Which in my mind raises the question of survivability of a crash in a truck vs a car. Many people argue that they need a vehicle bigger than anything else on the road so that they are safer in a crash.
I've always wondered if these people are more likely to make stupid/reckless decisions while driving (due to a false sense of security) and are therefore just as likely and/or more likely to get seriously injured in a crash...
I can't back it up with stats, but the truck fatalities I see in my jurisdiction usually include speeds that boggle the mind, alcohol, and/or youth. One recent fatality was a driver falling asleep at the wheel. He took out the driver of another truck when he went.
Too often the mistake of the larger vehicle is the cause of death of a driver of a lesser vehicle. (ie. dump truck crosses centreline, car opens door in path of bike, etc.) so although truck fatalities may be less, fatalities caused by truck may not be measured. I am not aware of any study looking into this. There is also the driver eye height theory that says a driver of a large vehicle can see over other cars, and will see further down the road at an intersection.
What has been studied, and is known absolutely is that human nature will eat up any safety cushion engineered into its environment. Much like feeling flush on payday and going hungry on Monday, a driver will use up all the safety in the road, and then when a small change causes alarm be in trouble. Since a truck affords a sense of increased safety, it is human nature for the driver of a truck to be more aggressive, and put themselves at the same degree of risk as the driver of any other vehicle. In my opinion the most important safety device in a car is in between the ears of its driver.