Multiple Roads to Truck Safety

Start with the following figures: 10,657 and $15 billion.

The first is the number of people killed in truck-related accidents in the United States over the past two calendar years, according to the National Highway and Transportation Safety Administration. The latter is an estimate by the Washington-based American Insurance Assn. of what truck accidents cost the nation annually through lost work time, liability claims and increased costs for insurance and health coverage benefits. In a separate analysis, the recent Times series “Sharing the Road” put the costs of truck accidents in California at $1.2 billion a year.

That’s where policymakers and the trucking industry must begin in understanding the need to reduce the number of crashes and deaths. You can give the trucking firms their due in some areas. The rate of fatalities, for example, has remained fairly steady despite a huge increase in truck traffic. And, as the Times series pointed out, some trucking companies are using state-of-the-art technology to monitor their drivers on long-haul trips and give bonuses to haulers who obey speed limits. That’s a welcome trend.

But the trucking industry still resists reasonable new standards, such as a proposal that drivers rest more between long hauls. The industry says this reform would force more rookie drivers onto the road, already a problem.

The industry is also fighting proposals to improve lax federal government oversight. For instance, Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R-Va.), chairman of the House transportation subcommittee, wants the Office of Motor Carriers, the trucking regulator, moved to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. There the industry would receive more scrutiny, Wolf says. A report by the U.S. inspector general has criticized the Motor Carriers Office, accusing it of inadequate inspections and failure to monitor repeat offenders.

The “Sharing the Road” series clearly showed that California’s 12% reduction in truck-related deaths over the last five years is related to tough enforcement standards, including a big jump in tickets written by California Highway Patrol officers.

Automobile drivers can help by giving the big-rig drivers the room they need and the caution they deserve, especially at high speeds. Slightly more than one-third of truck accidents are caused by motorists who ignore truck drivers’ blind spots and the long distance it takes a rig to slow down or stop. A little give from all sides could help bring the carnage down and still permit the goods to get to market on schedule.