On-road
In the United Kingdom alone there are up to 400 wheel detachments from heavy trucks every year. Of these, on average, there are 134 accidents involving vehicle/property damage, 27 injuries and up to seven fatalities. So states a 2006 report commissioned by the United Kingdom Department of Transport. In the United States of America, the National Transportation Safety Board reports that wheel detachments occur at an estimated rate of 1,000 per year - almost three a day - resulting in about 20 accidents per week. In other countries, wheel loss occurs at comparable rates.
Off-road
Statistics for off-road vehicles tell a similar story. Off-road accidents involving dislodged wheels result in damaging of industrial equipment, personal injuries and, even worse, fatalities. According to a 2008 report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, entitled Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, 2,053 workers died in vehicle-related crashes and transportation incidents. According to their earlier reports, wheels and tyre rims caused fatalities to 85 workers from 1992 to 2002, an average of 8.5 such fatalities per year over that period. Wheel detachment is one of the possible causes of such accidents.
Main cause of wheel detachment
Loose wheel nuts are the primary cause of wheel detachment from heavy vehicles. This puts safety at risk as a dislodged wheel barreling down the highway strikes with a devastating force. See actual footage and some of the latest statistics of this safety problem.