Large trucks are involved in only 8 percent of fatal crashes per year, but 17 percent of fatal fires. The scope of the current body of research is limited. Studies have treated truck fires generally as subset of vehicle fires or in their own right on a smaller scale, confined to a limited pool of data. This study, commissioned by the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center) for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), expands the current body of research to collect and analyze information from government, industry, and media sources on the magnitude, trends, and causes of truck fires in the United States and to identify potential risk-reduction measures. / This study succeeds FMCSA's Motorcoach Fire Safety Analysis (2009), furthering the agency's mission to improve commercial motor vehicle (CMV) safety on our nation's roads. Focusing on non-passenger CMVs with a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) of Class 4 and above, this study combines several government and industry data sources to investigate potential causal relationships across truck fire incidents, crash rates, and fatalities.

TRB's Commercial Truck and Bus Safety Synthesis Program (CTBSSP) Synthesis 4: Individual Differences and the "High-Risk" Commercial Driver explores individual differences among commercial drivers, particularly as these differences relate to the "high-risk" commercial driver. The synthesis identifies factors relating to commercial vehicle crash risk and assesses ways that the high-risk driver can be targeted by various safety programs and practices, at both fleet- and industry-wide levels.

This report, America at Risk, builds on the meetings of America Burning, Recommissioned, and is based on statements, discussions and recommendations that were issued on May 3rd by the Commission as the 'Principal Findings and Recommendations.

There are approximately 4,000 fatalities in crashes involving trucks and buses in the United States each year. Though estimates are wide-ranging, possibly 10 to 20 percent of these crashes might have involved fatigued drivers. The stresses associated with their particular jobs (irregular schedules, etc.) and the lifestyle that many truck and bus drivers lead, puts them at substantial risk for insufficient sleep and for developing short- and long-term health problems. Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver Fatigue, Long-Term Health and Highway Safety assesses the state of knowledge about the relationship of such factors as hours of driving, hours on duty, and periods of rest to the fatigue experienced by truck and bus drivers while driving and the implications for the safe operation of their vehicles. This report evaluates the relationship of these factors to drivers' health over the longer term, and identifies improvements in data and research methods that can lead to better understanding in both areas.