Texas recorded 38,533 crashes involving a commercial motor vehicle in 2025, 469 of them fatal, with 528 people killed and 1,611 suspected serious injuries, according to TxDOT’s county table built from crash reports processed by April 7, 2026. Harris County had more of these crashes than any other county, but a lower share of them were fatal than the statewide average.
Every figure below comes from TxDOT’s Crash Records Information System (CRIS) annual tables or from NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). The two agencies count different vehicles, so their totals are shown side by side and never added together.
The short version
- 2025: 38,533 commercial motor vehicle (CMV) crashes in Texas, 469 fatal, 528 deaths (TxDOT CRIS, 2025 county table).
- 2024 to 2025: crashes fell 2.2% and deaths fell 13.2%, from 608 to 528 (TxDOT CRIS, 2024 and 2025 county tables).
- Harris County: 5,913 CMV crashes and 43 deaths in 2025, first in Texas on both counts, at 0.69 fatal crashes per 100 CMV crashes against 1.22 statewide.
- Per 100 crashes, CMV crashes outside the five largest counties were about twice as likely to be fatal in both 2024 and 2025.
- In 2023 Texas had 705 large trucks in fatal crashes, the most of any state and 13.1% of the U.S. total (NHTSA, DOT HS 813 717).
How many commercial truck crashes happen in Texas each year?
TxDOT counted 38,533 crashes involving a commercial motor vehicle in Texas in 2025 and 39,393 in 2024. In 2025, 469 of those crashes were fatal, 528 people died and 1,611 people suffered a suspected serious injury. That is roughly 106 CMV crashes a day, about one of every 14 reportable Texas crashes that year.
The 2025 table reflects peace officer crash reports (form CR-3) that TxDOT had received and processed as of April 7, 2026; the 2024 table, as of April 9, 2025. The daily figure is 38,533 divided by 365. The one-in-14 comparison uses the 538,860 total Texas crashes in TxDOT’s 2025 county table.
| Measure | 2024 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| CMV-involved crashes | 39,393 | 38,533 | −860 (−2.2%) |
| Fatal crashes | 546 | 469 | −77 (−14.1%) |
| People killed | 608 | 528 | −80 (−13.2%) |
| Suspected serious injury crashes | 1,261 | 1,267 | +6 |
| People with suspected serious injuries | 1,601 | 1,611 | +10 |
| Fatal crashes per 100 CMV crashes | 1.39 | 1.22 | −0.17 |
Source: TxDOT, “Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) Involved Crashes and Injuries by County,” 2024 and 2025 editions. Percentages and the per-100 rate are our arithmetic on TxDOT’s totals.
How many people die in truck crashes in Texas?
TxDOT recorded 528 deaths in Texas crashes involving a commercial motor vehicle in 2025, down from 608 in 2024. NHTSA, which counts medium and heavy trucks over 10,000 pounds, reported 730 people killed in Texas large-truck crashes in 2023, more than any other state. Most of them were not in the truck.
Of NHTSA’s 730 Texas deaths in 2023, 153 were truck occupants, 493 were people in other vehicles and 84 were pedestrians, cyclists or other people outside a vehicle (NHTSA, Large Trucks: 2023 Data, DOT HS 813 717, April 2025, Table 7). Texas also led the country in large trucks involved in fatal crashes, with 705 of the national total, or 13.1%. Large trucks made up 11.4% of all vehicles in fatal Texas crashes that year (Table 6).
| Person killed | Number | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Occupants of the large truck | 153 | 21% |
| Occupants of other vehicles | 493 | 68% |
| Pedestrians, cyclists and other nonoccupants | 84 | 12% |
| Total | 730 | 100% |
Source: NHTSA, DOT HS 813 717, Table 7. Shares are rounded and are our arithmetic.
How does Harris County compare with the rest of Texas?
Harris County had the most CMV crashes and the most CMV deaths of any Texas county in both 2024 and 2025. Its crashes were less often fatal, though: 0.69 fatal crashes per 100 CMV crashes in 2025, compared with 1.22 statewide. Outside the five largest counties, the 2025 rate was 1.54, about twice the big-county rate. For one recent Harris County crash, see our post on the 18-wheeler that overturned on the West Loop near I-10 on October 12, 2026.
