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Jun 6, 2015

THREATENS SAFETY * USA: A stealth trucking Bill

* DC - A bill relaxing truck safety rules in Congress would endanger the public

-- With the number of fatal accidents involving tractor-trailers on the rise, now would seem like the wrong time to consider relaxing truck safety rules in the United States. Yet that is exactly where Congress appears to be headed — and proponents are trying to accomplish this maneuver in an unusually stealthy manner... Attached as a policy rider to the $55 billion Transportation, Housing and Urban Development fiscal 2016 appropriations bill now being considered by the full U.S. House of Representatives is a provision allowing truck drivers to work longer hours, haul larger double-trailers in every state and prevent the U.S. Department of Transportation from raising minimum insurance requirements from the current standards, which haven't been adjusted in 30 years... It's one thing for Congress to debate truck safety and face the reality of 4,000 people killed and 100,000 injured each year in truck-involved crashes, including a 17 percent increase in fatalities and 28 percent increase in injuries over a four-year period, but it's quite another to do so without a full-scale hearing, which is what the House has done... It also seems blatantly hypocritical for a Republican-controlled Congress to force states to soften their own truck safety rules... Polls show Americans aren't much interested in relaxing truck safety rules either — perhaps because they know that in crashes involving trucks and cars, more than 95 percent of driver and passenger fatalities are borne by those in the cars... 
(Photo: Car and Truck Accident. Automobile collisions are the most common cause of serious personal injuries and wrongful death claims in Texas) --  Washington, DC, USA - The Baltimore Sun - 3 June 2015

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May 27, 2011

TRUCKS SAFETY * Canada & USA - Ontario boasts N.A.'s safest roads

* Canada - "Truck-related fatalities down 24%

Toronto,ONT,CAN -Truck News -May 24, 2011:  --   The most recent road safety statistics indicate Ontario has the safest highways in North America...  Ontario recorded a fatality rate of 0.70 per 10,000 licensed drivers in 2008, reaching its lowest level since 1945 and the lowest in all North America...  The province says its roads have ranked first or second in North America for 10 years in a row...  Transport Minister, Kathleen Wynne, credits Ontario's distracted driving legislation and tough impaired driving rules for making the province's roads safer...  The province saw drinking and driving-related fatalities decline 29%, speed-related fatalities drop 17% and fatalities involving large trucks drop 24% in 2008...  There were 130 people killed in accidents involving large trucks on Ontario roads in 2008, down from 170 in 2007. Of the 130 fatal accidents, the truck driver was "not driving properly" in 47 (or 36.2%) of them. A vehicle defect was detected in just 2% of trucks involved in fatal accidents...  Of 135 large trucks involved in fatal collisions in 2008, 52 were straight trucks and 41 were tractor-trailer units. Twenty-nine involved only a tractor while only two involved tractors pulling A-, B- or C-trains...  In 2008, there were 184,961 tractor-trailer combinations registered in Ontario... (Image from truckaccidents360: MI semi-truck accident. Dec 14. 2010)

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Dec 4, 2010

Drugs * USA - Common in fatal car crashes

Drivers killed in car crashes, one in three tested positive for drugs in 2009

Washington,DC,USA -The Chart/CNN -30 Nov 2010: -- A first-ever drug analysis of drivers killed in car crashes found one in three tested positive for drugs in 2009, the Office of National Drug Control Policy reported Tuesday... Gil Kerlikowske, director of the National Drug Control Policy, said the percentage was alarming and should serve as a wakeup call... Kerlikowske said he wanted to raise awareness not only of the dangers of driving under the influence of illegal drugs, but of getting behind the wheel while taking powerful prescription or over-the-counter medications... As part of a Fatal Accident Reporting System, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration tests drivers killed in crashes for narcotics, stimulants, depressants, marijuana, hallucinogens, PCP, anabolic steroids and inhalants. These include illegal drugs, prescription drugs and over-the-counter medicines... The presence of all types of drugs in fatal crashes has increased 5 percent in the past five years, according to 2005-2009 data, compiled and analyzed for the first time by NHTSA. Of the 12,055 drivers tested in 2009, 3,952 tested positive for drugs... The Office of National Drug Control Policy did not provide a breakdown of the drugs found in drivers who died in accidents, but Kerlikowske said he suspected illegal drugs and frequently abused prescription painkillers were behind the increase... The Office of National Drug Control Policy figures released Tuesday do not suggest drug use was responsible for the fatal accident, nor do they implicate the driver who died. The report also doesn’t determine whether the increase might be the result of Americans taking more medications, generally...

