SALT LAKE CITY – Anyone planning to drive any distance to gather with family or friends over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend needs to be on the lookout for commercial trucks being driven dangerously.
That’s the best advice that traffic safety experts at Munley Law can provide, following a state-by-state study that shows alarmingly high numbers of fatal truck collisions occur during the Thanksgiving travel period.
They should know, because the Pennsylvania-based law firm is recognized as a national authority on trucking litigation, whose lawyers have been involved in many of the trucking industry’s most complex, catastrophic injury cases.
Americans on the road for Thanksgiving are taking some giant risks, according to Marion Munley, a senior partner at Munley Law and one of the county’s leading trucking accident attorneys.
The Munley study found that the holiday shipping season with trucks carrying cargo across the county stands out on one of the main factors contributing to the danger during the Thanksgiving period.
With decades of litigation experience behind her, Marion Munley explains that worsening weather, freight pressure, driver fatigue and outdated equipment all contribute to holiday-season crashes involving trucks.
Federal statistics show that in collisions between large commercial trucks and passenger vehicles, she adds, most of the fatalities – 97 percent of them, in fact — are in the smaller vehicles.
The Munley study — based on analysis of accident and other data from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration – found that the number of fatal truck accidents during the 2023 Thanksgiving holiday period reached an all-time high of 40, up by 48 percent from the previous year.
Those Thanksgiving weekend crashes resulted in 474 deaths nationwide, about 13 percent of the total 3,619 traffic fatalities suffered in 2023.
The Munley study also identifies the safest states – Utah is ranked a modest 26 out of 51 – and the most dangerous interstate roads for truck accidents in each state and throughout the country.
In 2024, for example, the most dangerous interstates in the nation included I-35 in Texas (with 38 fatal truck crashes), I-40 in New Mexico (37 fatal truck crashes) and I-10 in Arizona (32 fatal truck crashes).
Additional information about the Munley Law study can be found by going online to https://munley.com/truck-accident-lawyer/safest-and-most-dangerous-states/
Founded in 1959, the Munley Law firm has been recognized for personal injury and truck accident litigation for more than 65 years. The firm is based in urban areas throughout Pennsylvania.