Australian transport and logistics industry insurance provider NTI has revealed the top cause of major truck crashes, with the number of major heavy vehicle incidents attributed to inattention/distraction and inappropriate speed declining.
This boost for the industry comes courtesy of a new report in the National Truck Accident Research Centre’s (NTARC) Major Incident Investigation Report 2025, which shows that the two leading human factor-related incident causes have decreased from 2023 to 2024.
Major heavy vehicle incidents caused by inattention/distraction have reduced by 1.6 per cent and inappropriate speed incidents has dropped by 7.6 per cent.
Monash University Accident Research Centre’s Dr Jasmine Proud says that despite this drop, inattention/distraction, inadequate following distance and inappropriate speed still remain as the leading contributing factors to heavy vehicle incidents.
“Inattention/distraction accounted for 17.9 per cent of all major incidents in 2024, a fall of 1.6 per cent on the previous year. These are most commonly single-vehicle incidents, indicating this issue is one the transport industry is best placed to address,” Proud says.
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“Inadequate following distance was the second most common cause of human factor crashes in 2024, with 80 per cent occurring in major cities. These almost always involve another vehicle, often a car, emphasising the complexities of light and heavy vehicle interactions.
“We’ve also seen a decrease in the number of inappropriate speed-related incidents, which fell from 13.8 per cent in 2019 to 8.6 per cent of all losses in 2024. These incidents are not confined to high-speed roads and reveal how a heavy vehicle’s high centre of gravity, load shift potential and articulation reduces its stability, especially on curves.”
NTI CEO Janelle Greene says the purpose of the NTARC report is to highlight opportunities where action can be taken to improve safety outcomes.
This year’s report sees data further broken down to at a state and territory level for the first time, allowing for more targeted action.
“Continuing to drive systemic and behavioural change remains central to reducing human factor-related incidents and improving safety for all road users. Encouragingly, a range of industry-led and government-supported programs are already targeting these issues, from tailored education and awareness campaigns to resource packs, toolbox talks and workshops, through to policy and technology innovations,” Greene says.
“The research shows that heavy vehicle drivers have one of the most dangerous occupations in Australia. They face high levels of unpredictability in the workplace, including road conditions, environmental factors and load mass and geometry. In truck and car fatal crashes, heavy vehicles were not at fault in 85.7 per cent of cases.
“The report has deliberately been released during October as Safe Work Month. Heavy vehicle drivers deserve a safe work environment free from the risk of death or serious injury. Industry and government are working together to make change, and the NTARC partnership is committed to continuing to support heavy vehicle road safety research to better understand the unique hazards of the sector and how they can be appropriately managed to better protect the drivers that keep Australia moving.”
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