The ATA and Truck Safety

After a widely covered truck accident like the one involving comedian Tracy Morgan, there’s a natural reaction among the general public and lawmakers to look at trucks as a highway safety hazard. No doubt, plenty of car drivers feel intimidated when traveling alongside a big truck, and news of trucker-caused accidents reinforce that fear. The truth is that the men and women behind the wheels of the nation’s big rigs are actually among the safest drivers out there — they spend a lot of hours on the road and know how to drive defensively around those skittish car owners.

The American Trucking Association’s (ATA) analysis of the most recently released federal crash and mileage data backs that up. It shows that fatal accidents involving trucks declined for the second year in a row, even as mileage driven rose by four billion. The numbers should be reassuring to those who worry about driving around trucks — 1.4 fatalities per 100 million miles driven. And those numbers cover truck-involved accidents, which are most often caused by a four-wheeler.

“Our industry has worked hard and invested in technology and training to improve highway safety not just for our drivers, but for all motorists,” said Dave Osiecki, ATA Executive Vice President for National Advocacy. “And while there is more work to do, it is gratifying to see those efforts paying off in safer roads for all of us.”

The timing is perfect, then, for the National Transportation Safety Board 10 Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements for 2016. Seven of them apply to trucks. Those are:

1. Reduce fatigue-related accidents More that 20% of 180 major transportation incident investigations from 2001-2012 involved fatigue. NTSB calls for research, education, training, technologies, treatment of sleep disorders, hours-of-service regulations and on- and off-duty scheduling policies and practices.
2. Promote availability of collision avoidance technologies in highway vehicles NTSB believes that if the technology was in use on all vehicles, many lives would be saved.
3. Disconnect from deadly distractions This is increasingly difficult since smartphones and texting have become second nature to so many, but distracted driving is the danger that comes along with that convenience
4. Strengthen occupant protection In other words, buckle up that seat belt. Once an issue among truck drivers, seat belt use has become far more common. But those who still refuse are at greater danger for injury.
5. End substance impairment in transportation Looking beyond alcohol, NTSB points out that driving under the influence of prescribed or over-the-counter medication can also be a danger.
6. Require medical fitness for duty A number of steps have already been taken in trucking to ensure that a driver’s health does not interfere with their ability to control their truck. A lot of drivers still think of on-board recorders as intrusive, but the combination of accountability and a record of driving habits that can be improved leads to safer driving.

Improving truck safety is in the best interest of the trucking industry and people in every part of the industry have made it a priority. ATA’s research shows that in the past decade, the fatality rate in truck-involved accidents fell by 40.6 percent. Crashes are the exception, not the rule, and that is why they make the news.