Wyoming Named Deadliest State for Truck Crashes — Trucking Leaders Say the Math is Misleading

Wyoming once again tops a national ranking for fatal truck crashes, and the state’s trucking industry is pushing back. The Truck Safety Coalition put the Cowboy State at No. 1 on its annual list of the worst states for truck fatalities, citing federal data showing seven deaths per 100,000 people. New Mexico, Mississippi, North Dakota and Oklahoma followed, but Wyoming’s spot at the top comes with a big asterisk, industry leaders say.

Blame the weather and the way the numbers are crunched. Interstate 80 — the 400-mile stretch truckers call “The Gauntlet” — is notorious for high winds, whiteouts and sudden zero-visibility squalls. Pileups and fatal wrecks on this corridor keep headlines coming: a 26-vehicle explosion and fire in the Green River Tunnel in February that killed three; a separate crash near Green River that same month that took two lives; a fatal rear-end near Arlington less than two weeks ago; and the conviction of a driver for plowing into an ambulance near Rawlins in a 2022 storm, killing an EMT and permanently injuring another.

The coalition’s report leans on National Highway Traffic Safety Administration figures showing nearly 5,500 truck-crash deaths and more than 150,000 injuries nationwide in the most recent period, up 69% since 2009. It’s also urging Congress and the US Department of Transportation to toughen enforcement, including incentives for post-crash drug and alcohol testing — rules the group says more than 40% of regulated carriers ignore.

Kevin Hawley of the Wyoming Trucking Association argues the report paints a warped picture. In a state with one of the smallest populations but among the highest truck-miles traveled per capita, a handful of crashes can spike the per-capita rate and make Wyoming look “deadlier” than big states with far more wrecks. He points to state data showing that nine out of ten commercial vehicle crashes on I-80 involve out-of-state drivers, and that roughly four out of five happen in bad weather. In his view, the fix starts with better preparation for non-Wyoming carriers: storms that would shut down Florida are just another Tuesday in a Wyoming winter. Rural distances and slower emergency response times also make grim outcomes more likely when crashes do occur.

None of that excuses safety lapses. Hawley says Wyoming carriers are investing in training, tech and a stronger safety culture, and the association is working with Highway Patrol, WYDOT and federal regulators on driver education and enforcement. But he insists the top-rank stigma ignores context: Wyoming isn’t seeing a surge in fatalities; the per-capita math is doing most of the damage to its reputation.

The original story by Scott Schwebke for Cowboy State Daily.