This chapter contains information on drivers of large trucks in fatal, injury, and property damage only crashes and on people killed or injured in large truck crashes. Some statistics are also listed for passenger vehicle drivers in order to make comparisons. It is important to note that the number of large truck drivers in crashes is not exactly equal to the number of large trucks in crashes, because no driver information is provided for some crashes. Below is a summary of some of the information in this section:

• Fatalities in crashes involving large trucks made up 13 percent of all fatalities in motor vehicle crashes in 1999.

• Injuries in large truck crashes made up 4 percent of all injuries in motor vehicle crashes in 1999.

• Of the 4,847 drivers of large trucks involved in fatal crashes, 351 (about 7 percent) were 25 years of age or younger, and 104 (about 2 percent) were 66 years of age or older. In comparison, 13,947 (30 percent) of the 47,607 drivers of passenger vehicles in fatal crashes were 25 years of age or younger, and 5,964 (about 13 percent) were 66 years of age or older.

• About 2 percent of all the drivers of large trucks involved in fatal crashes were female, as compared with 30 percent of all drivers of passenger vehicles involved in fatal crashes.

• One or more driver-related factors were recorded for 72 percent of the drivers of large trucks involved in single-vehicle fatal crashes but only for 31 percent of the drivers of large trucks involved in multiple-vehicle fatal crashes.

• Of the 4,847 drivers of large trucks involved in fatal crashes, 909 were not wearing a safety belt at the time of the crash; of those, 19 percent were completely or partially ejected from the vehicle.