Increase in truck crash fatalities sparks debate

x-post to rec.autos.driving, misc.transport.trucking

Increase in truck crash fatalities sparks debate

Dec 8, 2011 12:36 PM, By Sean Kilcarr, senior editor
fleetowner.com

An 8.7% spike in the number of people killed in crashes involving
large trucks in 2010 compared to 2009 is igniting debate on several
fronts – regulatory and otherwise – concerning the trend line where
trucking safety is concerned.

While the Dept. of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) reported that 32,885 people died in U.S. motor
vehicle traf*fic crashes in 2010 – a 2.9% decline from the 33,803
killed in 2009 and the lowest number of highway fatalities since 1949
– deaths due to crashes involving large trucks increased to 3,675 in
2010, an 8.7% increase from the 3,380 recorded in 2009.

Bill Graves, president & CEO of the American Trucking Assns. (ATA)
cautioned policymakers to avoid jumping to conclusions based on these
figures.

“Every fatality on our highways is a tragedy, and the uptick in the
2010 preliminary report concerns us deeply. Without more information
and analysis, though, it is difficult to draw conclusions about what
this preliminary data means,” he said in a statement.

“We would hope that policymakers will avoid the ‘error of recency,’ by
overemphasizing the newest data at the expense of the overall, long-
term trend, which has been overwhelmingly positive,” Graves stressed.
“We look forward to seeing further analysis from DOT on crash types as
well as how many miles American motorists and truck drivers traveled
last year.”

Safety groups, however, are calling for more stringent rules governing
commercial vehicle operations based on DOT’s fatality data.

“This distressing news that there are more truck crash fatalities in
2010 is a clear and compelling call for stronger regulations, tougher
oversight, and sustained enforcement of motor carriers across the
country,” said Jacqueline Gillan, president of Advocates for Highway
and Auto Safety.

She pointed to the DOT’s crash statistics as the reason why the U.S.
Senate must quickly pass the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety
Enhancement Act of 2011 (S.1950) or “CMV bill,” legislation introduced
by Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), chairman of the Senate’s Surface
Transportation Subcommittee, Sen. John Rockefeller (D-WV), chairman of
the Senate’s Commerce Committee, and Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR), chairman
of the Consumer Protection Subcommittee.

The CMV bill would, among other things, impose increased financial
penalties for companies that create an imminent hazard to public
health and for so-called “reincarnated carriers,” which operate
illegally after being shut down for safety problems. It would also
mandate the use of electronic onboard recorders (EOBRs) to reduce
truck driver fatigue, establish a clearinghouse for controlled
substance and alcohol testing records of CMV operators, and fund a
study of the safety and infrastructure effects of increasing truck
size and weight limits.

“This legislation will ensure that long overdue and frequently ignored
federal actions will move forward and our roads and highways will be
safer,” Gillan said. “The safety of the public depends on this bill
being passed immediately.”

ATA, however, pointed to a report released by the Federal Motor
Carrier Safety Administration in October that indicates that both the
number and rate for fatal truck-involved crashes nosedived
significantly between 2007 and 2009 – and also indicates that perhaps
more attention needs to be paid to the actions of passenger vehicle
drivers as part of the debate over fatalities due to large truck
crashes.

“The most compelling data on this subject showed that 78% of critical
incidents – crashes, near-crashes, and crash-relevant conflicts –
between large trucks and passenger vehicles were initiated by
passenger vehicle operators,” Rob Abbot, ATA’s vp-safety policy, told
Fleet Owner by email.

“Accordingly, any attempts to meaningfully reduce the number of truck
crashes must focus attention on the role of the passenger vehicle
operator,” he said.
http://fleetowner.com/news/trucking_...s-debate-1208/

http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811552.pdf
-----

- gpsman

All truck drivers speed and drive drunk/drugged. They are driving 30
ton vehicles and the penalties for their highway crimes should be much
greater since they are a bigger threat. A trucker doing 15 mph over
the speed limit should do a couple years in the can. Stop coddling
these killers.

Judy "**** 4 Brains" Dairya spewed:

>All truck drivers spe

< snip crap >

When we want your opinion, we'll beat it out of you.

> Stop coddling these killers.

You mean the same way that you were coddled, you drunken slut?

Incase you've forgotten:

--
"Oh yeah. Well i've gone 3 1/2 years without a fatal crash
so i must be doing something right."

