In a recent segment of the radio show “On the Move” with host Dan Ronan for SiriusXM’s Road Dog Trucking, NBTA Board-Certified and Nationally Recognized Truck Wreck Attorney David W. Craig talked about his Semi Crash Map and how localized crash data can help local officials understand what is happening on the roads, as well as trigger ideas for improving roads, highways, and transportation in their area.
This information is crucial for everyone involved in the trucking industry, whether that’s truck drivers, plaintiff’s attorneys, brokers, shippers, and everyone in between. Every person who drives on America’s roads are affected by truck crashes, and the Semi Crash Map is a resource David created to help everyone.
Localized crash patterns are crucial to the discussion of road safety because analysis can teach people whether the industry is learning fast enough about the previous crash to prepare for the next one. The federal government’s annual reports on semis, heavy trucks, and buses tend to have a two-to-three-year lag between the calendar year of the crashes and the published report. The most recent Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts report is from 2022. When there are gaps that size between annual reports, it makes it difficult for drivers today to see changes in accident trends that often result from new or removed federal regulations.
Closing the Gap with Local Data
Truck wrecks happen every day, and the outcomes are often catastrophic. The trucking companies that are most likely to cause them have tendencies to violate Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and carry the minimum insurance required by law, which is $750,000. Some will go up to $1 million, but for many crash victims, their medical expenses alone exceed that amount.
The government should raise those limits to make sure drivers are covered when wrecks happen. But in reality, the best way to protect yourself is to become educated on how to avoid these crashes.
David’s ultimate goal is to see safer highways for everyone, but outdated information on how often these wrecks happen and what causes them makes that a difficult goal to achieve. In order to realize his dream of closing that data gap, David needed to overcome the lag in federal reporting.
Part of the reason for the long period of time it takes the federal government to release these reports is how police reports are gathered in each state. Some states, like Indiana, use centralized police report gathering, which makes it possible to search through a vast number of police reports and the crucial information within them — like who the police determined to be at fault for a truck wreck. In states that don’t allow this, anyone seeking this information must go to each police station to acquire police reports. This is extremely time-consuming for the federal government.
In order to bridge that data gap, David needed to gather crash data without police reports. The solution was using news reports instead.
An Interactive, Real-Time Map
In 2025, David posed the question, “How can I track truck wrecks in real time?” because he understood the importance of recent and accurate truck wreck data. He wanted to show the public where, when, and why these wrecks are happening. After hiring a computer programmer, Nick Perin, to bring this idea to life, the Semi Crash Map was launched; first in Indiana and now nationwide.
Through the power of artificial intelligence (AI), the program scans and pulls news stories and other posts to find truck wrecks and report them on the map. Any crashes that the local news misses are backfilled using police reports that are accessible. The system only tracks wrecks involving more than one vehicle and resulted in an injury or death. By looking through the map markers, users can find patterns that point toward the time, day of the week, roadway, and more that are the most dangerous, as well as what causes these wrecks.
This program is very beneficial for passenger vehicle drivers, who can use the map to understand the levels of risk that come with traveling on certain roads. David even uses the Semi Crash Map to see crash trends before planning long road trips. However, this tool is useful for truck drivers, too. Many professional drivers traveling all across the country know exactly which stretches of road are the worst to travel on, but the Semi Crash Map’s data can support those experiences. Those running fleets of trucks can use the map to find the routes with a disproportionate number of wrecks and plan accordingly, avoiding crashes and ultimately saving time.
Overall, this resource can help both professional drivers and passenger vehicle drivers safely navigate the routes they travel every day. Tools like the Semi Crash Map that help drivers understand the patterns behind these accidents ultimately work to help the public avoid unnecessary risks on the roads, saving lives in the process.
Semi Crash Map: A Tool for Identifying Dangerous Trucking Trends
The Semi Crash Map was developed in 2025 by Nationally Recognized Truck Accident Attorney David W. Craig with the help of employees at Craig, Kelley & Faultless. This educational and informative tool provides the public with information about dangerous trucking trends as they happen. It is aimed at those who wish to use the map’s data to educate themselves about local semi-truck wrecks.
David’s goal is to create public access to truck accident data and trends, which equips users with knowledge and information that can make everyone more aware of the potential dangers that come with sharing the road with semi-trucks. Anyone can access and navigate the map for free.
Map markers are updated daily, utilizing a patent pending process that pulls from news sources, police reports and other available data to track truck wrecks when they occur. Users can click on any map marker to read more about a specific wreck or use the entire map to look at broader trends.
Experienced Truck Accident Attorney
David W. Craig is a nationally recognized truck accident attorney. He is also the managing partner and one of the founders of Craig, Kelley & Faultless, a personal injury law firm headquartered in Indianapolis. Craig, Kelley & Faultless can be contacted at (888) 253-5198, and additional information can be found on the firm’s website or on Facebook and LinkedIn.
He is board-certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy, accredited by the American Bar Association in Truck Accident Law. He sits on the Board of Regents of the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys. He is recognized as a Top 10 Trucking Trial Lawyer by the National Trial Lawyers, as well as a Top 50 Indiana lawyer by Super Lawyers. David is the author of Semitruck Wreck, A Guide for Victims and Their Families and It’s Never Been Easier to Hire the Wrong Attorney, both written to help people navigate what comes next after a tragic wreck. He also hosts the podcast After the Crash, where you can gain valuable information about the dangers involving semis and large trucks that do not follow safety protocol regarding speed, weather conditions, maintenance upkeep, etc.
Injured After a Truck Wreck? Craig, Kelley & Faultless Can Help
Attorneys at Craig, Kelley & Faultless are prepared and have the experience to help victims and their loved ones involved in commercial vehicle wrecks through every aspect of their case. Both attorneys David W. Craig and Scott A. Faultless are board-certified in truck accident law by the NBTA, accredited by the American Bar Association. The firm also has a rapid response team that works with investigators, reconstructionists and mechanics who immediately collect evidence as soon as the firm is hired. Additionally, two of the firm’s litigation paralegals are board-certified in truck accident law by the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys.
Their team-centered approach puts client needs at the forefront, and several attorneys will work on your case to achieve the best possible outcome.
Reach out for a free case consultation today at (888) 253-5198 or online.
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