* DC / USA - Trucking-friendly plan in Congress decried as attack on safety
-- A multimillion lobbying push by FedEx Corp. and other freight carriers may be about to open U.S. highways to a new generation of bigger truck trailers even as watchdogs warn the price will be roadway carnage... A $55.3 billion transportation spending bill unveiled last week blocks a variety of safety measures opposed by the industry, at a time when the rise in truck-related deaths has bucked a trend of overall improvement in highway safety... In addition to the bigger-capacity trucks, the bill would also do away with plans to require trucking companies to carry higher insurance coverage and make it harder for regulators to re-impose more stringent rest requirements for drivers... A provision in the appropriations bill that would allow two trailers of up to 33-feet to be hauled in tandem, up from the current 28-foot limit, is drawing the most concern... The longer trucks will be harder for drivers to handle and harder to stop, said Jackie Gillan, president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, a coalition of consumer-rights groups and insurance companies. She cited research showing double-trailer combinations have crash rates 15 percent higher than single-trailer rigs... FedEx cites statistics that tell a different story. A study commissioned by FedEx, Con-way Inc. and other shippers showed that the extra five feet in length of each trailer would save gas and cut carbon emissions and would actually reduce the number of trucks on the road... In addition to bigger trucks, the House bill would add conditions for any attempt by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to re-institute a 2013 rule forcing drivers to get two nights of sleep in a row after reaching a weekly time limit for driving. That regulation was intended to close a loophole that allowed some drivers to legally stay on the road as long as 82 hours over eight days... Another provision would squash a Transportation Department effort to revisit a rule requiring trucking companies carry a minimum of $750,000 in liability insurance. That level hasn’t been changed since 1980. Regulators haven’t indicated what the new level should be, but have indicated they would like to study the matter. The department has suggested it would take a $3.2 million policy to have the same buying power as $750,000 three decades ago... The House legislation wouldn’t permit any money to be spent on the effort...
Washington, DC, USA - The Times Tribune, by JEFF PLUNGIS - May 5, 2015
* British Columbia / Canada - The "no zone" around heavy trucks left much to be desired
-- I listen to the trucking radio channels the most common complaint involves drivers who jam themselves in front of a truck and then slow down. There are many possible outcomes to this scenario when it goes wrong; the trucker is able to swerve out of the way and nothing happens, the trucker swerves out of the way and harms themselves or perhaps the trucker chooses to maintain course and harms the foolish driver... A heavy commercial truck may have as little as 60 per cent of the braking capacity of a car or pickup truck. This essentially means that once the brakes are applied, the big truck takes twice as long to stop as you do... Air brake systems can take more time between pressing the brake pedal and the braking components starting to do their job than your hydraulic brakes. You can extend the stopping distance even further if all of the heavy truck's brakes are overheated, not in good condition or properly adjusted... Do you still think that it's a good idea to get close to the front bumper of a big truck and hit your brakes? Self-preservation might dictate that you slow down, lane change behind the truck and then make your right turn or use the exit. If you are continuing straight ahead check traffic conditions ahead before you change lanes and either avoid having to brake or have a light vehicle behind you instead... While we're on the topic of the "no zone", there are many other bad places to be as you cruise alongside or behind a large commercial vehicle. If you cannot see the driver in his mirrors or through any of his windows, he cannot see you! Being invisible to a trucker is definitely not what you want to be. A fender bender for the truck could be a catastrophe for you...
Vancouver, BC, Canada - The Cowichan Valley Citizen, by Tim Schewe - May 6, 2015Labels: dangerous drivers, LCV longer combination vehicles
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