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05/21/2007 New Programs Target Unsafe Drivers – Not Truckers
For years truck drivers and the trucking industry have complained that they are singled out and blamed for crashes which weren’t their fault. For decades, say those in the industry, truckers and motor carriers have provided easy targets for legislators, lawyers, and so-called “safety advocates” who have piled on regulations, fines, and requirements, all in the name of increasing highway safety.
Now the industry is fighting back. After years of lobbying, the trucking industry finally persuaded Congress to include funding in the 2005 Highway Bill to expand patrols and enforcement specifically targeting those who drive unsafely around big trucks on the nation’s highways. The bill allocated $10 million a year for five years for a combination of education and enforcement efforts. The enforcement efforts include more police patrols including a unique program of having officers ride along in the cabs of tractor-trailers looking for motorists (and other truckers) presenting potential safety problems.
Coincidentally this new funding comes along at a time when the DOT has just released statistics showing that the fatal crash rate involving large trucks (class 3-8, 10,001 pounds or more) was 2.03 crashes for every 100 million vehicle-miles traveled in 2005. That number is the same as it was for 2004. Initially it had been thought that the 2004 rate was 1.96, which would have been an all time low. However after review the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) raised the 2004 fatal crash rate to 2.03 due to a reduction in the number of miles driven and an increase in the number of fatalities. (See 12/15/06 - Large-Truck Accident Injuries and Fatalities Drop in ’05.)
Studies have shown that in fatal collisions between cars or light trucks and tractor-trailers, the driver of the car or light truck was the cause of the collision between 56% and 70% of the time. Experts cite a number of reasons why automobile drivers are more likely than commercial truck drivers to be the cause of an accident. These range from general inattention or distraction while driving, to unfamiliarity with how large trucks have to operate on the highway. For example automobile drivers often fail to consider how much more space it takes for a loaded tractor-trailer to stop or slow down than it does for a car.
Truckers almost universally, cite a litany of actions by automobile drivers that they see over and over again and that are the cause of most auto-truck collisions. Abrupt lane changes (usually without a signal) into the path of an oncoming truck, failure to yield on a highway entrance, and of course driving and passing on the blind side, are among the most common, accident-causing, mistakes made by automobile drivers.
Part of the new funding will go towards enlarging currently existing educational programs that teach drivers about the risks associated with driving near tractor-trailers. Teen and elderly drivers will receive special attention under these programs.
On the enforcement side, one of the more innovative and successful efforts aimed at reducing truck-auto collisions was a recent program in Washington State. The program was known as the TACT program, Ticket Aggressive Cars and Trucks, and was funded with a $600,000 grant from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). The program proved so successful that other States are likely to use some of the new funding to set up similar programs. Oregon is already in the process of setting up a similar program.
TACT involved having State Troopers ride along in the cabs of tractor-trailers looking for dangerous or reckless driving occurring around the 18-wheelers. When unsafe activity was observed the troopers in the trucks would radio ahead to other officers who would apprehend the dangerous drivers. During the 3-month program some 3500 citations were issued for violations that included unsafe lane changes, tailgating, reckless driving, etc.
The FMCSA report, “Large Truck Crash Facts 2005” shows that between 1975 and 2005, fatal crashes per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, fell from 4.58 to 2.03. This reduction occurred even as the number of vehicles on the road, both private and commercial, continues to grow.
Trucks and cars must share the same roads and, given the physics involved in truck/car collisions, it is invariably the car that will lose the contest. Hopefully through a combination of education and enforcement made possible by the new funding provided in the 2005 Highway Bill, motorists will become more aware of the special demands inherent in driving near and around the big rigs. | 
