With the objective to determine the number of killed and injured occupants in trucks with a gross vehicle weight over 12,000 kg (N3 category), consisting of semi-trailers and rigid trucks with and without trailers, a special analysis of the German national statistics was carried out. In 2014, 49 truck occupants were killed and 563 seriously injured in Germany, a considerable number in semi-tractors with foreign registration. Single- vehicle crashes were responsible for one third of the fatalities.

In order to obtain further insight into the prevalent injuries and the collision scenarios causing them, 436 accidents from the German Insurers Accident Database that involved 570 heavy trucks and 594 of their occupants were analysed. Of these, 157 occupants were actually injured, ten of them fatally. Of the 131 persons with detailed injury data, 19 occupants (15%), each, presented MAIS2 and MAIS3+ injury severities. At MAIS2 level, AIS2 injuries were found in the head and face region, in the upper extremities and in the lower legs and feet. MAIS3+ included AIS3+ head, thoracic and abdominal injuries.

Rear-end collisions between heavy trucks, mainly occurring on motorways, were identified as the leading cause for severe injuries or fatal outcomes. The amount of driver cab deformation and its location on the front of the cab appears to determine injury severity more than vehicle deceleration during the crash. Driver airbags were installed in 68 vehicles, but only five were documented as deployed. New vehicle concepts for heavy trucks that include short noses, originally with the background to improve aerodynamics, would offer opportunities to improve the passive safety of these vehicles.