I have asked the question before: Who should pay for truck safety? This question is burning within me because I know all too well the answer to another question: Who pays for the lack of truck safety?

When I checked to see what posts I have written on the topic, I discovered that I have written quite a few. Is that so surprising when I observe that, year after year, not too much changes along that line?

• Starting TZD Traffic Safety Conversation: Who should pay for the cost of Saved Lives?
• The “Second Collision” Does Not Have To Be So Prevalent. We can do better at preventing death & horrific injuries.
• Who should bear the responsibility for deaths & injuries due to known safety defects?
• Crocodile Tears (Cost/Benefit Analysis) & Vision Zero Goal of No Crash Fatalities
• And here are the thoughts of Ted Miller, an economist, on “Looking at Violence in America with a Financial Lens” http://www.npr.org/2015/12/15/459673828/looking-at-violence-in-america-with-a-financial-lens
• FMCSA will withdraw rule to raise truck min. liability ins. Who is responsible & who will pay the price?
• The Future of Trucking; Who pays for the costs of safer roads?. . .Frequently, I hear that changes of one kind or another in the trucking industry–in order to improve safety (i.e., reduce crashes, injuries and deaths)–will result in increased costs for the trucking companies. I hear that it will put them out of business.

  Is this true? According to whom and based on what information? If it is true, then does something need to change in the trucking industry itself in order to allow for the beneficial work, which trucking provides, to continue but to also allow for truckers to make a decent living wage–without jeopardizing their health and the safety of travelers on the roads?

  Will this someday be an era that is over, or can we fix the problems for the benefit of all? Who pays for Safety? And can we figure out how to fairly and logically spread the increased costs around? The alternative seems to be unacceptable: Forget safety and let the cost be spilled blood.

• Who will pay for research & crash testing of underride guards?
• Would this truck tax savings cover cost of comprehensive underride protection for a Win/Win solution?
• I have not yet written a post on how we could learn from the system for airline safety, but I really should. There’s plenty to read on that topic.
• What if trucking industry campaign contributions went toward safety research & implementation instead?
• This is a little bit off topic but relevant to the cost of trucking: My Crash Course on Underwriting for Trucking Minimum Liability Could Impact You
• This isn’t exactly on who should pay, but rather on who pays if we don’t bother to do anything preventably: Preventable Death: Let’s Talk About It (youtube video)

Like I said, I have already written volumes on this topic. What more is there to say? Well, plenty. . . and specifically I have written about this question related to the deadly problem of preventable truck underride. In fact, I made a laundry list of ways that installing comprehensive underride protection could actually be considered a Win/Win situation — if we make an effort to creatively address it to the benefit of all:

Should the trucking industry be concerned about underride legislation?

One thing I didn’t include on that list, however, is the idea of the insurance industry providing a discount to trucking companies on their liability insurance for the installation of safety equipment — like side guards, front underride/override protection, and improved rear underride guards.

Well, why not? I’m serious; I don’t really think that’s just an absurd hypothetical question. And I think it deserves a serious answer.