) 10 | 6 |
| Offshore supply | NA | 2 | (R) 0 | (R) 0 | 0 |
| Fishing vessel | 60 | 47 | (R) 26 | (R) 16 | 19 |
| Mobile offshore drilling units | NA | 0 | 0 | (R) 0 | 1 |
| Platform | NA | 1 | 0 | (R) 0 | 0 |
| Freight barge | NA | 0 | 0 | (R) 1 | 2 |
| Tank barge | NA | 0 | 0 | (R) 0 | 0 |
| Miscellaneous | 56 | 11 | (R) 15 | (R) 16 | 19 |
| Not vessel-related4 | 281 | 101 | (R) 69 | (R) 35 | 39 |
| Pipeline | 19 | 9 | 38 | (R) 16 | 19 |
| Hazardous liquid pipeline | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Gas pipeline | 15 | 6 | 37 | (R) 14 | 19 |
Key: NA = not available; R = revised; P = preliminary.
1Large trucks are defined as trucks over 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight rating, including single-unit trucks and truck tractors.
2Includes Amtrak.
3Includes train accidents and other incidents. Most fatalities involve trespassers who are included under other incidents (467 in 2005).
4Vessel-related casualties include those involving damage to vessels such as collisions or groundings. Fatalities not related to vessel casualties include deaths from falling overboard or from accidents involving onboard equipment.
5Railroad fatalities are preliminary.
Note: Caution must be exercised in comparing fatalities across modes because significantly different definitions are used.
Sources:
Total and Pipeline: U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, National Transportation Statistics 2007, available at http://www.bts.gov/ as of August 2, 2007.
Highway: National Center for Transportation Analysis, National Highway Transit Safety Administration, Traffic Safety Facts, Large Trucks (Annual Issues). 2006: National Center for Transportation Analysis, National Highway Transit Safety Administration, Traffic Safety Facts (July 2007).
Highway-Rail Grade Crossings: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration, Office of Safety Analysis, http://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/officeofsafety/default.asp as of August 17, 2007.
Waterborne: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard, Data Administration Division, personal communication, August 17, 2007.
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