Apparently the Senate just approved a bill that will “save the trucking industry millions.” Good…maybe they can put some of those savings into safety measures to help save lives.
http://www.ttnews.com/articles/basetemplate.aspx?storyid=36856
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Boston Makes Progress With Prevention of Truck Side Underride
Boston has taken some important steps to improve safety on their streets by implementing vehicle-based safety measures, including side guards, for certain municipal commercial vehicles:
In his letter to Boston City Council, Mayor Walsh stated that the ordinance establishes requirements for protection equipment to be installed on vehicles contracted by the City of Boston, to be constructed and/or equipped as to offer effective protection to unprotected road users against the risk of falling under the sides of the vehicle and being caught under the wheels.
“I am pleased that this life-saving measure, a first in the nation, is moving forward as a result of the Volpe-Boston partnership over the past two years,” said Dr. Epstein. “Side guards, blind spot mirrors, sensors, and other truck technologies are all important means to prevent or mitigate deadly crashes with the pedestrians and bicyclists who must share the road with these massive vehicles. I believe that vehicle-based safety is becoming a key strategy for cities to reach their goals of reducing or eliminating traffic fatalities.”
http://www.volpe.dot.gov/news/cities-take-steps-increase-bicyclist-and-pedestrian-safety
World’s Largest Truck Convoy
Check out how some truckers are supporting Special Olympics with their Truck:
“The Truck Convoy® is a unique one-day celebration of the trucking industry and its support of Special Olympics. Local law enforcement makes special dispensation and escorts a convoy of trucks up to 50 miles through their town.”
http://resources.specialolympics.org/Sections/Donate/Truck_Convoy.aspx
Underride Network Educational and Advocacy Efforts
I have not kept up with the comments to this website. This morning, I was trying to catch up on lots of things. I noticed a request to share a link on our site.
Here it is from Stephen Hadley at Underride Network (http://www.underridenetwork.org/GettingStarted.aspx):
“I have prepared a page to educate victims and concerned citizens for the rear underride guard rulemaking and would appreciate a link.
Rear Underride Guards:
http://www.underridenetwork.org/CurrentIssues/UnderrideGuards/RearGuard.aspx”
Thank you, Stephen, for the work you have done for many years to advocate for safer underride guards.
More on Side Guards
My daughter just set up a Twitter account for me (@MaryandAnnaLeah), so yesterday I tweeted this: SIDE Underride Guards in Canada & US. A Solution to Save Lives. Not yet required: http://tinyurl.com/lgnddkx #trucksafety #underrrideguards
Today, I was going to talk about how I wanted to make sure that I was not giving the impression that my advocacy efforts were fueled by vengeance or unforgiveness. In fact, the passion behind my relentless pleas for change are based on the growing awareness and belief that an alarming number of deaths have occurred, and continue to occur, due to what are largely-preventable truck crashes—for any of a long list of possible reasons.
Well, there I did talk about it, didn’t I—but only because I do not want to be misunderstood and because I want to make you equally aware.
And now I want to talk about side underride guards, which I am just beginning to learn more about because our crash was a rear underride and that is mainly what I have been focused on. Thankfully, NHTSA has initiated the rulemaking on rear underride guards but our request for them to require side underride guards–which very few trucks have– is still under consideration.
This is what I read today: http://www.treehugger.com/bikes/cyclists-and-pedestrians-keep-getting-killed-trucks-when-solution-easy-mandatory-side-guards.html and http://www.treehugger.com/bikes/another-cyclist-gets-right-hook-its-time-sideguards-trucks-north-america.html .
Also, see the Mercedes-Benz solution: http://www.treehugger.com/cars/mercedes-benz-unveils-large-trucks-12-18-reduction-air-drag.html
Making Progress on Improving Underride Guards: Just in Time for Someone Else
This last year, Jerry wrote to numerous trailer manufacturing companies asking them to voluntarily step up their underride guard standards. We got some positive response and stirred up interest in companies to which he also wrote who purchase trailers–enlightening them as well. One of the manufacturers, Great Dane, invited us to tour their Research & Design Center on June 25.
Afterwards, I posted this: https://annaleahmary.com/2014/06/underride-guards-can-we-sit-down-at-the-table-together-and-work-this-out/ with this video: http://youtu.be/xY6mp3PWKTA to summarize what I saw as the frustrating lack of progress on improving underride guards and the seeming lack of communication among the various responsible parties with the authority to do something about it.
Of course, we weren’t the only ones frustrated with the inaction on what seems to be a drastically-needed change. Earlier this year, when we took the petitions to DC in May, we had met with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). At that time, they put it like this: It is safer to run into a brick wall than into the back of a truck. Yet, seemingly, nothing was being done about it.
