A recent report from the U.S. Labor Department reviews the number of trucking-related deaths in 2013. According to truckinginfo.com, the report indicates that the number of fatalities in the truck transportation sector was down 8% from 2012.

While this is certainly good news, the picture isn’t all rosy. Trucking transportation deaths still make up 10% of all fatal work injuries in the U.S. And when you expand that to all transportation deaths the numbers get even more grim—40% of all workplace fatalities occurred in the transportation sector.

By far the biggest cause of collisions on the road is distracted driving, with a whopping 62% of driving-related fatalities caused by a driver who was generally distracted or lost in thought.

Fortunately, there are ways to combat distraction when you’re behind the wheel. And it’s not just truckers who need to be more alert. As this near-miss story demonstrates, the other driver can play a huge role in avoiding serious collisions.

And it is other drivers who typically suffer the most serious consequences of collisions with large trucks—passengers of other vehicles makeup 73% of the deaths caused by large truck-related fatalities.

This means it’s important for everyone—and not just truckers—to stay focused on the road to avoid traffic accidents. There is a free distracted driving guide to learn more about the factors involved in distracted driving and how drivers can learn to be more aware and stay safer on the roads.