Safety Trends
Year-over-year trends in OOS rates and crash totals for US commercial trucking. Each row compares against the previous year to show whether conditions are improving or worsening.
Is Trucking Getting Safer?
The out-of-service rate measures the proportion of roadside inspections where critical safety defects are found. A declining OOS rate generally indicates improving fleet maintenance and compliance. However, interpretation requires context: changes in inspection targeting, enforcement emphasis, and fleet composition all influence the numbers. Crash totals reflect both safety improvements and changes in freight volume — more trucks on the road means more exposure.
Overall OOS trend: The OOS rate has changed by 1.7% from the earliest to the latest year in the dataset. This suggests worsening compliance or changed inspection patterns.
OOS Rate by Year
Out-of-service rate trend from roadside inspections
5 years of OOS data
| Year | Total Inspections | OOS Count | OOS Rate | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 766,658 | 157,033 | 2048.0% | Worsening |
| 2025 | 2,958,161 | 565,597 | 1912.0% | Worsening |
| 2024 | 2,688,423 | 479,295 | 1783.0% | Worsening |
| 2023 | 1,884,950 | 327,976 | 1740.0% | Improving |
| 2020 | 21,988 | 4,426 | 2013.0% | — |
Crash Totals by Year
Reportable crash counts with severity breakdown
43 years of crash data
| Year | Total Crashes | Fatal Crashes | Fatalities | Injuries | Hazmat | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 32,365 | 618 | 699 | 16,302 | 31,534 | Improving |
| 2025 | 173,188 | 4,335 | 4,932 | 91,954 | 173,185 | Improving |
| 2024 | 183,447 | 4,904 | 5,530 | 95,296 | 183,446 | Improving |
| 2023 | 186,006 | 5,613 | 6,323 | 95,907 | 186,006 | Improving |
| 2022 | 197,796 | 6,056 | 6,941 | 98,106 | 197,796 | Worsening |
| 2021 | 196,630 | 5,901 | 6,761 | 99,965 | 196,630 | Worsening |
| 2020 | 166,395 | 5,074 | 5,781 | 83,910 | 166,395 | Improving |
| 2019 | 193,561 | 5,327 | 6,038 | 106,133 | 193,100 | Improving |
| 2018 | 195,328 | 5,138 | 5,852 | 106,525 | 195,062 | Worsening |
| 2017 | 181,677 | 4,988 | 5,718 | 100,491 | 181,486 | Worsening |
| 2016 | 176,882 | 4,819 | 5,477 | 100,332 | 176,571 | Worsening |
| 2015 | 170,660 | 4,679 | 5,328 | 96,886 | 170,208 | Worsening |
| 2014 | 161,903 | 4,268 | 4,961 | 95,188 | 161,662 | Worsening |
| 2013 | 146,059 | 4,226 | 4,788 | 89,099 | 145,831 | Worsening |
| 2012 | 134,563 | 4,175 | 4,744 | 85,086 | 134,264 | Worsening |
| 2011 | 130,509 | 3,901 | 4,414 | 82,638 | 130,481 | Worsening |
| 2010 | 129,204 | 3,946 | 4,471 | 83,254 | 129,189 | Worsening |
| 2009 | 118,064 | 3,450 | 3,934 | 76,104 | 118,058 | Improving |
| 2008 | 143,936 | 4,358 | 5,017 | 90,857 | 143,934 | Improving |
| 2007 | 150,430 | 4,690 | 5,493 | 93,374 | 150,428 | Improving |
| 2006 | 158,717 | 5,193 | 6,089 | 105,121 | 158,714 | Worsening |
| 2005 | 156,378 | 5,274 | 6,120 | 103,696 | 156,368 | Worsening |
| 2004 | 146,385 | 4,899 | 5,908 | 100,056 | 146,378 | Worsening |
| 2003 | 135,099 | 4,627 | 5,449 | 100,310 | 135,062 | Worsening |
| 2002 | 122,773 | 4,620 | 5,619 | 94,809 | 122,772 | Worsening |
| 2001 | 117,400 | 4,777 | 5,590 | 86,720 | 117,331 | Improving |
| 2000 | 118,963 | 5,241 | 6,154 | 91,760 | 118,957 | Worsening |
| 1999 | 116,418 | 4,717 | 5,817 | 98,363 | 116,224 | Worsening |
| 1998 | 105,200 | 4,009 | 4,887 | 95,530 | 105,188 | Improving |
| 1997 | 106,185 | 3,691 | 4,470 | 99,468 | 106,183 | Worsening |
| 1996 | 102,398 | 3,464 | 4,181 | 97,404 | 102,391 | Worsening |
| 1995 | 92,834 | 3,074 | 4,990 | 83,846 | 92,827 | Worsening |
| 1994 | 86,151 | 2,851 | 3,571 | 76,767 | 84,711 | Worsening |
| 1993 | 55,974 | 1,603 | 1,932 | 43,693 | 50,396 | Worsening |
| 1992 | 50,709 | 1,237 | 1,471 | 35,752 | 44,889 | Worsening |
| 1991 | 23,222 | 655 | 989 | 15,088 | 20,215 | Worsening |
| 1990 | 12,916 | 440 | 526 | 8,176 | 10,684 | Worsening |
| 1989 | 2,610 | 13 | 15 | 1,427 | 1,469 | Worsening |
| 1988 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | Improving |
| 1987 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Improving |
| 1986 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 9 | Worsening |
| 1985 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | Improving |
| 1982 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 | — |