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Sep 17, 2010

TRUCKS FATALITIES * USA - Highway Deaths Drop 9.7 Percent to 60-Year Low

Truck-related fatalities down 20 percent from 2008, NHTSA reports

Washington,DC,USA -The Journal of Commerce Online, by William B. Cassidy -Sep 15, 2010: -- The number of people killed in motor vehicle crashes dropped to 33,808 in 2009, the lowest number since 1950, says the Department of Transportation... That's nearly a 10 percent reduction in fatal crashes from the previous year, despite a 0.2 percent increase in the estimated number of miles traveled, DOT said... Trucking's highway safety record improved as well... The number of people killed in accidents involving large trucks dropped 20 percent last year to 3,380 compared with 4,245 in 2008, the department reported... A large part of that drop was a 19 percent reduction in the number of passenger-vehicle fatalities in truck accidents, from 3,151 in 2008 to 2,551 last year... Last year's fatality and injury rates were the lowest recorded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1.13 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles... The number of people injured in motor vehicle crashes declined for the 10th consecutive year, falling 5.5 percent from 2008, according to NHTSA... The numbers reflect the benefits of seat-belt use and strong anti-drunk driving enforcement campaigns, said NHTSA Administrator David Strickland... Alcohol-related driving fatalities decreased 7.4 percent in 2009 to 10,839. Overall, 33 states and Puerto Rico reported a decline in alcohol-related fatalities... Texas had the highest number of highway fatalities - 3,476 - and 38 percent of those were alcohol-impaired driving fatalities, according to NHTSA... (Photo from truck-accident-lawyer-blog: Rock Hauling Truck Accident)

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Aug 5, 2008

Accident * Australia - Delays truckies by a day

Canberra,Australian Capital Territory,Australia -The Canberra Times , by JOHN THISTLETON -6 Aug 2008: -- Five-hundred laden trucks and their drivers waited most of yesterday while fire crews cleaned up a dangerous mix of flammable chemicals and poisons off the Hume Highway after a B-double truck overturned... Heavy vehicles queued in breakdown lanes several kilometres long after the Sydney-bound truck overturned near a bend 2km south of Marulan... The accident happened at 5.10am, and trucks did not start rolling again until after noon, while cars were still negotiating dusty detours 12 hours later...NSW Fire Brigade's Southern Highlands duty commander, Inspector Steve McGuiness said the overturned truck was carrying Dimethyl Disulfide, a petro-chemical degreaser, and although it had not spilt it was highly flammable. Paint thinners and rabbit poison had tipped over and also had to be cleaned up...

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Mar 17, 2008

ACCIDENTS * Europe - Truck drivers to blame in one in four truck related ones

Brusels,Belgium -HGV (Dublin,Ireland) -15 Mar 2008: -- One in four accidents involving HGVs across Europe are caused by truck driver error, a new study has found. Only limited statistics are available regarding accidents involving trucks and even less is known about the cause of these accidents. To fill in this lack of knowledge, the European Commission (EC) and the International Road Transport Union (IRU) have undertaken a uniquescientific study, the European Truck Accident Causation (ETAC) study... Knowing that there are many factors, which contribute to an accident and knowing that those factors are interlinked, the aim of the study was to identify the main causes of accidents involving trucks.The study shows that human error is the main cause of 85.2% of the studied cases. However, out of those 85.2%, 75% were caused by other road users and only 25% by the truck driver... In-depth analysis shows that when the human being caused the accident, non-adapted speed, failure to observe intersection rules and improper manoeuvering when changing lanes were the main cause. Truck load and fatigue play only a minor role. One of the concluding recommendations is that improving driver training and upgrading driving school programmes are key to improve road safety...

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Mar 5, 2008

AAA STUDY * USA - Shows yearly accident cost is $160B

Traffic crashes cost American motorists more than $160 billion a year while inflicting a staggering per-person toll on small cities...


Washington,DC,USA -The Detroit News -March 5, 2008: -- ... such as Little Rock, Ark., Columbia, S.C., and Pensacola, Fla., according to a AAA research report... The study, to be released Wednesday, found that traffic crashes have a much more damaging impact on society than the bumper-to-bumper congestion that riles commuters in many metropolitan areas... Maryland-based Cambridge Systematics Inc ., which conducted the research for the automobile association, found that crashes cost U.S. motorists $164.2 billion a year, or about $1,051 per person. That's more than double the $67.6 billion in annual costs from congestion, or about $430 per person. To calculate the crash costs, researchers took into account factors such as property damage, lost earnings, medical costs, emergency services, legal costs and travel delays. Research found crashes cost $868 a person in the Detroit Metro region... (Video from YouTube, by kk26 -January 17, 2007: "Icy car crashes in Portland" -Crazy home video showing a series of car accidents due to an icy road in Portland -)

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Nov 5, 2007

ACCIDENT * USA - 100 Car Crash Pile Up in Fresno With 18 Big Rig Trucks One Worst in in U.S. history

Fresno,CAL,USA - breitbart.com -November 03, 2007: -- At least 100 cars and 18 big rig trucks collided in the fog on Saturday November 3, 2007, killing two people and possibly more, as well as having injured many many more according to the California Highway Patrol... This 100 car crash pile up in Fresno involving 18 big rig trucks is one of the worst in terms of numbers of vehicles involved, in U.S. history... 18 big rig trucks were also damaged in the vehicle crash, which occurred on Highway 99 just south of Fresno in deep fog. Witnesses states that the fog made it hard to see and that may have added to the increase in the accident occurring. This is verified by the CHP... (Photo from AP - Dense fog along a busy highway was blamed for a massive pileup of as many as 100 cars)

