What trucking company has the most accidents?

Any time you’re sharing the road with a big rig, there’s the potential for a serious accident – but that potential may vary a lot depending on which company owns the truck.

There are roughly 168,000 truck accidents every year. Approximately 3% of those accidents will cause at least one fatality, and 32% of them will cause injuries. In Ohio alone, you can expect roughly 3,969 truck accidents annually, with about 127 fatalities and 1,230 injuries. That’s pretty significant – but the simple reality is that you’re more likely to be involved in a wreck with a big carrier than a small, independent driver or company because big carriers have more trucks on the road.

Top trucking companies involved in accidents

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has a Safety Measurement System (SMS) that is designed to capture data on various trucking companies and their safety records. 

Year after year, FedEx and UPS have had the dubious distinction of having the most trucking accidents – but that may partially be explained by the fact that they’re also the biggest carriers out there. With more trucks on the road, the odds that they’ll be involved in more accidents naturally increase.

But they are far from alone. Below are the most common trucking companies frequently involved in serious accidents:

• FedEx, a global logistics and delivery services company with a vast fleet of vehicles across the United States and internationally
• UPS, a leading package delivery and supply chain management company with a substantial number of trucks and delivery vehicles worldwide
• Swift Transportation, which is based out of Arizona and employs more than 20,000 drivers, also has a history of safety violations
• Werner Enterprises, which is based in Nebraska and has more than 10,000 trucks moving around the nation
• Averitt Express, which is a Tennessee company that has around 6,000 drivers and operates throughout the United States
• J.B. Hunt Transport, Inc., which deployed more than 20,000 drivers from their Arkansas-based location
• Schneider National Carriers, Inc., which is a Wisconsin carrier with international locations and more than 13,000 vehicles in this country.

It is important to remember that it doesn’t matter where a motor vehicle carrier has its “home base.” If the accident occurs in Ohio, you can bring a lawsuit against the firm here. That’s critical for protecting your rights as a victim or the survivor of a loved one who was killed in a crash.

How can you find out how many accidents a trucking company has?

The data on accidents involving big rigs changes all the time, but you can look for yourself to see the safety record of any given company via the FMCSA’s website. Simply access the FMCSA’s SAFER system (which stands for “Safety and Fitness Electronic Records) to look up a company’s “snapshot” via either the company’s name or USDOT number. That will give you an insight into their overall safety rating and crash history.

Ultimately, wrecks involving semis and other carrier vehicles are unlike regular motor vehicle accidents both because of the magnitude of the damage that’s done and the dollar amounts that may be involved. You can absolutely bet that the trucking company will bend its weight to try to minimize its losses after a wreck – which is why you need sound legal representation from the start.