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Pickup trucks and large trucks are common sights on Texas roads, including in Dallas and throughout North Texas. Many families rely on their cars to handle daily commutes and local errands. Businesses throughout Texas trust their trucks, such as the Ford F150 or GMC Sierra, to move cargo and visit client locations. When an individual driver or family suffers from a sideswipe, head-on, or rear-end collision involving a truck, several serious injuries can be endured.
TEXAS LEADS THE NATION IN LARGE TRUCK FATALITIES.
This report examines recent truck accident research and statistics. Here, we break down the most common trucks involved in crashes, how those crashes happen, and the unique dangers of a truck wreck. If you or a loved one is injured in a Texas truck crash, reach out to a knowledgeable attorney for help.
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Highways remain America’s most dangerous method of travel. Roadway deaths account for 94 percent of all transportation deaths annually, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). Commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) play an impactful role in these statistics.
Which Trucks Commonly Appear in Truck Wreck Claims in Texas?
Between 2015 and 2025, a total of 230,347 commercial truck and bus accidents in Texas claimed 9,241 lives and caused 140,029 injuries.
- These collisions accounted for about 11 percent of all US commercial truck and bus accidents – a rate almost 500 percent higher than the average across all 51 states and Washington DC.
- The higher average for Texas is affected by the state’s size and its rates of truck traffic. These numbers include all commercial trucks over 10,000 pounds curb weight, from fully-loaded tractor-trailers to box trucks used for local deliveries.
Pickup trucks aren’t always safer. In 2022, pickup trucks accounted for 18 percent of car accidents nationwide, even though they were only 16 percent of registered passenger vehicles.
Commercial Trucks
Texas commercial vehicle crash statistics for “commercial trucks” include nearly all trucks with a gross vehicle weight over 10,000 pounds.
These range from fully-loaded 18-wheeler tractor-trailers weighing up to 80,000 pounds to local delivery trucks and moving vans. Statistics for commercial motor vehicle (CMV) crashes also include commercial buses and school buses.
In 2024, Dallas County saw 29 deaths and 124 serious injuries in commercial vehicle crashes. In Denton County, eight people died and 38 suffered suspected serious injuries in these collisions. Statewide, tractor-trailers were involved in 430 fatal crashes in 2024, while smaller commercial trucks appeared in 158 fatal crashes.
Pickup Trucks
In 2022, police reported a total of 636,000 collisions involving pickup trucks in the United States. This number hasn’t changed significantly since 2022, and Texas continues to be a significant contributor to the total. The Texas Department of Transportation recorded 207,283 crashes involving at least one pickup truck in 2024.
In Texas, pickup trucks were involved in 1,420 fatal crashes in 2024, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. An additional 5,226 pickup truck crashes caused serious injuries to at least one person. Minor injuries occurred in 26,701 pickup truck collisions.
Common Types of Truck Accidents in Dallas & North Texas
How and why do trucks crash? Research shows that the answer depends on the type of truck, its surroundings, and the time of day. Among eighteen-wheeler tractor-trailers, jackknife accidents and underride crashes can cause serious injury or death. Smaller commercial trucks, like box trucks, are more likely to experience crashes when the driver cannot or does not stop in time to avoid a collision. Speed is a major factor in pickup truck crashes. Distracted driving remains a problem among all three truck types.
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Large Trucks
In commercial trucks over 10,000 pounds, the most common accident types vary by truck type. A study in the Journal of Safety Research found that in straight-body commercial trucks, such as box trucks, the most frequent crashes involved rear-end collisions and intersection collisions.
Often, these crashes involved situations in which the large truck could not or did not stop in time to avoid the crash. Trucks running red lights and trucks turning in front of other vehicles were two common examples. Texas saw 1,050 deaths in intersection crashes in 2024, including both trucks and other vehicles.
- The drivers of large trucks play a pivotal role in truck safety. A study in the journal Applied Sciences found that driver distraction, fatigue, substance use, and decisions like speeding were common causes of large truck crashes.
- The study also found that pressure from trucking companies to “make time” often influenced drivers’ decisions to drive while fatigued, speed, or make other risky maneuvers.