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Oct 12, 2007

Truckers, Inspectors * USA - Deadly Truck Mishaps Too Common

Safety Checks Don't Always Catch Problems

Indianapolis,IN,USA -The Indy Channel/6Newsm by Rick Hightower -October 11, 2007: -- Motor carrier inspectors and truck repair centers said Thursday that what happened when the wheels flew off a semi-trailer, killing a Shelbyville police officer is not that uncommon... Officers do safety checks to try to prevent the worst from happening, but the freak nature of the accident that killed Sgt. Gary Henderson cannot completely be avoided... Officer Bill Hurley has a good eye for trucks with problems. He pulls over several a day to check them out, but said that equipment failures are not always visible... (Photo by KELLY WILKINSON/The Indianapolis Star - Debbie Elliott (left), sister of Shelbyville Police officer Gary Henderson, and other family members lay flowers on his patrol car outside the Shelby County Criminal Justice Center on Thursday. Henderson was killed overnight during a traffic stop along I-74)

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Sep 8, 2007

ACCIDENT * USA - Shut Down Avon Mountain To Trucks

* Senator: Two Crashes Prompt Lawmaker To Call For Moratorium

Hartford,CT,USA -WFSB (Connecticut,CT) /Eyewitness News -September 7, 2007: -- A state senator, Thomas J. Herlihy, R-District 8, has proposed an immediate moratorium on trucks traveling on Avon Mountain, following Friday's truck crashing into a furniture store... "This is unacceptable. I do not think anything more needs be said or done to prove that this road is too dangerous for trucks," Herlihy said in a statement... The senator wrote a letter to state Department of Transportation Commissioner Ralph J. Carpenter requesting the moratorium...


* Lawmakers Call For Immediate Changes Following Avon Crash

Simsbury,CT,USA -NBC30 (Hartford,CT) -September 7, 2007: -- ... A truck driven by Robert Rauch crashed into Nassau's Furniture store near the intersection of Route 44 and Route 10 ... There were no injuries because, officials said, Rauch avoided traffic by driving into the building...
* Truck makes wild ride down mountain; second such incident in three years
Avon,CT,USA -Journal Register News Service, by LISA BACKUS -8 Sept 2007: -- A driver wrestled an out-of-control 18-wheeler down Avon Mountain and through a busy intersection, literally flying between a tree and telephone pole and winding up wedged into a nearby furniture store at about 11 a.m. Friday - all without serious injuries.

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Aug 10, 2007

Survey * USA - Illustrates driving is secondary for many

Multitasking Drivers Draw More Attention from Officials

USA -Automotive Digest -9 Aug 2007: -- Observers, officials note excessive driver multitasking in vehicles. New survey says 75% admit to driving drowsy; 31% say they daydream... NHTSA says drivers were distracted within 3 seconds of crash in 80% of all accidents... 80% of survey identified themselves as multitaskers while driving... Cell phones big culprit at 73%; adjusting audio controls tops at 82%... 20% said read or send text messages, was 37% among 18-27 year-olds... 5% read book; 2% shave; 41% eat meal...

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Jun 29, 2007

Trucking Accidents' Study * USA - Negligence by truckers a major cause of large truck crashes

Norfolk,VA,USA -Injury Board, by John Cooper -June 28, 2007: -- The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued a report to Congress in 2006 about the reasons for tractor trailer wrecks... In those cases where the action or inaction of the driver commercial truck is the cause of the collision, driving too fast for conditions and fatigue were often important factors. Big rigs accidents commonly happen when the truck drivers are feeling under pressure by their motor carrier employers or they are unfamiliar with the roads. Bad brakes was the main reason for collisions where a defect or maintenance problem with the truck's equipment was involved... Over 60% of the studied trucks involved in these crashes were tractors pulling a semi trailer. Most of these are the commonly seen 18 wheelers that carry most of the freight on U.S. Highways. There are over 141,000 truck crashes that occurred in the U.S. over a two year and nine month period of study. This is over 40,000 wrecks involving tractor trailers a year. Some of the types of accidents in decreasing order of frequency were leaving the lane/running off the road, side swipes, roll over's, and head on collisions, among other types...

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Jun 5, 2007

Accident Reconstruction Firm * USA - Offers Free Truck Driver Training Program

The company underscores its commitment to trucking safety by releasing new addition to its signature Road Series program

Houston,TX,USA -PEmediawire (press release - Ferndale,WA,USA) -June 4, 2007 -- ATA Associates Inc., an accident reconstruction engineering firm, recently announced the release of The Road Series 2: ... After the Accident... The program, the second in the series, illustrates to truck drivers what they must do if they are involved in a trucking accident -- who to call, when to call, how to secure the scene, who the driver should and should not talk to at the scene and what photographs should or should not be taken...

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