--Laura Bush murdered her boyfriend/laura bush - VEHICULAR HOMICIDE/
Speeders And Drunk Drivers Are Murderers (SADDAM), 9/24/2006

Ref: http://tinyurl.com/qdotr
Msg ID:

On 12/8/2011 6:23 PM, gpsman wrote:
> x-post to rec.autos.driving, misc.transport.trucking
>
> Increase in truck crash fatalities sparks debate
>
> Dec 8, 2011 12:36 PM, By Sean Kilcarr, senior editor
> fleetowner.com
>
> An 8.7% spike in the number of people killed in crashes involving
> large trucks in 2010 compared to 2009 is igniting debate on several
> fronts – regulatory and otherwise – concerning the trend line where
> trucking safety is concerned.
>
> While the Dept. of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety
> Administration (NHTSA) reported that 32,885 people died in U.S. motor
> vehicle traf*fic crashes in 2010 – a 2.9% decline from the 33,803
> killed in 2009 and the lowest number of highway fatalities since 1949
> – deaths due to crashes involving large trucks increased to 3,675 in
> 2010, an 8.7% increase from the 3,380 recorded in 2009.
>
> Bill Graves, president& CEO of the American Trucking Assns. (ATA)
> cautioned policymakers to avoid jumping to conclusions based on these
> figures.
>
> “Every fatality on our highways is a tragedy, and the uptick in the
> 2010 preliminary report concerns us deeply. Without more information
> and analysis, though, it is difficult to draw conclusions about what
> this preliminary data means,” he said in a statement.
>
> “We would hope that policymakers will avoid the ‘error of recency,’ by
> overemphasizing the newest data at the expense of the overall, long-
> term trend, which has been overwhelmingly positive,” Graves stressed.
> “We look forward to seeing further analysis from DOT on crash types as
> well as how many miles American motorists and truck drivers traveled
> last year.”
>
> Safety groups, however, are calling for more stringent rules governing
> commercial vehicle operations based on DOT’s fatality data.
>
> “This distressing news that there are more truck crash fatalities in
> 2010 is a clear and compelling call for stronger regulations, tougher
> oversight, and sustained enforcement of motor carriers across the
> country,” said Jacqueline Gillan, president of Advocates for Highway
> and Auto Safety.
>
> She pointed to the DOT’s crash statistics as the reason why the U.S.
> Senate must quickly pass the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety
> Enhancement Act of 2011 (S.1950) or “CMV bill,” legislation introduced
> by Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), chairman of the Senate’s Surface
> Transportation Subcommittee, Sen. John Rockefeller (D-WV), chairman of
> the Senate’s Commerce Committee, and Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR), chairman
> of the Consumer Protection Subcommittee.
>
> The CMV bill would, among other things, impose increased financial
> penalties for companies that create an imminent hazard to public
> health and for so-called “reincarnated carriers,” which operate
> illegally after being shut down for safety problems. It would also
> mandate the use of electronic onboard recorders (EOBRs) to reduce
> truck driver fatigue, establish a clearinghouse for controlled
> substance and alcohol testing records of CMV operators, and fund a
> study of the safety and infrastructure effects of increasing truck
> size and weight limits.
>
> “This legislation will ensure that long overdue and frequently ignored
> federal actions will move forward and our roads and highways will be
> safer,” Gillan said. “The safety of the public depends on this bill
> being passed immediately.”
>
> ATA, however, pointed to a report released by the Federal Motor
> Carrier Safety Administration in October that indicates that both the
> number and rate for fatal truck-involved crashes nosedived
> significantly between 2007 and 2009 – and also indicates that perhaps
> more attention needs to be paid to the actions of passenger vehicle
> drivers as part of the debate over fatalities due to large truck
> crashes.
>
> “The most compelling data on this subject showed that 78% of critical
> incidents – crashes, near-crashes, and crash-relevant conflicts –
> between large trucks and passenger vehicles were initiated by
> passenger vehicle operators,” Rob Abbot, ATA’s vp-safety policy, told
> Fleet Owner by email.
>
> “Accordingly, any attempts to meaningfully reduce the number of truck
> crashes must focus attention on the role of the passenger vehicle
> operator,” he said.
> http://fleetowner.com/news/trucking_...s-debate-1208/
>
> http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811552.pdf
> -----
>
> - gpsman
I firmly beleive that inattention caused by dialing or perhaps just
talking on a cellphone is linked to many of the number in the increase.
Ive seen theme weave and go off the shoulder etc and when passing them
they were on the cellphone. It is easy to see in the cabs from either of
our vehicles.
One like to have run over us because he was on the phone. I could ee him
barreling down on us throught the rear window with his cellphone in hand
before he slammed on the brakes nd jack knifed over into the left lane
inches from my bumper. The car smelled of burnt rubber for a while from
his smoking tires he was that close when he went over into the left lane.

