Table 5-2. Injured Persons by Freight Transportation Mode: 1980-2006
Highways and railroads account for almost all of the people injured by freight transportation, and the number of those injuries has dropped substantially over the last quarter century.
Table in Excel format | Historical data
 |
1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 2005 | 2006 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOTAL injured persons (passenger and freight) | NA | NA | 3,259,673 | NA | NA |
| Highway (passenger and freight) | NA | (R) 3,230,666 | (R) 3,188,750 | 2,699,000 | (P) 2,575,000 |
| Large truck occupants1 | NA | (R) 41,822 | (R) 30,832 | 27,000 | 23,000 |
| Others injured in crashes involving large trucks | NA | 108,000 | 109,000 | 86,000 | NA |
| Large truck occupants1 (percent) | NA | (R) 1.3 | (R) 1.0 | (R) 1.0 | NA |
| Others injured in crashes involving large trucks (percent) | NA | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.2 | NA |
| Railroad (passenger and freight) | 62,246 | 25,143 | 11,643 | (R) 9,231 | 7,880 |
| Highway-rail grade crossing2 | (R) 3,550 | 2,407 | 1,219 | (R) 1,020 | 1,021 |
| Railroad2,3 | (R) 58,696 | 22,736 | 10,424 | (R) 8,219 | 6,881 |
| Waterborne (passenger and freight) | NA | NA | (R) 665 | (R) 644 | 771 |
| Vessel-related4 | 180 | 175 | (R) 151 | (R) 140 | 177 |
| Freight ship | 8 | 10 | 5 | (R) 12 | 19 |
| Tank ship | 9 | 13 | 3 | (R) 3 | 2 |
| Tug / towboat | 27 | 19 | (R) 18 | (R) 20 | 22 |
| Offshore supply | NA | 9 | (R) 6 | (R) 1 | 6 |
| Fishing vessel | 28 | 31 | (R) 21 | (R) 29 | 33 |
| Mobile offshore drilling units | NA | 13 | 0 | (R) 2 | 2 |
| Platform | NA | 9 | 0 | (R) 1 | 0 |
| Freight barge | NA | 3 | 2 | (R) 0 | 0 |
| Tank barge | NA | 3 | 0 | (R) 1 | 0 |
| Miscellaneous | 98 | 12 | (R) 96 | (R) 71 | 93 |
| Not related to vessel casualties4 | NA | NA | (R) 514 | (R) 504 | 594 |
| Pipeline | 192 | 76 | 81 | (R) 47 | 31 |
| Hazardous liquid pipeline | 15 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Gas pipeline | 177 | 69 | 77 | (R) 45 | 29 |
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 injuries involve workers on duty (5,543 in 2005).
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: Numbers may not add to totals due to some injuries being counted in more than one mode.
Source:
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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