Texas Truck Accidents are on the Rise - What to Know After a Commercial Crash

Texas truck crashes getting deadlier — not just more frequent | Undefeated Texas 18-Wheeler Accident Attorneys

Undefeated Texas Truck Accident Lawyers

Texas has long led the nation in deadly 18-wheeler and commercial truck crashes. Since 2021, the state has accounted for 15% of all fatal truck crashes in the United States. But new FMCSA data shows that even as truck accident fatalities are falling nationwide, the fatal crash rate in Texas has not budged.

The Lone Star State isn’t just leading the nation — it’s fueling a crisis. In 2025 alone, Texas saw nearly 9,500 injuries and more than 550 deaths caused by truck accidents — numbers far higher than any other state and expected to climb as reporting catches up.

At Zehl & Associates, we’ve seen firsthand the devastation behind this alarming surge. With Billions won, including the largest truck accident verdicts and settlements in Texas history on behalf of families who’ve lost loved ones in preventable crashes, our undefeated Texas Truck Accident Lawyers are committed to holding trucking companies fully accountable and making sure our clients recover the compensation they need to rebuild their lives and protect their futures.

Below, we break down what federal crash data reveals about Texas’s ongoing truck crash crisis and how we can help you protect your rights after a catastrophic 18-wheeler accident.

Texas Saw More Fatal Truck Crashes in 2025 Than the Next Three Deadliest States Combined

Preliminary FMCSA Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) data confirms what Texans already know from behind the wheel: the Lone Star State has become the epicenter of the country’s most alarming and fast-growing truck crash crisis.

A closer look at 2025 national crash data shows that Texas:

Recorded the most fatal truck crashes in the United States
Saw the largest number of serious truck-crash injuries
Accounted for roughly 15% of all fatal truck crashes and fatalities nationwide

And unlike other states where heavy-truck crashes are beginning to level off or decline, Texas continues trending in the opposite direction.

States With Most Truck Crashes in 2025 (Preliminary FMCSA)

TX: 18,807
CA: 9,626
GA: 9,011
PA: 6,861

Texas alone saw nearly twice as many truck crashes as California. Since 2023, Texas has consistently accounted for 12% of all truck crashes nationwide — a figure that has refused to budge even as other high-traffic states pull back.

Sadly, the fatality numbers paint an even starker picture.

Fatal Truck Crashes in 2025

TX: 481 crashes resulting in 538 deaths
CA: 159 crashes resulting in 175 deaths
GA: 152 crashes resulting in 180 deaths
OH: 123 crashes resulting in 137 deaths

That means Texas saw more fatal truck crashes — and more deaths — than the next three most dangerous states combined. And because preliminary FMCSA data often undercounts fatalities due to reporting delays, those figures are likely to rise once final numbers are released.

The Rate of Fatal Truck Crashes in Texas Has Increased Since 2021 — Even As Overall Truck Crashes Decrease Nationwide

Nationwide, fatal truck crashes have shown signs of slowing. Texas is the outlier and not in a good way.

Over the last five years, Texas has accounted for a major share of all fatal truck crashes in the U.S., with its rate holding steady at 15% since 2024:

2021: 14.6%
2022: 14.6%
2023: 14.7%
2024: 15%
2025: 15%

Meanwhile, California — once considered a parallel high-risk state — has cut its fatal truck crash rate in half over the same period (from roughly 9% in 2021 to under 5% in 2025).

In 2025, an alarming 44% of all Texas truck crashes resulted in a serious injury or worse, reflecting a shift away from minor collisions and toward high-energy crashes involving speed, fatigue, and inexperienced and unqualified drivers navigating overloaded freight corridors.

Why Texas Truck Accidents Are Turning Deadly

Texas is experiencing a trucking surge unlike anything in state history. Millions of tons of cargo move daily through the state’s ports, petrochemical facilities, refineries, oilfields, warehouses, and border crossings. In response, trucking companies have flooded Texas roadways with more 18-wheelers, semis, and other commercial motor vehicles than ever before — and that volume is expected to grow another 22% by 2030.

The problem isn’t just the number of trucks. It’s that Texas roads were never designed to handle this level of industrial traffic. And instead of prioritizing safety to match reality, trucking companies have only prioritized their profits — pressuring drivers to speed, rush deliveries, ignore federal Hours of Service rules, overlook maintenance, and even skip training.

The results are predictable:

Roadways built for light passenger vehicles are now functioning as industrial freight corridors
Congested frontage roads and collector arteries are absorbing overflow from overwhelmed highways
Construction zones are constantly expanding just to keep up with the demand
Driver shortages are pushing unqualified and inexperienced operators behind the wheel
Federal and state enforcement haven’t kept pace with the risk

And every day, millions of Texas drivers are forced to share the road with massive vehicles operating on razor-thin delivery windows, often with fatigued, overworked, or inadequately trained drivers at the controls.

Most Common Factors in Deadly Texas Truck Crashes

A deeper review of 2023 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) fatality data — the most recent detailed year available — explains why Texas continues to see fatality numbers climb while other states improve.

Key drivers include:

More Trucks on Rural Roads Never Built for This Traffic

About 57% of fatal truck crashes in Texas happen on rural roads — narrow, winding, and with limited visibility. Many of these dangerous roads weren’t built for today’s freight volume, and too often, drivers lack the training or experience to navigate them safely.

Dangerous Congestion on Collector and Feeder Roads

While major highways get the headlines, frontage roads, arterials, and interchange connectors are deceptively deadly. These collector roads accounted for 17% of fatal truck crashes in Texas — far above the national average — turning everyday routes into high-risk corridors.

