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Rhode Island Pickup Occupants Least Likely In America To Die In Crash: Study

Pickup trucks "account for a disproportionate share" of fatalities, the study revealed, but not in Rhode Island.

Pickup truck occupants are the least likely to die in a crash in all of America, a recent study revealed. (Joe Hosey/Patch)

Pickup truck occupants are the least likely to die in a crash in all of America, a recent study revealed.

"Pickup trucks are a symbol of American identity, tied to work, independence, and the open road. But across the country, they are also at the center of a deadly pattern," according to a media release accompanying the study from Texas personal injury law firm DeHoyos Accident Attorneys.

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"In state after state, pickup truck occupants account for a disproportionate share of all vehicle occupant fatalities, and in some places, they represent more than half of everyone killed inside a motor vehicle," the release said.

But that's not the case in Rhode Island, which had the lowest average of annual pickup truck occupant fatalities from 2020 to 2024, as well as the least per 100,000 residents and the lowest percentage of all vehicle occupant fatalities in the United States.

"Rhode Island's share of 27.00% is the lowest in the nation, followed by Connecticut at 28.63% and New Jersey at 29.38%," the release said. "All 10 of the lowest-ranked states record shares at or below 33.51%, and nine of the 10 are located in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, or West Coast, where denser urban road networks, lower truck ownership rates, and shorter commuting distances reduce pickup truck exposure."

The state with the highest percentage of vehicle occupant fatalities involving pickups was Wyoming, where it was more than half at 52.08%.

Wyoming was followed by Montana and North Dakota.

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