ACCORDING TO THE FEDERAL MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY ADMINISTRATION, ACCIDENTS INVOLVING LARGE TRUCKS HAVE INCREASED BY 20 PERCENT DURING THE PAST TWO DECADES. OVERTURNED TRACTOR TRAILERS IN MICHIGAN, TEXAS, PENNSYLVANIA, ILLINOIS, PHILADELPHIA, SOUTH JERSEY AND SO ON ADD TO TRUCK CRASH STATISTICS THIS REALLY BAD WINTER: MULTIPLE DEATHS, FIERY CRASHES, EXPLOSIONS, INJURIES AND PROPERTY DAMAGE.

ACCORDING TO THE FEDERAL MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY ADMINISTRATION, ACCIDENTS INVOLVING LARGE TRUCKS HAVE INCREASED BY 20 PERCENT DURING THE PAST TWO DECADES.   

OVERTURNED TRACTOR TRAILERS IN MICHIGAN, TEXAS, PENNSYLVANIA, ILLINOIS, PHILADELPHIA, SOUTH JERSEY AND SO ON ADD TO TRUCK CRASH STATISTICS THIS REALLY BAD WINTER: MULTIPLE DEATHS, FIERY CRASHES, EXPLOSIONS, INJURIES AND PROPERTY DAMAGE.

Two major incidents involving the pileup and/or overturning of tractor trailers marred commutes throughout the United States.  The northern states and Texas appear to have been hit the hardest.  Today, a huge, fiery pileup occurred in Michigan resulting in the death of drivers in addition to multiple injuries.  All these accidents we have been posting on our webpages serve as a reminder of how common accidents involving large trucks are in the United States.

Fatal 150-Vehicle Michigan Pileup Prompts Evacuation on January 9, 2015

At least one person was killed and 10 were injured Friday in a pileup affecting both the westbound and eastbound lanes of a Michigan interstate, involving more than 150 vehicles — including a semi-truck carrying fireworks that erupted into flames, according to police. Interstate 94 was completely closed down due to the chain-reaction crash in Battle Creek that started around 10 a.m., Michigan State Police Lt. Rick Pazder told NBC News. Vehicular traffic in a 3-mile radius of the crash was also being evacuated because the semi-truck carrying fireworks had caught fire and a nearby truck carrying Formic acid ignited, Pazder said. Anyone who lives in a 3-mile radius is also being asked by HAZMAT officials to evacuate their homes, according to a statement from the Michigan State Police. Formic acid can cause throat burns, coughing and nausea if inhaled according to the Centers for Disease Control. 

A semi-truck driver was killed in the crash, but is not yet being identified, Pazder said. Ten more people were injured and brought to area hospitals, while more people who were less seriously injured were brought to the Veteran Affairs Medical Center in Battle Creek, Pazder said. People involved in the crash who were not injured were being bused to Galesburg-Augusta Primary School. 

Pazder said visibility was poor due to blowing snow at the time of the crash. He said he anticipated that the I-94 would be closed down for at least 12 hours. 

2 dead after multiple wrecks shut down I-20 west in Gregg county Texas on January 9, 2015

GREGG COUNTY, TX (KLTV) - Two people were killed after separate wrecks temporarily shut down portions of Interstate 20 early Friday morning, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Two semi trucks collided early Friday morning with one catching fire. Photo Source: Sabine Fire Dept.

One wreck temporarily shut down traffic near the Interstate 20 and Highway 31 exit. The crash, which occurred at exit 589 at the railroad bridge, was cleared by noon Friday.

Officials say a vehicle traveling westbound on Interstate 20 slammed into parked vehicle on the shoulder of the road. Witnesses say the vehicle was weaving in and out of traffic before it hit the parked semitrailer. The people in the first vehicle were killed.
Fire department officials say the vehicle was licensed out of Mexico and was hauling a load of television sets when it struck the 18-wheeler. On impact, the TVs were ejected from the car. The vehicle had a sleeping chamber in it, where a passenger was asleep. Officials say the person likely never woke up during the wreck.
The wreck happened a few hours after a separate 18-wheeler collision on Interstate 20.
Officials say that the early morning wreck happened about 1 a.m. and involved two 18-wheelers that collided and caught on fire. The collision shut down the westbound lanes of the interstate at mile marker 583. One lane has been reopened.

These are just two high-profile incidents in the United States today and they parallel a federal government statement on the steady increase of large truck accidents nationwide.  According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, accidents involving large trucks have increased by 20 percent during the past two decades. 

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the vast majority of both nonfatal crashes (89 percent) and fatal crashes (83 percent) involving large trucks occur on weekdays, both when the lumbering vehicles are most common and roadways are often congested with traffic.