The 10 Most Dangerous Trucking Companies in the U.S.

Commercial trucks are a constant presence on American roadways, driving millions of miles annually. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), 3.5 million truck drivers in the U.S. deliver 70% of the nation’s freight. Though the trucking industry generates $700 billion annually, the average company only makes about a nickel on every dollar earned.

This begs the question: are trucking companies cutting corners to make tight deadlines and improve profitability?

Trucking companies have a lot of power in our economy, which means they need to be held to a certain standard to ensure truckers are being treated well. It also means when carriers act negligently, they need to address their wrongdoing without evasion or delay. The largest trucking companies in the United States have an even greater responsibility. Unfortunately, some carriers do everything they can to shirk this responsibility. They put their drivers and everyone on the road at risk when they do so. When they do this, they must be held accountable.

The 10 Most Dangerous Trucking Companies

Today, we’re writing about the 10 most dangerous trucking companies and their safety records. Read below to learn more!

The 10 most dangerous trucking companies are:

1. YRC Inc
2. US Xpress
3. XPO Logistics Freight
4. JB Hunt Transportation
5. UPS
6. Averitt Express
7. FedEx Ground
8. Swift Transportation
9. FedEx Freight
10. Werner Enterprises

What Truck Company Has the Most Accidents?

By reviewing truck accident statistics and breaking down these numbers to see which companies have the worst records, we can get a clear picture of which companies are putting profits above safety—and putting their drivers and everyone on the road at risk as a result.

FedEx Ground and UPS consistently have the highest number of truck accidents in the United States.

According to the FMCSA Safety and Fitness Electronic Records (SAFER) System:

• FedEx Ground had 80 fatal truck accidents from April 2020–April 2022, the highest in the nation. The company also had 911 injury accidents.
• UPS had 67 fatal accidents and 1,053 injury accidents from April 2020–April 2022, the second-highest in the country for both.

Rounding out the top five truck companies with the highest number of fatal accidents, we have:

• J.B. Hunt Transport: 67 fatal accidents
• Swift Transportation: 44 fatal accidents
• FedEx Freight: 28 fatal accidents

Rounding out the top five truck companies with the highest number of injury accidents, we have:

• J.B. Hunt Transport: 534 injury accidents
• Swift Transportation: 296 injury accidents
• Werner Enterprises: 274 injury accidents

We must note, however, that these companies have the most trucks and the most drivers; therefore, it stands to reason that they would have the highest numbers of collisions. We must look at accident rates to determine which trucking companies have the worst records.

What Truck Company Has the Highest Fatal Accident Rate?

Averitt Express had a fatal truck accident rate of .022 per million vehicle miles traveled from April 2020–April 2022, the highest in the U.S.

The following round out the top five truck companies with the highest fatal accident rates:

• YRC Inc: .021
• US Xpress: .018
• XPO Logistics Freight: .015
• J.B. Hunt Transport: .015

None of these truck companies made the list for having the highest number of fatal or injury accidents, but their accident rates have earned them a spot on our list of the most dangerous trucking companies.

We compiled this information based on statistics presented by the FMCSA on its Safety and Fitness Electronic Records (SAFER) System. To determine the accident rate, we used the average number of vehicle miles traveled for each company over a two-year period and compared it to the number of reported fatal accidents and injury accidents from April 2020 through April 2022. The accident rates are approximate.

For more information and to conduct your own SAFER search, click here.

What Truck Company Has the Highest Injury Accident Rate?

YRC Inc. had an injury truck accident rate of .19 per million vehicle miles traveled from April 2020–April 2022, the highest in the country.

The following round out the top five truck companies with the highest injury accident rates:

• J.B. Hunt Transport: .184
• US Xpress: .173
• UPS: .158
• Averitt Express: .151

Truck Accident Rates, Miles Traveled & More: By Company

You can learn a lot more about a trucking company by considering its fleet size and number of drivers in comparison to its vehicle miles traveled and number of fatal and injury accidents, as of April 10, 2022. The following information has been compiled from the SAFER System and includes the biggest trucking companies in the United States.

UPS

UPS has 127,017 drivers and 134,070 vehicles, which traveled approximately 3.33 billion miles in 2020. In the 24 months prior to April 10, 2022, UPS trucks were involved in 67 fatal accidents and 1,053 injury accidents.

FedEx Ground

FedEx Ground has 124,527 drivers and 101,975 vehicles, which logged approximately 3.24 billion miles in 2021. In the 24 months prior to April 10, 2022, FedEx Ground trucks were involved in 80 fatal accidents and 911 injury accidents.

Swift Transportation

Swift Transportation Co of Arizona LLC has 15,000 drivers and 15,907 vehicles, which traveled approximately 1.48 billion miles in 2020. In the 24 months prior to April 10, 2022, Swift Transportation trucks were involved in 28 fatal accidents and 296 injury accidents. 

Something of note about Swift: roughly 15% of their vehicles have been cited for violations (Source: FMCSA).

J.B. Hunt Transport

J.B. Hunt Transport has 24,733 drivers and 21,839 vehicles, which traveled approximately 1.45 billion miles in 2021. In the 24 months prior to April 10, 2022, J.B. Hunt Transport trucks were involved in 44 fatal accidents and 534 injury accidents.

FedEx Freight

FedEx Freight has 21,833 drivers and 18,831 vehicles, which logged approximately 1.05 billion miles in 2021. In the 24 months prior to April 10, 2022, FedEx Freight trucks were involved in 27 fatal accidents and 251 injury accidents.

FedEx Express

FedEx Express has 42,218 drivers and 35,535 vehicles, which logged approximately 1.01 billion miles in 2021. In the 24 months prior to April 10, 2022, FedEx Express trucks were involved in 9 fatal accidents and 133 injury accidents.

