Research & Discoveries (R&D): Institute for Safer Trucking Updates Truck Crash Map

By Cody Uhing, Director of Communications, Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association

In August, the Institute for Safer Trucking, a partner organization of the Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association, updated its interactive large-truck crash map with the latest data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s 2024 Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).

According to NHTSA’s finalized 2024 data:

• 5,340 people were killed in crashes involving large trucks.
• Although fatalities declined 2.5% from 2023, they remain 30% higher than a decade ago.
• An estimated 161,201 people were injured in large truck crashes which is a 5% increase over 2023. 

The map, available here, allows users to review truck crash data from 2021 to 2024, broken down by state, county, and congressional district. Fatalities were most prevalent in Texas, California, Florida, North Carolina, and Georgia. 

Autonomous trucks hold great promise in reducing the number of crashes on U.S. roads. Autonomous driving systems are never impaired or tired, and the sensor suite gives the vehicle a 360 degree view of the road and other road users. Before these trucks are ever deployed, they are rigorously tested on closed tracks with safety drivers and in simulation, notching countless autonomously driven miles while reacting to real-world scenarios. 

AVIA members developing and deploying autonomous trucks have also implemented safety cases to demonstrate they are ready for operations. Most recently, Kodiak AI, which has deployed autonomous trucks on private roads in the Permian Basin, announced the company’s Autonomous Readiness Measure (ARM) for long-haul driverless operations reached 93 percent at the end of August 2026. The ARM measures the percentage of claims and evidence in Kodiak’s safety case for driverless operations that are materially complete. According to the company, “the increase reflects consistent progress in the remaining development, testing and validation activities required to safely launch the Kodiak Driver into long-haul driverless service.”

A third-party audit of Aurora Innovation’s safety case in June 2026, found it well-structured, aligned with industry best practices, and actively maintained. In announcing the audit, Aurora said, “Aurora’s Safety Case is an evidence-based justification for why its autonomous vehicle technology is safe – assembled from real-world data, testing, and engineering work.”

Autonomous trucks will make American roads safer.