2025 is drawing to a busy close as the trucking industry rushes to move freight during America’s holiday peak retail season. For carriers, the year isn’t quite over yet, but the industry can still begin reviewing their performance this year. New data highlights persistent safety challenges in the U.S. trucking industry. An analysis of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) records reveals stark differences in crash rates among motor carriers, with midsize fleets showing significantly higher incident rates per driver compared to larger operators. FreightWaves and a data partner have analyzed FMCSA crash data to discover the carriers with the highest number of crashes year-to-date (as of November 30) per driver. The FMCSA maintains the Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS), a comprehensive database that includes crash data uploaded by states based on police accident reports. States electronically transmit details from police reports on crashes involving commercial motor vehicles that result in fatalities, injuries, or towaways. This system has been in place for decades as part of FMCSA’s safety oversight, with public data access enhanced through tools like the Safety Measurement System (SMS) and Analysis & Information (A&I) online portals. window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []}; googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.defineSlot(‘/21776187881/FW-Responsive-Main_Content-Slot1’, [[300, 100], [320, 50], [728, 90], [468, 60]], ‘div-gpt-ad-1709668545404-0’).defineSizeMapping(gptSizeMaps.banner1).addService(googletag.pubads()); googletag.pubads().enableSingleRequest(); googletag.pubads().collapseEmptyDivs(); googletag.enableServices(); }); googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-1709668545404-0’); }); Crash information in MCMIS originates directly from state police reports. Law enforcement officers at the scene record details, which are then forwarded to state agencies and uploaded to FMCSA if they meet certain criteria…
