Table 5-2: Injured Persons by Freight Transportation Mode
About 125,000 people are injured each year in freight transportation. Like fatalities, most injuries involve trucks. Yet, these injuries account for less than 5 percent of the total number of people injured on the highway each year. Approximately, 10 percent of injures are the result of non-highway related incidents, mostly railroading. Since 1980, railroading has become much safer with a drop in injuries of more than 80 percent.
Table in Excel format | Historical data
 |
1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 2003 | 20045 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOTAL injured persons (passenger and freight) | NA | NA | (R) 3,259,673 | 2,918,405 | NA |
| Highway (passenger and freight) | NA | 3,231,000 | 3,189,000 | 2,889,000 | 2,788,000 |
| Large truck occupants1 | NA | 42,000 | 31,000 | 27,000 | 27,000 |
| Others injured in crashes involving large trucks | NA | 108,000 | 109,000 | 95,000 | 89,000 |
| Large truck occupants1 (percent) | NA | 1.3 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 1.0 |
| Others injured in crashes involving large trucks (percent) | NA | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.2 |
| Railroad (passenger and freight) | 62,246 | 25,143 | 11,643 | (R) 9,157 | 8,751 |
| Highway-rail crossing2 | 3,890 | 2,407 | 1,219 | (R) 1,028 | 1,071 |
| Railroad2,3 | 58,356 | 22,736 | 10,424 | (R) 8,129 | 7,680 |
| Waterborne (passenger and freight) | NA | NA | (R) 757 | (R) 778 | 703 |
| Vessel-related4 | 180 | 175 | (R) 150 | (R) 227 | 198 |
| Freight ship | 8 | 10 | (R) 5 | (R) 8 | 4 |
| Tank ship | 9 | 13 | 3 | (R) 1 | 7 |
| Tug / towboat | 27 | 19 | 10 | (R) 9 | 22 |
| Offshore supply | NA | 9 | 5 | (R) 5 | 5 |
| Fishing vessel | 28 | 31 | (R) 23 | (R) 22 | 36 |
| Mobile offshore drilling units | NA | 13 | 0 | (R) 15 | 0 |
| Platform | NA | 9 | (R) 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Freight barge | NA | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| Tank barge | NA | 3 | 0 | (R) 1 | 1 |
| Miscellaneous | 98 | 12 | (R) 8 | (R) 29 | 25 |
| Not related to vessel casualties4 | NA | NA | (R) 607 | (R) 551 | 505 |
| Pipeline | 192 | 76 | 81 | 71 | 55 |
| Hazardous liquid pipeline | 15 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 13 |
| Gas pipeline | 177 | 69 | 77 | 66 | 42 |
Key: NA = not available; R = revised.
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 injuries involve workers on duty (5,975 in 2004).
4Vessel-related injuries include those involving damage to vessels, such as collisions or groundings. Injuries not related to vessel casualties include those from falls overboard or from accidents involving onboard equipment.
5Railroad injuries are preliminary.
Note: Note: Numbers may not add to totals due to some injuries being counted in more than one mode.
Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, National Transportation Statistics 2005, available at http://www.bts.gov/ as of September 25, 2005.
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