WASHINGTON -- The number of people killed in large-truck crashes fell 4.4 percent last year, as the number of highway fatalities dropped again to historically low levels.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters announced results from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) annual traffic safety assessment. In 2007, the overall number of traffic fatalities fell to 41,059, the lowest number since 1994. In addition, the fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled was 1.37, the lowest fatality rate on record, she noted.

The number of large-truck crash fatalities fell 4.4 percent, from 5,027 in 2006 to 4,808 in 2007. That number included 802 truck occupants, 502 of those in single-vehicle crashes, numbers virtually identical to last year. However, there were nearly 200 fewer people killed in other vehicles involved in crashes with heavy trucks.

The American Trucking Associations speculates that some of the decline in fatalities may be attributed to trucks using more safety technologies such as collision avoidance, lane departure warning, stability control and brake stroke monitoring systems. ATA is supporting a measure currently under consideration by Congress that would give tax incentives to carriers who adopt these safety technologies.

"The statistics from this most recent study show that the efforts of law enforcement agencies to focus on the most likely causes of crashes, such as speeding and impaired driving, are making our highways safer," said ATA President and CEO Bill Graves. He also noted that this continued safety improvement occurred under the new federal hours-of-service regulations, and the new figures add to the growing evidence that the regulations are working and should be retained.

"While we are pleased that overall fatalities have decreased," Graves added, "we still have room to improve safe driving habits of truck drivers and passenger vehicle drivers."

The number of people injured in highway crashes in 2007 also was the lowest seen since NHTSA Began collecting injury data in 1988 -- 2.49 million.

-- via Truckinginfo.com