Both large semi-trucks and smaller commercial trucks saw their accident rates rise in the early 2020s. Fatality rates are falling for commercial truck drivers, but they remain elevated over rates in the late 2010s.
Pickup Trucks
Four popular pickup trucks in Texas are the Ford F-150, the Ford F-250, the GMC Sierra 1500, and the GMC Sierra 2500. These trucks offer urban maneuverability combined with the power and cargo capacity needed for big jobs. They are commonly used in construction, landscaping, and other commercial contractor work.
- Driver Error. In 2022, the most common cause of pickup truck crashes was driver error. Driver error caused or contributed to 65 percent of pickup truck collisions nationwide that year. Other common causes included speeding, fatigue, and road conditions.
- Speeding. Speeding was a factor in 22 percent of pickup truck crashes. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) defined speeding in its crash study as a vehicle either exceeding the posted speed limit or driving too fast for road conditions.Speeding is especially dangerous in rural areas: in 2022, 30 percent of all rural crashes nationwide involved speeding. In 2024, just over half of all Texas roadway deaths occurred in rural areas of the state.
- Distracted Driving & Cell Phones. Pickup truck drivers may also face higher risks from distracted driving. Cell phone use contributed to 10 percent of pickup crashes in 2022, compared to eight percent of crashes overall. Pickup drivers who are traveling to and from work sites may be especially prone to distraction as they try to juggle work communications with work-related travel. Distracted driving crashes are on the rise in Texas: in 2024, these collisions claimed 380 lives, nearly six percent more than the previous year.
- Reckless Driving. Some statistics indicate that pickup truck drivers may be more reckless behind the wheel, too. In 2023, NHTSA data showed that 22 percent of all pickup truck crash drivers had at least one prior traffic violation within three years of the accident. The average across all vehicle drivers in the US is 14 percent.
Are bigger pickups safer? Not necessarily. NHTSA data shows that full-size pickups accounted for 85 percent of all pickup truck crashes in 2022. Mid-size pickups were involved in only 12 percent of pickup truck crashes.
Hidden defects in pickup trucks may also cause or worsen wrecks in some cases. In the first half of 2026, Ford broke records with recalls issued for various truck, SUV, and sedan models. Millions of Americans drive these vehicles daily. When drivers don’t get recall repairs done promptly, they increase the risk of a serious accident for themselves and others on the road.
Common Types of Work Related Crashes
Many truck drivers are behind the wheel as part of their jobs. Whether as delivery drivers, contractors, landscapers, construction workers, semi truck drivers, or warehouse workers, thousands of Texans rely on their trucks to get their jobs done.
Which industry is most dangerous for truck crashes? Often, it depends on the type of truck. Crashes involving smaller commercial trucks, such as box trucks, are more common in retail work.
Work-Related Truck Crashes in Texas
Retail Deliveries
Retail deliveries accounted for 47 percent of all “light truck” crashes between 2011 and 2019, according to a study in the Journal of Safety Research.
Construction Work Zones
These can be especially dangerous, both for those driving trucks in and near the work zone and for those trying to navigate it. In 2024, Texas saw 194 fatal crashes in highway work zones, causing 217 deaths.
Transportation & Warehousing
Transportation and warehousing were the two industries most frequently listed in semi-truck crashes.
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Additional crashes caused a total of 823 serious injuries. In Dallas County, 15 people died in work zone collisions, and 61 suffered serious injuries.
Whether you work in construction or another field, if you’re injured while driving a pickup or other work truck, you have options. The Texas workers’ compensation system protects many employees who are injured on the job. Often, this protection covers car crashes that occur while an employee is traveling on a work-related task. An attorney who understands car accident and workers’ compensation law in Texas can help you fight for compensation.
What Makes Truck Collisions Dangerous?
Truck crashes can cause more damage than similar crashes between passenger sedans. A truck’s larger size and weight give it more momentum when traveling. This momentum translates into force at impact, which can cause serious harm.
A truck’s curb weight, or gross vehicle weight (GVW), can make collisions more dangerous. In a 2025 study published in Traffic Injury Prevention, researchers examined collisions between cars, SUVs, and pickups from 2017 to 2022.
