Here's the problem I have with that line of logic: a huge number of trucking accidents are caused by non-trucking road traffic they have to share the road with.

Which is completely unregulated with anything like the same strictness.

I can only speak to the day trip side, not long-haul multi-day freight. But based on annectdotes, I would say there's (on average) at least one incident per month per driver where the truck has to be driven off the road to avoid a collision with physics-ignorant non-trucking traffic.

A friend of a friend was involved in an older lady's death after she pulled out right in front of him (as in, "even the brakes can't slow a truck down that fast" close). Of course he survived in the larger vehicle, but now he has that on his conscience.

I don't dispute that freight trucks are dangerous vehicles. But generally speaking, their drivers are far more experienced than you or I - they should be, they do it every day.

That's all fair, and I don't blame truckers for the accidents caused by others. That doesn't change that they have a job involving long stretches of boredom punctuated by very rare, high-stakes, split-second reaction moments, so they shouldn't be allowed to operate past a certain point of fatigue.

I peeked at some statistics, and it looks like there were around 4,000 fatalities involving large trucks. Out of (I'm assuming this includes commercial vehicles) 35,000 total vehicle fatalities.

11% is not nothing, but it's also not the 89% chunk.

Long stretches of boredom punctuated by split-second reaction moments also describes my driving... and I can do that in anything 5 tons or under without any sort of regulation (except a passed driver's license test some number of years ago).