[Missouri had 4,289 accidents with 155 deaths and 2,309 injuries. For Kansas, 1475 69 692, Nebraska 994 34 574, Illinois 6317 159 3677. Minnesota 229363 1024. For input for other state content from http://ai.volpe.dot.gov/CrashProfile/st_overview.ASP?StCd=MN Compare motor vehicles at http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/facts-research/facts-figures/analysis-statistics/cmvfacts.htm ]

*2006 is the most recent data available from the U. S. DOT statistic site.
               
Commercial trucks are more likely to be involved in serious accidents, mainly because of their size. Truck drivers have special licenses due to the increased dangers they face on the road. The truck driver's visibility is much smaller than passenger vehicles, which slows their reaction time in case of an emergency, and their tires and brakes behave differently from those of passenger vehicles. The accidents that involve these commercial trucks are more likely to cause the more serious injuries. Many of these accidents not only include broken bones, they may also result in disabilities, including paralysis, loss of limbs, spinal cord injuries, and brain injuries. If the truck driver or his or her vehicle is at fault, there could be several reasons behind it. These may include the insufficient truck driver training, driver fatigue, faulty maintenance, visibility difficulties (blind spots), improper loads, poor safety equipment and more.

Truck drivers have to adhere to more regulations than passenger vehicles because of the dangers they face on the road. To ensure they are following all these regulations, the government has set up various checkpoints, such as the weigh stations along our nation's highways. The most stringent laws are those that require truck drivers to have a log that records their hours. They are only allowed to drive a certain length of time without taking a period of time to rest and sleep. Driver fatigue is a common cause in accidents where the driver is at fault. This is why their logs are often audited to watch for falsified records. The driver is not solely responsible for the safety of his or her truck. The companies that own the trucks, often called "carriers", are responsible for ensuring that their drivers and the vehicles are safe.