So, what did you think of the PBS/Frontline Underride Documentary?

We’ve been anticipating the final result of a year-long investigation by @propublica and @frontlinepbs on the truck underride issue. Their team pulled together an immense amount of information on a century-old problem. Of course, an hour could never cover it all. But I think that they created a compelling argument. The question is, what did you think?

If you haven’t had a chance to see the documentary or read the accompanying stories, here are some useful links:

My next question is, what are you going to do in response to what you heard and/or read? And what kind of reaction and action should we hope to see from:

  • Congress?
  • Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg (who declined to be interviewed)?
  • National Highway Traffic Safety Administration?
  • USDOT Inspector General?
  • Trucking Industry?

Anyone can act on their personal convictions and sign our petition: Secretary Pete, It’s Past Time To End Death By Underride! We will be submitting a spreadsheet of all signatures & comments made on the petition to Secretary Buttigieg and to the NHTSA Public Comment docket for the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Side Guards. Here are some other things you can do: How You Can Help!

What do I think? Among other things. . . I think that we need a Congressional Oversight Underride Field Hearing and an investigation by the DOT Inspector General. I’d also like the opportunity to have a meeting with Secretary Buttigieg to discuss underride. Beyond that, I think that we need a long-term solution for this and other roadway safety issues. I think that we need a National Traffic Safety Ombudsman, in place at the USDOT Office of the Secretary, whose role will be to ensure that the voice of victims is appropriately heard and heeded — so that industry no longer has a disproportionate, unfair voice.

One thought on “So, what did you think of the PBS/Frontline Underride Documentary?

  1. Wonderful work Marianne! Thank you for your excellent efforts!

    You are right that we need much more attention to preventing the harm to people caused by corporate control of safety policies!

    Lou

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.