On 12/9/2011 10:50 PM, Car Crashes Mean Car Sales - GM loves highway
criminals wrote:
> All truck drivers speed and drive drunk/drugged. They are driving 30
> ton vehicles and the penalties for their highway crimes should be much
> greater since they are a bigger threat. A trucker doing 15 mph over
> the speed limit should do a couple years in the can. Stop coddling
> these killers.
Most OTR Drivers are very safety conscious. many have a million miles or
more with no wrecks.
Some of the current behaviors aren't so safe though such as micro
passing and impeding traffic and causing very long back ups and
ultimately wrecks.
Most trucks,except Independents seem to be governed to about 65-67mph.
They are a rolling menace in heavy traffic when they pull out and pass
one another at 1mph faster than the other.
Speeding too. Everyone has seen them at near 100 mph. one that tried to
deliberately run me off the road in 96 was over 100mph, in the rain. I
stayed on him until the rain got so heavy I felt in danger going that
fast. They pulled him over but all he got was driving school and fine.

> All truck drivers speed and drive drunk/drugged.

Then why are they sometimes seen blocking the centre or left lane while
micropassing a vehicle in the right lane?

You also forgot one of the worst problems, and that's exhausted drivers
who are essentially asleep while driving.

> They are driving 30
> ton vehicles and the penalties for their highway crimes should be much
> greater since they are a bigger threat.

The laws already provide for increased penalties for a greater amount of
damages, including a loss of the commercial driver's license.

> A trucker doing 15 mph over
> the speed limit should

The driver should move immediately back to the right lane, and not
continue accelerating while being passed!

>Stop coddling these killers.

They are the killers of the smooth and efficient flow of traffic.

On Sat, 10 Dec 2011 20:00:47 +0000, Alexander Rogge
> wrote:

>> All truck drivers speed and drive drunk/drugged.
>
>Then why are they sometimes seen blocking the centre or left lane while
>micropassing a vehicle in the right lane?
>
>You also forgot one of the worst problems, and that's exhausted drivers
>who are essentially asleep while driving.
>
>> They are driving 30
>> ton vehicles and the penalties for their highway crimes should be much
>> greater since they are a bigger threat.
>
>The laws already provide for increased penalties for a greater amount of
>damages, including a loss of the commercial driver's license.
>
>> A trucker doing 15 mph over
>> the speed limit should
>
>The driver should move immediately back to the right lane, and not
>continue accelerating while being passed!
>
>>Stop coddling these killers.
>
>They are the killers of the smooth and efficient flow of traffic.


WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!! !!
BOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO sniffle, sniffle.

On 12/10/11 10:47 PM, Roughrider50 wrote:
>>
>>> Stop coddling these killers.
>>
>> They are the killers of the smooth and efficient flow of traffic.
>
>
> WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!! !!
> BOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO sniffle, sniffle.

Indeed; learn how to pass properly, or risk more danger than sniffles.
LLBs are probably the most aggressive, foolish, and dangerous drivers on
the road. Drivers of large trucks are not an exception. If you're in
the passing lane, you had better be passing somebody at a
significatly-faster speed than the traffic in the right lane, and you
should then be seen moving immediately back to the right lane after
completing the pass.

Bob Cratchet formulated the question :
> On 12/9/2011 10:50 PM, Car Crashes Mean Car Sales - GM loves highway
> criminals wrote:
>> All truck drivers speed and drive drunk/drugged. They are driving 30
>> ton vehicles and the penalties for their highway crimes should be much
>> greater since they are a bigger threat. A trucker doing 15 mph over
>> the speed limit should do a couple years in the can. Stop coddling
>> these killers.
> Most OTR Drivers are very safety conscious. many have a million miles or more
> with no wrecks.
> Some of the current behaviors aren't so safe though such as micro passing and
> impeding traffic and causing very long back ups and ultimately wrecks.
> Most trucks,except Independents seem to be governed to about 65-67mph.
> They are a rolling menace in heavy traffic when they pull out and pass one
> another at 1mph faster than the other.
>

I'll agree with you on all points. And point out those "friendly"
drivers going down the highway holding each others door handles,
usually well under the speed limit, indicating they're not paying
attention are an even bigger menace.