Jul 28, 2017 - Truck Accidents by Jack Hirsch
According to federal regulators, the number of accidents, injuries and fatalities involving large trucks continue to occur at historically high levels. In its April 2017 report summarizing crash statistics from 2015 (the most recent year available), the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) concluded that: The number of large trucks involved in fatal crashes increased by 8 percent from 2014. The number of large trucks involved in injury crashes decreased by 1 percent from 2014 (but that small decrease followed a more than 60% increase from 2009 to 2014). The number of buses involved in fatal crashes increased by 11 percent from 2014. The number of vehicle miles traveled by large trucks was basically unchanged from 2014 to 2015. Overall, large truck accidents cause about 4,000 fatalities and 100,000 injuries in the US on an annual basis. As technology continues to improve passenger vehicle safety, why have large trucks become an increasing hazard on Phoenix highways and other US roads over the last decade? Deregulation Trucking industry experts point to various regulatory changes that could improve safety but Congress has consistently resisted imposing additional restrictions on the industry. Even worse, Congress has proposed rolling back some existing trucking company regulations and weakening FMCSA’s oversight abilities, such as: Increasing the maximum permitted workweek for truckers from 70 to 82 hours during every 8-day period. Discouraging FMCSA from investing in wireless technology to improve the monitoring of trucks and drivers. Permitting longer and heavier trucks on the road while lowering the minimum […]