Truck Safety: Industry Research Finds Better Ways to Improve

U.S. Traffic Deaths Fall, Truck Safety Push Continues

U.S. traffic deaths fell for the fourth year in a row in 2025, but a new national report says more work is needed to improve truck safety and roadway safety overall. Several of the measures discussed in the report could directly affect commercial truck drivers, fleets, and motor carriers.

The report from TRIP, a national transportation research nonprofit, examines traffic deaths from 2015 through 2025. It also looks at possible ways to reduce crashes and serious injuries. Those ideas include stronger enforcement, safer road design, more truck parking, work-zone improvements, and new vehicle safety systems.

For the trucking industry, the report is important because many of its proposed truck safety measures involve roads and rules that professional drivers deal with every day.

U.S. Traffic Deaths Fall for Fourth Straight Year

There were 36,640 traffic deaths in the United States in 2025, according to the TRIP report. That marked the fourth straight yearly decline after fatalities reached 43,230 in 2021.

Even with that improvement, the number of deaths in 2025 remained 3% higher than in 2015. However, the fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled fell from 1.15 in 2015 to 1.10 in 2025. Vehicle travel increased by 7% during that period.

The report also found that 241,637 people died in traffic crashes between 2020 and 2025. Traffic deaths rose sharply during the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic before beginning their recent decline.

The overall trend is mixed. Traffic deaths are moving lower, but the total remains slightly above the level recorded a decade earlier.

Safety Recommendations Could Affect Drivers

TRIP points to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Safe System approach as one way to continue reducing roadway deaths. That strategy focuses on safer people, safer roads, safer vehicles, safer speeds, and better care after crashes.

Several parts of that approach have direct ties to truck safety.

The report lists enforcement of commercial driver’s license requirements and vehicle weight rules among the safety steps used by states. It also points to enforcement aimed at speeding, impaired driving, aggressive driving, distracted driving, and violations in work zones.

The report shows that commercial driver compliance remains part of the broader roadway safety strategy used by transportation agencies.

For commercial truck drivers and motor carriers, that means existing areas of roadside and traffic enforcement are likely to remain important parts of state truck safety programs.

Truck Parking Is Part of the Truck Safety Strategy

One of the most notable trucking-related details in the report is its treatment of truck parking.

TRIP lists large-truck parking spaces among roadway improvements that can support safer highways. Other measures include better lane markings, wider lanes, paved shoulders, median barriers, improved lighting, and rumble strips.

That places truck parking within a larger truck safety framework rather than treating it only as an operational issue.

Truck parking shortages can create difficult choices for drivers who need a safe place to stop. Expanding parking capacity can also support efforts to provide safer roadway conditions for commercial vehicles.

The report does not announce new truck parking projects or funding. However, its inclusion of truck parking as a safety measure shows that the issue is being considered alongside other infrastructure improvements.

Work Zones Remain a Major Truck Safety Issue

Work-zone safety is another part of the report with strong relevance for truck drivers.

From 2020 through 2024, crashes in U.S. highway work zones resulted in 4,481 deaths. There were 850 work-zone fatalities in 2024, down slightly from 863 in 2020. Fatalities reached 961 in 2021.

TRIP notes that safe and efficient movement through work zones is important for transportation agencies, construction companies, police agencies, commercial motor carriers, and the public.

For truck drivers, work zones can present added challenges. Large vehicles need more room to stop and move through narrowed lanes. Temporary lane shifts, lower speed limits, and changing traffic patterns can also increase risk.

The report recommends proper work-zone layouts, better traffic control devices, safety training, and strategies to reduce aggressive driving.

Road Design and Vehicle Technology

The report also highlights roadway changes that can reduce serious crashes.

Examples include centerline rumble strips, improved lighting, better lane markings, pavement treatments, turn lanes, and wider edge lanes. Some of these measures are aimed at rural highways, which are commonly used by commercial trucks.

Vehicle technology is another part of the truck safety discussion.

TRIP says transportation safety plans support the development and use of connected and automated vehicle systems. Examples include collision avoidance systems, lane departure avoidance systems, and turning detection technology.

The report does not require fleets to install these systems. Still, their inclusion shows the continued role that vehicle technology may play in future roadway safety efforts.

Federal Funding Supports Truck Safety Programs

Federal transportation funding also plays a major role in the report.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provided $454 billion for highways and transit from 2022 through 2026. According to TRIP, that included $17 billion for the Highway Safety Improvement Program and $4 billion for improved crash data and vehicle, driver behavior, and truck safety programs.

The report also notes that rising construction costs have reduced the buying power of that funding. The Federal Highway Administration’s national highway construction cost index increased 48% from the beginning of 2022 through the end of 2025.

That could affect how many safety projects can be completed with available funding, including highway upgrades and other infrastructure improvements important to freight movement.

The transportation funding law had been scheduled to expire on September 30, 2026, but the report says it has been extended through December 11, 2026.

Truck Safety Remains Part of a Broader National Push

TRIP estimates that fatal and serious crashes caused $1.75 trillion in total societal harm in 2025. That figure includes $435 billion in estimated economic costs and $1.32 trillion in quality-of-life costs.

For the trucking industry, however, the more immediate story is the direction of future safety efforts.

Traffic deaths have declined for four straight years, but transportation agencies are continuing to focus on enforcement, road design, work zones, vehicle technology, and infrastructure investment. Large-truck parking and commercial driver compliance are also included in that broader truck safety strategy.