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November 2, 1999 10:04 AM, EST

Large trucks were involved in the lowest rate of fatal accidents ever red in the United States last year, 2.33 for every 100 million miles driven, an 8.3% reduction from 1997, according to new federal statistics.

Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Admin.

The report, prepared by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, also showed that the rate of injuries in truck-related crashes has fallen 31% since 1988, while the rate of deaths in such crashes has declined 34%.

Trucks traveled 4.5 billion more miles than in 1998 but were involved in 310 fewer fatal crashes, resulting in 22 fewer fatalities than the previous year, according to NHTSA, which has been keeping statistics since 1975.

American Trucking Associations noted that the 8.3% reduction in the fatal crash rate for large trucks was much better than the 3.6% decline reported for all vehicles.

For the full story, see the Nov. 1 print edition of Transport Topics. .