Schneider National Carriers

Schneider National Carriers Inc has 12,468 drivers and 10,612 vehicles, which traveled 990 million miles in 2021. In the 24 months prior to April 10, 2022, Schneider National Carriers trucks were involved in 19 fatal accidents and 240 injury accidents.

Werner Enterprises

Werner Enterprises Inc has 9,689 drivers and 9,734 vehicles, which traveled approximately 935 million miles in 2019. In the 24 months prior to April 10, 2022, Werner Enterprises trucks were involved in 17 fatal accidents and 274 injury accidents.

XPO Logistics Freight

XPO Logistics Freight Inc has 11,172 drivers and 8,499 vehicles, which traveled 591.6 million miles in 2020. In the 24 months prior to April 10, 2022, XPO Logistics Freight trucks were involved in 18 fatal accidents and 176 injury accidents.

Notably, XPO Logistics outpaces the national average when it comes to hazmat-related OOS violations. In other words, more XPO Logistics vehicles were taken off the road due to hazmat-related problems than the national average.

US Xpress Inc

US Xpress Inc has 6,058 drivers and 5,429 vehicles, which traveled approximately 488.3 million miles in 2022. In the 24 months prior to April 10, 2022, US Xpress trucks were involved in 18 fatal accidents and 169 injury accidents.

Important note: About 2,000 trucks of the US Xpress fleet belong to "independent" contractors. Independent contractors typically lease their big rigs from the carriers that once employed them; though they are independent in theory, many independent contractors rely on getting consistent jobs from company dispatchers. They can face serious consequences if they turn down jobs, essentially making them the same as employees.

CRST Expedited Inc

CRST Expedited Inc has 5,650 drivers and 4,810 vehicles, which traveled 482.8 million miles in 2020. In the 24 months prior to April 10, 2022, CRST trucks were involved in 12 fatal accidents and 115 injury accidents.

YRC Inc

YRC Inc has 9,107 drivers and 7,654 vehicles, which traveled approximately 389.3 million miles in 2021. In the 24 months prior to April 10, 2022, YRC trucks were involved in 16 fatal accidents and 151 injury accidents.

Averitt Express

Averitt Express Inc has 5,166 drivers and 5,129 vehicles, which traveled approximately 380.2 million miles in 2021. In the 24 months prior to April 10, 2022, Averitt Express trucks were involved in 17 fatal accidents and 115 injury accidents.

What Trucking Company Has the Worst CSA Score?

The FMCSA assigns safety ratings to trucking companies based on accident rates, out-of-service rates, enforcement cases, and safety violations. This rating is often referred to as a Compliance, Safety, and Accountability (CSA) score. A carrier’s CSA score is a good indicator of that company’s overall safety record. Each company's score can be found on the CSA website. When you search by company name or DOT number, you will get a breakdown of the number of vehicles, number of drivers, accidents, investigations, and crash histories associated with that company.

All of the trucking companies listed in this article have CSA ratings of “satisfactory,” so a better way to understand their safety records is by reviewing Out of Service (OOS) rates. These are represented in a company’s CSA rating as percentages of failed inspections and thus rendered the vehicle “Out of Service.” An OOS vehicle inspection rate of 20%, for example, means that 2 out of 10 vehicles did not pass inspection and were placed out of service.

The national averages for OOS rates are:

• 21.2% for vehicle inspections
• 5.8% for driver inspections
• 1.1% for hazmat inspections

Carriers with the Highest Out-of-Service (OOS) Ratings

Out of the trucking companies discussed above, CRST Expedited had the highest OOS rate for vehicle inspections; 19.3% of CRST vehicles inspected were placed out of service.

The following companies rounded out the carriers with the five highest OOS vehicle inspection ratings:

• J.B. Hunt Transport: 18.7%
• YRC Inc: 18.7%
• FedEx Ground: 16.3%
• Swift Transportation: 16.3%

FedEx Ground had the highest OOS rating for driver inspections: 2.1%.

YRC Inc had the highest OOS rating for hazmat inspections: 6.7%.

Carriers with the Lowest Out-of-Service (OOS) Ratings

FedEx Express had the lowest OOS rate at 6.4% for vehicle inspections, of the carriers listed in this article.

The following companies rounded out the carriers with the five lowest OOS ratings:

• UPS: 10.5%
• FedEx Freight: 12.3%
• Schneider National Carriers: 14.6%
• Averitt Express: 14.7%

FedEx Freight had the lowest OOS rating for driver inspections: .4%.

UPS had the lowest OOS rating for hazmat inspections: 1.1%.

Trucking Companies Are Responsible for Accident Prevention

Every year, about 5,000 people lose their lives in traffic accidents involving large trucks (weighing 10,000 pounds or more). These vehicles, which may include semi-trucks, tractor-trailers, tankers, gas trucks, big rigs, garbage trucks, and dump trucks, are powerful forces. They may weigh 80,000 pounds (or even more!) when fully loaded, and they are notoriously difficult to maneuver.

Trucking companies are responsible for hiring drivers who can operate their vehicles in a safe manner. They are responsible for properly maintaining their fleets and for creating – and enforcing – safe practices when it comes to vehicle maintenance, loading and unloading, driving, emergency maneuvers, and so much more. They should not pressure drivers to stay behind the wheel in violation of hours-of-service rules. They should not encourage or allow incorrect driving logs. They should never do anything that supports hurried safety inspections or driving on hazardous roads or in extreme weather conditions.

When truck companies put deadlines and profits first, they jeopardize their drivers and everyone on the road.