Over the course of time, in communications with IIHS, it had finally become clear to me just why that statement is true and why it didn’t seem to be understood by some in the trucking industry. I had read last fall, in a newscast which quoted Jeff Sims from the TTMA, that some thought that “too rigid” guards might cause more of a problem. (http://www.theindychannel.com/
It turns out that, when the current federal standards were going through the lengthy process of being developed, there was some discussion that there might be a chance that the guards could be “too rigid”–so that strength had to be balanced with energy absorption. But, since then, technology has been developed to create “crush zones” in cars–effectively protecting the occupants in a crash, but not so effectively if underride occurs because then the crash technology is not allowed to do its thing.
What I found interesting, this morning, was that when I researched the history of airbags (part of that crash technology: http://web.bryant.edu/~ehu/
Happily, NHTSA has now acknowledged that they agree with us that the rear guards need to be improved, and, on top of that, IIHS told us that 5 out of the 7 companies which failed their 2013 narrow overlap test are in various stages of redesigning their guard. I sure hope that, even now, engineers across the world are wracking their brains and communicating with one another to come up with the best possible protection for us all. Could be we are getting somewhere with this problem…
Too late for AnnaLeah and Mary, but maybe just in time for someone else.
June 18: Call to Action
If you live in these states, please call or email ASAP:
Reid (NV): 202-224-6244, josh_finestone@heller.senate.
Murphy (CT): 202-224-4041, jesse_young@murphy.senate.gov
Durbin (IL): 202-224-2152, trevor_deal@durbin.senate.gov
Coons (DE): 202-224-5042, blaise_sheridan@coons.senate.
Boxer (CA): 202-224-3553, kyle_chapman@boxer.senate.gov
Nelson (FL): 202-224-5274, nick_russell@billnelson.
Warner (VA): 202-224-2023, ken_johnson@warner.senate.gov
Levin (MI): 202-224-6221, alison_pascale@levin.senate.
Sanders (VT): 202-224-5141, david_weinstein@sanders.
Schatz (HI): 202-224-3934, ryan_martel@schatz.senate.gov
Support the Booker-Blumenthal Amendment to Stop Tired Trucking
Booker-Blumenthal Amendment Will Strike Dangerous Language in Collins Amendment That Would Weaken Truck Driver Hours of Service Rule
The Collins amendment would weaken the 34-hour rest period or “restart,” and:
- Dramatically increase the allowable driving hours of truck drivers from the current average of about 70 hours a week to more than 80 hours a week. This is equivalent to adding an additional work day to the work week of a truck driver.
- Allow shippers and supervisors to once again push drivers to work an average work week of up to 82 hours every week. This is double the normal work week of the average American worker and without any overtime pay or compensation.
- Ignore a scientific study required by MAP-21 and conducted by the FMCSA to evaluate the 34-hour rest period provision. This study showed:
- “Having at least two nighttime periods from 1 a.m. until 5 a.m. in the restart break helps to mitigate fatigue as measured both objectively and subjectively. This constitutes evidence in support of the efficacy of the new restart rule” (FMCSA, Report to Congress (2014)).
- The quality of night-time sleep is far superior to sleep obtained during the day-time period. The FMCSA study confirmed the findings of hundreds of peer-reviewed studies on rest among night shift workers in numerous industries, and the conclusion is the same and significant. The natural circadian cycle favors sleeping at night.
This week, the Senate will vote on the Appropriations Bill. Please call or email your Senators today, and urge them to support the Booker-Blumenthal amendment to strike the Collins Amendment language that weakens the HOS rule. The recent tragic truck crash in New Jersey is just one example of the devastation that occurs when a driver, behind the wheel of an 80,000 pound truck, falls asleep or is inattentive due to fatigue.
TAKE action now:
Please call your Senators ASAP and urge them to:
SUPPORT THE BOOKER-BLUMENTHAL AMENDMENT TO STOP TIRED TRUCKING
Strike Senator Collins Amendment That Would Weaken the HOS Rule Restart
Truck Driver Fatigue is a Serious and Deadly Problem
Talking Points:
We urge you to strike the Collins amendment. This dangerous amendment will exacerbate truck driver fatigue, and increase dangers on our highways.
STRIKE THE COLLINS AMENDMENT
- Truck driver fatigue has been recognized as a major safety concern and a contributing factor to fatal truck crashes for over 70 years.
- Every year, on average, 4,000 people die in truck crashes and about 100,000 more are injured at a cost of at least $87 billion, a large number of them due to driver fatigue.