The five largest counties are Harris, Dallas, Bexar, Tarrant and Travis. In 2025 they had 39.2% of Texas CMV crashes but 23.3% of the deaths; in 2024, 38.6% of crashes and 19.7% of deaths. The tables do not say why the rate differs. They do not record speed, distance to a trauma center or road type by county, so we do not draw that conclusion from them.
| Measure | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Five largest counties: share of CMV crashes | 38.6% | 39.2% |
| Five largest counties: share of CMV deaths | 19.7% | 23.3% |
| Fatal crashes per 100 CMV crashes, five largest counties | 0.77 | 0.72 |
| Fatal crashes per 100 CMV crashes, other 249 counties | 1.77 | 1.54 |
| Harris County rate | 0.65 | 0.69 |
Source: our analysis of all 254 county rows in TxDOT’s 2024 and 2025 CMV county tables. Each county row’s severity columns sum to its total, and the county rows sum to TxDOT’s statewide total row.
What are the truck crash numbers for the Houston area?
The eight counties the firm serves around Houston recorded 8,134 CMV-involved crashes and 66 deaths in 2025, about 21% of Texas CMV crashes and 12.5% of CMV deaths. Harris County alone accounted for 5,913 crashes and 43 deaths. Montgomery County had the second-most crashes, at 674.
Small counties swing sharply from year to year because a handful of fatal crashes moves the rate. Fort Bend County, for example, went from 2 fatal CMV crashes in 2024 to 7 in 2025. For crash patterns on specific Houston roads, see our guide to the most dangerous roads and intersections in Houston.
| County | Crashes 2024 | Crashes 2025 | Killed 2024 | Killed 2025 | Serious injuries 2025 | Fatal per 100, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harris | 6,313 | 5,913 | 41 | 43 | 125 | 0.69 |
| Montgomery | 671 | 674 | 8 | 1 | 39 | 0.15 |
| Fort Bend | 605 | 489 | 2 | 7 | 15 | 1.43 |
| Brazoria | 283 | 250 | 6 | 3 | 13 | 1.20 |
| Galveston | 229 | 250 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0.40 |
| Chambers | 221 | 239 | 3 | 4 | 12 | 1.26 |
| Waller | 203 | 165 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 1.21 |
| Liberty | 137 | 154 | 3 | 5 | 67 | 3.25 |
| Eight counties | 8,662 | 8,134 | 65 | 66 | 281 | 0.77 |
Source: TxDOT CMV county tables, 2024 and 2025. “Serious injuries” counts people with a suspected serious injury.
For local help after a truck crash in these counties, the firm has pages for 18-wheeler crashes in Sugar Land (Fort Bend County), Galveston, The Woodlands (Montgomery County) and Baytown (Harris County).
Which Texas counties have the highest fatal truck crash rate?
Among counties with at least 50 CMV crashes, Leon County had the highest 2025 rate, 9.41 fatal crashes per 100 CMV crashes, and Frio County had the highest 2024 rate, 10.71. These are rural counties with few crashes, so one or two fatal crashes decide the ranking. The list changed completely between the two years.
| Rank | 2024 county (CMV crashes) | Rate | 2025 county (CMV crashes) | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Frio (56) | 10.71 | Leon (85) | 9.41 |
| 2 | Rusk (93) | 8.60 | Jim Wells (52) | 7.69 |
| 3 | Austin (74) | 6.76 | Kendall (55) | 7.27 |
| 4 | Erath (50) | 6.00 | Henderson (63) | 6.35 |
| 5 | Moore (50) | 6.00 | Dimmit (50) | 6.00 |
Source: our ranking of TxDOT’s 2024 and 2025 CMV county tables. The 50-crash floor is our choice, made to keep counties with a single crash out of the list.
How often are 18-wheelers involved in fatal Texas crashes?
In 2025, 372 truck-tractor and semi-trailer combinations were involved in fatal crashes in Texas, about 6.4% of the 5,803 vehicles of every body style in fatal crashes that year. Two-thirds of those 372 were in rural crashes (254) rather than urban ones (118).
Across crashes of every severity, TxDOT counted 26,003 truck-tractor/semi-trailer vehicles in 2025, and 950 in crashes with a suspected serious injury (TxDOT, “Count of Vehicles in Crashes by Body Style,” 2025). The vehicle count is not the same as the CMV crash count above: one crash can involve several vehicles, and TxDOT’s CMV definition also covers vehicles other than tractor-trailers. For what happens after an 18-wheeler crash, see the firm’s Houston 18-wheeler and trucking accident practice.
Why do TxDOT and federal truck crash numbers differ?
