The fatal accident rate for large trucks in 2004 fell to its lowest point in 30 years, according to an online report by FleetOwner Magazine. Newly released Federal Highway Administration vehicle mileage figures show the 2004 rate for large trucks stood at 1.96 fatal crashes per 100 million vehicle-miles traveled. It is a drastic year-over-year safety improvement over the 2003 rate of 2.19. This marks the lowest rate since the Department of Transportation began tracking large truck safety records in 1975. NHTSA previously announced that the absolute number of large trucks involved in fatalities had increased 3 percent year-over-year to 4,862 in 2004 vs. 4,721 in 2003. However, as part of 2004’s economic resurgence, large truck total miles jumped almost 15 percent to 248 billion, compared with 216 billion in 2003.