Montana Fatal Bus Accident Statistics
Montana reported 20 fatalities in large truck/bus accidents for the year 2015, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). These occurred in 17 accidents, which is up from the seven accidents reported the year before. A total of 18 large vehicles were involved, which is also up from the seven for 2014.
Only one of the accidents was a single-vehicle crash. The others involved multiple vehicles. According to nationwide statistics, most accidents with large trucks and buses are two-vehicle crashes.
A bus is recognized as a vehicle with the ability to transport at least eight passengers in addition to the driver. Examples include intercity buses, transport buses, school buses and van-buses. Even though more buses are on the highways now than in years past, fatality rates have gone down. The FMCSA compared numbers from 1975 to 2014. The number of buses registered was just over 460,000 as compared to over 870,000 in 2014. However, fatality rates per million miles driven dropped from 5.75 to 1.77 for the same time period.
Montana has a fatality rate per million people of 16.46 as compared to the national average of 11.19. The number had increased significantly since 2010 when it was reported to be 12.13. The number of accidents has increased along with an increase in the state population.
The majority of counties in Montana had zero fatalities with the majority coming from the west and central portions of the state. Those reported between one and five deaths with the exception of one county. Chouteau County reported six fatalities for 2015, which is a major change from the zero reported for the past four years. A surrounding county, Cascade, reported one for the year while Teton County also reported just one. For both of these counties, neither one had any fatalities in 2014, which involved large vehicles.