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Freight Facts and Figures 2009

Table 5-2. Injured Persons by Freight Transportation Mode: 1980-2008

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 28 years.

Table in Excel format | Historical data

Blank cell. 1980 1990 2000 2007 2008
TOTAL injured persons (passenger and freight) NA NA 3,259,673 NA NA
Highway (passenger and freight) NA 3,230,666 3,188,750 2,491,000 2,346,000
Large truck occupants1 NA 41,822 30,832 23,000 23,000
Others injured in crashes involving large trucks NA 108,000 109,000 (R) 77,000 NA
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 (R) 3.1 NA
Railroad (passenger and freight) 62,246 25,143 11,643 (R) 9,539 8,641
Highway-rail grade crossing2 3,550 2,407 1,219 (R) 1,053 941
Railroad2,3 58,696 22,736 10,424 (R) 8,486 7,700
Waterborne (passenger and freight) NA NA 665 (R) 757 628
Vessel-related4 180 175 151 (R) 191 159
Freight ship 8 10 5 (R) 9 11
Tank ship 9 13 3 3 3
Tug/towboat 27 19 18 (R) 19 20
Offshore supply NA 9 6 6 2
Fishing vessel 28 31 21 (R) 30 17
Mobile offshore drilling units NA 13 0 5 2
Platform NA 9 0 (R) 0 0
Freight barge NA 3 2 7 1
Tank barge NA 3 0 (R) 1 7
Miscellaneous5 98 12 96 (R) 111 96
Not related to vessel casualties4 NA NA 514 (R) 566 469
Pipeline 192 76 81 (R) 53 68
Hazardous liquid pipeline 15 7 4 (R) 10 2
Gas pipeline 177 69 77 (R) 43 66

Key: NA = not available; R = revised.

1Large trucks are defined as trucks over the 10,000 pound 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 (4,890 in 2008).

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.

5Includes industrial vessel, passenger (inspected), passenger (uninspected), recreational, research vessel, unclassified, and unknown data.

Note:

Numbers may not add to totals due to some injuries being counted in more than one mode.

Sources:

Total and Pipeline: U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, National Transportation Statistics 2008, available at www.bts.gov/ as of August 13, 2009.

Highway: National Center for Transportation Analysis, National Highway Transit Safety Administration, Traffic Safety Facts, Large Trucks (annual issues). 2007-2008: National Center for Transportation Analysis, National Highway Transit Safety Administration, Traffic Safety Facts (June 2009).

Highway-Rail Grade Crossings: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration, Office of Safety Analysis, available at safetydata.fra.dot.gov/officeofsafety/default.asp as of August 13, 2009.

Waterborne: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard, Data Administration Division, personal communication, August 1, 2009.

 

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