Minnesota Fatal Bus Accident Statistics
According to a report issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), Minnesota had 62 fatalities in 2015 which involved large trucks and buses. These occurred in 57 accidents, which was a decrease from the 60 accidents reported in 2014. The crashes involved 61 large vehicles, which was also a decrease from the 63 reported the year before.
The majority of large vehicle crashes nationwide involve two vehicles. Minnesota follows the trend with six single-vehicle accidents and 57 multiple-vehicle crashes for the year.
Minnesota has seen a significant decline in the number of large-vehicle fatal accidents since 2010. The fatality rate per million people dropped from 13.95 to 10.38 for 2015. This rate has now lowered below the national average of 11.19.
According to the study, most bus accidents occur in non-work zones. Sixty percent happen on rural roadways with the majority traveling at 50-55 mph. The majority of the time they happen during daylight hours on weekdays. The weather is often clear and dry.
Even though there are more buses on the roads, fewer deaths are occurring. In 1975, more than 460,000 buses were registered which increased to over 870,000 in 2014. At the same time, the death rate per million miles driven dropped from 5.75 to 1.77.
About half the counties in Minnesota reported a large vehicle fatality, but all were between one and five deaths for 2015. More accidents occurred in the southern and eastern parts of the state. In the eastern portion, Lake County had just one fatality for the year along with St. Louis County. For the southern part of Minnesota, Houston County had two, which was up from zero in 2014. Fillmore County reported one while Mower County went from zero to two. On the opposite side, Freeborn County dropped from two to zero.