TxDOT counts crashes involving a “commercial motor vehicle,” taken from Texas peace officer crash reports. NHTSA counts crashes involving a “large truck,” meaning any medium or heavy truck over 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight rating, commercial or not. The vehicle groups, data systems and years differ, so the totals do not match and should not be combined.
NHTSA’s fatal counts come from FARS, a census of fatal crashes. TxDOT’s tables count every reportable crash, at all severities, processed by a cutoff date, and TxDOT can revise its figures as late reports arrive. When you see a Texas truck statistic, check which agency, which vehicle definition and which year it uses. Pages that mix them often give several different numbers for the same thing.
What causes large-truck crashes in Texas?
Neither TxDOT’s county tables nor NHTSA’s fact sheet assigns a cause to each truck crash, so this page does not rank causes. NHTSA does report one driver measure: 4% of large-truck drivers in 2023 fatal crashes had a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or higher, a threshold that also matters in drunk driving injury claims, against 24% of passenger-car drivers.
Federal data on contributing factors such as speed, inattention and fatigue, and what each means for a claim, are covered in our post on the common causes of Houston truck accidents. Driving-time limits for truck drivers are explained in our guide to hours-of-service rules.
What do these numbers mean if you were hurt in a truck crash?
A statewide figure describes risk; it does not show what happened in one crash. That depends on the crash’s own records, including the CR-3 report, the truck’s electronic and maintenance records, photographs and witnesses. Which records matter most is set out in our post on key evidence in an 18-wheeler accident claim.
For crashes outside Houston itself, the firm has pages for Katy and Pasadena 18-wheeler cases. Where a crash was fatal, the family’s options are described on the wrongful death practice page. For all crash types, see the Houston car accident statistics page.
Frequently asked questions
How many fatal truck crashes happen in Texas each year?
TxDOT recorded 469 fatal crashes involving a commercial motor vehicle in 2025 and 546 in 2024. NHTSA’s federal data, which use a different vehicle definition, show 705 large trucks involved in fatal Texas crashes in 2023.
Which state has the most fatal large-truck crashes?
Texas. In NHTSA’s 2023 data, Texas had 705 large trucks in fatal crashes, 13.1% of the national total, and 730 people killed in large-truck crashes, more than any other state.
Are truck crashes in Houston more deadly than elsewhere in Texas?
Per crash, no. Harris County had 0.69 fatal crashes per 100 CMV crashes in 2025, against 1.22 statewide and 1.54 outside the five largest counties. By total count, Harris County had the most CMV deaths of any county: 43 in 2025.
Who is usually killed in a large-truck crash?
People in other vehicles. In Texas in 2023, 493 of the 730 people killed in large-truck crashes were occupants of other vehicles, 153 were in the truck, and 84 were pedestrians, cyclists or other nonoccupants (NHTSA).
Did Texas truck crash deaths go down in 2025?
Yes. TxDOT’s tables show 528 deaths in CMV-involved crashes in 2025, down from 608 in 2024, a 13.2% decline. Total CMV crashes fell 2.2%, while suspected serious injuries rose slightly, from 1,601 to 1,611 people.
Where can I find the official Texas crash data?
TxDOT publishes its annual CRIS tables on its motor vehicle crash statistics page, including the CMV county table and the body-style table used here. NHTSA publishes its large-truck fact sheet on its Crash Stats site. Both are listed under Sources below.
Sources
- TxDOT, Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) Involved Crashes and Injuries by County, 2025 (data processed as of April 7, 2026; read October 27, 2026).
- TxDOT, Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) Involved Crashes and Injuries by County, 2024 (data processed as of April 9, 2025; read October 27, 2026).
- TxDOT, Count of Vehicles in Crashes by Body Style, 2025 (read October 27, 2026).
- TxDOT, Crashes and Injuries by County, 2025, for the 538,860 total-crash figure (read October 27, 2026).
- TxDOT, Motor Vehicle Crash Statistics (index of annual tables).
- NHTSA, Large Trucks: 2023 Data, DOT HS 813 717 (April 2025; read October 27, 2026).
About the authors
Sam A. Maida, Jr.
Owner and Managing Attorney
Sam A. Maida, Jr. has represented injured Texans in the greater Houston area since the firm opened in 1993.
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Bernard G. Johnson III
Litigation Managing Attorney
Bernard G. Johnson III is a board certified trial lawyer licensed in Texas since 1996 and a graduate of South Texas College of Law.