They found that a greater difference in curb weight between two colliding vehicles was connected to more severe injuries and higher death rates in lighter vehicles. When two vehicles have similar curb weights, however, the risk decreases.
Pickup trucks are often heavier than other vehicles on the road.
Ford F-150
The Ford F-150 has a curb weight of approximately 4,000 to 5,700 pounds for gas-powered models, depending on the cab style, drivetrain, engine, trim, and options chosen. Certain high-performance trims such as the Raptor can weigh even more. The all-electric F-150 Lightning weighs significantly more, ranging from approximately 6,000 to 6,900 pounds due to its large battery pack.
Ford F-250
The Ford F-250 has a curb weight of approximately 5,677 to 7,660 pounds (for the 2025 model year), depending on configuration, cab style, drivetrain, and engine choice. Some 2026 configurations can exceed 8,600 pounds.
GMC Sierra 1500
The GMC Sierra 1500 has a curb weight of approximately 4,300–5,500 lbs (depending on cab, bed, drivetrain, and trim), while the GMC Sierra 2500HD has a curb weight starting around 6,000 lbs and can exceed 7,200 lbs.
The Ford Escape
The Ford Escape has a curb weight typically between approximately 3,000 and 3,900 pounds, depending on the model year, trim level, drivetrain, and powertrain (including hybrid/plug-in hybrid variants).' For the current (2025) model year specifically, Ford's official specs list curb weight between approximately 3,273 and 3,880 lbs.
GMC Terrain SUV
The GMC Terrain SUV weighs approximately 3,400–3,600 pounds depending on the model year and drivetrain configuration (FWD vs. AWD), with newer models starting at around 3,419 lbs for the base trim.
Ford Fiesta
The Ford Fiesta weighs approximately 2,537 to 2,720 pounds, depending on trim level and model year, making it a lightweight passenger vehicle compared to commercial trucks.
Electric Vehicles
Electric vehicles are often heavier than their similarly sized counterparts. Yet even popular electric cars aren’t in the same weight class as a full-size pickup truck. The Tesla Model 3's curb weight ranges from approximately 3,542 pounds for the base trim to around 4,065 pounds for the Performance trim, depending on the configuration.
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Pedestrian and Bicyclist Collisions
Higher weights among trucks and SUVs also lead to catastrophic results in pedestrian and bicyclist collisions. A study in the journal Injury Prevention found that pickup trucks and SUVs cause more severe injuries to pedestrians and bicyclists than passenger cars. These heavier vehicles are more likely to cause death instead of serious injury. When the pedestrian or bicyclist is a child, death is nearly twice as likely, according to the researchers.
Pickup truck crashes are often injurious or fatal to those outside the vehicle. Yet those inside the pickup truck aren’t immune from harm. In 2021, about 11 percent of sedan occupants died in car accidents. However, among pickup truck crashes, 18 percent of those inside pickup trucks died. The vehicle’s larger size and weight pose a risk to others on the road, but it may not make those inside the truck any safer.
Distraction remains a significant problem in truck crashes. While cell phones are a common cause of distraction behind the wheel, they aren’t the only risk. A study in the journal Accident Analysis & Prevention examined the risks of distraction from cell phones, GPS systems, in-vehicle infotainment systems, and driver inattention. Researchers found that GPS and in-vehicle screens, which are common in newer pickup trucks, can be as distracting as cell phones – and as dangerous.
Contact a Dallas Truck Accident Attorney Today
Whether related to work or personal life, a truck crash turns your world upside-down. You need help, and fast. Speak to a knowledgeable Dallas truck accident lawyer serving Denton and the greater North Texas area. In a pickup truck crash or a commercial truck accident, you need and deserve help to protect your legal rights.
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Chandler | Ross, Injury Attorneys is a personal injury law firm representing people throughout Denton, Dallas, and the North Texas area. Contact us today for a FREE, NO OBLIGATION CONSULTATION. You pay nothing unless we recover for you.
Data Sources for This North Texas Truck Accident Report
Data in this report comes from the City of Dallas, the Texas Department of Transportation’s Crash Records Information System (CRIS), Traffic Crash Facts reports, and Crashes and Injuries by City and County reports.