Reckless Driving in Construction Zones

Texas recorded 46 fatal truck crashes in construction work zones — more than three times the next-highest state. Expansion projects intended to ease traffic instead create hotspots for tragedy as drivers negotiate tight lanes, shifting patterns, and overworked 18-wheelers.

Fatigue and Overnight Driving

Around 21% of fatal truck crashes occur between midnight and 6 a.m., when circadian dips and long-haul fatigue put drivers — and everyone around them — at risk. Untreated obstructive sleep apnea, pressure to meet tight delivery windows, and exhaustion combine to make overnight travel especially hazardous.

High-Impact Head-Ons & Rear-End Collisions

Front-impact collisions — often associated with head-on crashes and 18-wheeler rear-end impacts — were cited in 53% of deadly Texas truck crashes. These impacts are strongly linked to speeding, distracted driving, fatigue, poor vehicle maintenance, and brake failures.

Alcohol Use

Texas leads the nation in fatal truck crashes involving alcohol, with 17 drivers testing over the legal limit — nearly triple California’s number. Impaired driving in large commercial vehicles is especially deadly, turning even routine deliveries into catastrophic collisions that put everyone on the road at risk.

Unqualified and Untrained Drivers

An industry-wide driver shortage has forced trucking companies to put unqualified, undertrained, and sometimes reckless operators on the road. Texas sees more drivers without a valid CDL than any other state, compounding an already dangerous mix.

Nearly all of these deadly crashes are preventable. Yet as truck crash fatalities surged, federal enforcement fell. Investigations by The Texas Tribune revealed a sharp drop in shutdowns of unsafe trucking carriers — even those identified as imminent hazards.

The result is predictable: an industry with a documented history of prioritizing profits over maintenance, training, and safety continues putting dangerous trucks and unqualified drivers on Texas roads — and Texans continue paying the price.

How Zehl & Associates Helps Families After a Fatal Truck Crash in Texas

We Hold Reckless & Negligent Parties Fully Accountable

Losing a loved one in a deadly truck crash is devastating. And while nothing will ever make up for your loss, filing a truck accident wrongful death lawsuit is the only way to secure your family’s future and hold the trucking company fully accountable for the damage they caused. In the eyes of the law, compensation is how justice is measured. But trucking companies, their insurers, and defense teams will stop at nothing to avoid responsibility and pay you as little as possible. That’s why you need a team that knows exactly how to fight back.

At Zehl & Associates, we’ve earned a national reputation for not only winning, but setting the largest record-breaking truck and 18-wheeler verdicts and settlements in Texas and U.S. history. When trucking companies see our name on a lawsuit, they treat the case differently because they know what we stand for — and they know we don’t back down until our clients have received the full compensation they deserve.

Our results don’t just protect families — they change the system. Our victories have prompted federal investigations and drawn national attention to the industry’s reckless practices, including widespread fatigued driving.

We Go Above and Beyond From Day One

Billions won for accident victims, including the1 Largest Truck Accident Settlement in Texas and the #1 Truck Accident Verdict in Texas
Undefeated at trial against the biggest names in trucking and transportation
Every case prepared for trial, forcing companies to take our clients seriously from day one
We never settle for less than the maximum compensation for all injuries, losses, and future damages

Trucking companies know they have two choices when they face us: pay full compensation or face us in front of a jury, where they risk paying far more than they ever intended. As a result, we repeatedly set records for our clients.

We Secure Record-Setting Recoveries for Families Who Lost Loved Ones in Texas Truck Accidents

$35M Settlement on behalf of a family who lost their loved one in a Fort Worth truck crash (2025) — the #1 largest single-plaintiff personal injury settlement in Fort Worth history and the #1 largest settlement in the corporate history of Ben E. Keith.
$37.5M Verdict on behalf of a Dallas family who lost their loved one in a catastrophic 18-wheeler truck accident on I-635 West (2024) — the #1 largest verdict in the corporate history of Oncor Electrical Company.
$23.5M Settlement on behalf of a client who was seriously injured and whose wife was tragically killed after being hit head-on by a commercial truck — the #1 largest accident settlement in Texas and the largest in the defendant’s 66-year corporate history.
$20M Settlement on behalf of the wife of a 64-year-old man tragically killed in a head-on with an 18-wheeler in north Houston

Beyond winning record-setting recoveries, we stand by our clients and their families every step of the way, ensuring they receive top medical treatment, that bills and reasonable living expenses are covered as the case proceeds, and that they’re connected with the best financial planners. Our priority is to make sure families never have to worry about providing for themselves or rebuilding their lives again.

It’s why so many clients say, “Zehl took care of everything.”

Undefeated Texas Truck & 18-Wheeler Accident Attorneys With Billions Won: 1-888-603-3636 for a Free Consult

Having successfully recovered the largest truck and 18-wheeler accident verdicts and settlements in history, our undefeated Truck & 18-Wheeler Accident Attorneys know what it takes to win — and we have the resources and experience necessary to ensure that you receive the maximum recovery possible.

If you or a loved one were injured or tragically killed in a trucking accident, call our Truck Accident Attorneys at 1-888-603-3636 or send us a confidential email through our Contact Us form.

We’ll answer all your questions, explain your rights and options, and provide you with all the information you need to decide what’s best for you and your family.

All consultations are free, and you won’t pay a dime unless we win your case.

We proudly serve Harris County, Midland County, and throughout the state of Texas. We are located in Houston and Midland and throughout the state of Texas:

Zehl & Associates Injury & Accident Lawyers – Houston
2700 Post Oak Blvd #1000, Houston, TX 77056
(888) 603-3636
Open 24 hours

Zehl & Associates Injury & Accident Lawyers – Midland
306 W Wall St Suite 701, Midland, TX 79701
(432) 220-0000
Open 24 hours

Texas Truck Crashes Are Getting Deadlier — Not Just More Frequent