- FMCSA studies reveal that 65% of truck drivers report they often or sometimes feel drowsy while driving and nearly half admit they fell asleep while driving in the previous year.
- Truck driving is consistently listed as one of the top ten most dangerous jobs in the U.S. In 2011, fatalities among large truck occupants increased 20 percent, and by another 9 percent in 2012.
DO NOT DE-FUND, REVISE OR REPLACE THE HOS RULE
The current HOS Rule will:
- Prevent approximately 1,400 crashes each year — saving 19 lives and avoiding 560 injuries;
- Provide $280 million in annual savings from fewer crashes and $470 million in annual savings from improved driver health (i.e., reduced mortality).
SUPPORT THE BOOKER – BLUMENTHAL AMENDMENT TO STOP TIRED TRUCKING
Urge your Senator to Support the Booker – Blumenthal Amendment
- The public health and safety community, law enforcement, the Trucking Alliance, and labor jointly support the Booker – Blumenthal amendment to Stop Tired Trucking.
- This amendment will strike the Collins language to suspend the restart provisions, and will retain the CMV Driver Restart Study instead of a roll back on safety regulation.
- The CMV Driver Restart Study directs DOT to conduct a peer-reviewed study of truck driver fatigue with specific deadlines based on objective data produced by electronic logging devices (ELDs) that will be installed in 2015.
DON’T BELIEVE THE HYPE
The current hours of service rule DOES NOT:
- Restrict a driver from driving at night. In fact, the current rule places no restrictions on when a truck driver must drive. Unless a driver is absolutely maxing out their driving time and trying to drive more than the 60 or 70 hours currently permitted, there is also no restriction on when they have to take a break. Moreover, the rule does not specify when that driver must go back on the road after the break.
- Add More Trucks to the road. Changes to the requirements for rest periods do not have any effect on the amount of freight shipped.
Every minute and a half of every day, there is a large truck crash.
SAY NO TO MORE TIRED TRUCKERS WORKING EVEN LONGER WORK WEEKS!
Tuesday, June 10: Help us take action now to stop an anti-truck safety move
UPDATE at 7:30 p.m.: The Daines Amendment passed 214-212; next steps will be announced tomorrow hopefully.
We have some tentative good news. At least for right now, there are no amendments scheduled to be brought up in the House today to suspend the HOS restart provision or to permit 33 foot double trailers. The recent tragic crashes in California and New Jersey brought a lot of attention to truck safety issues, and along with your support, helped to push back these dangerous provisions……for now.
But, we need your help to stop an ANTI-TRUCK SAFETY move in Congress this morning—an attempt to block any increase in truck driver minimum insurance requirements (one of the requests in our Petition).
This morning, the House of Representatives will vote on amendments to the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) Bill Fiscal Year 2015. Congressman Daines (R-MT) is offering an anti-truck safety amendment to block any increase in minimum insurance requirements for truck carriers.
Voting starts at 1:30 (Eastern) this afternoon, June 10.
Every year on average 4,000 people die in truck crashes and 100,000 more are injured at a cost of at least $87 billion.
Crashes involving multiple deaths and injuries, similar to the recent tragic crashes in New Jersey and California, happen every week. The total combined damages from these crashes far exceed the current minimum insurance requirements.
The families who suffer terrible losses and injuries should not have to also bear the financial burden of these crashes.
TAKE action now:
Please call your Congressman ASAP and Urge them to:
REJECT THE DAINES AMENDMENT WHICH WOULD BLOCK AN INCREASE TO MINIMUM INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS
To find your Representative and their contact information, please click http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/.
Talking Points:
We urge you to oppose the Daines amendment that would block an increase in minimum insurance requirements for motor carriers in the THUD bill (H.R. 4745) for fiscal year 2015.
Minimum Insurance Levels for Motor Carriers Need to be Increased:
- Minimum levels of insurance for trucks, currently set at $750,000, have not been increased in over 30 years and are woefully insufficient.
- Consequently a portion of the damages and losses caused by motor carriers who carry insurance at or near the minimum is imposed upon the American motoring public.
- The underinsured segments of the industry are effectively subsidized by American taxpayers through unreimbursed social welfare programs including Medicaid and Social Security.
- If all of the industry were required to absorb more of the losses they cause, significant changes in the industry would occur, resulting in safer highways for all.
FMCSA Report Supports an Increase in Minimum Financial Responsibility:
- In April 2014, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) released a report on its review of minimum financial responsibility that found current levels to be inadequate.
- It found that costs for severe and critical injury crashes can easily exceed $1 million, that current limits do not adequately cover catastrophic crashes and acknowledged that medical care inflation would increase levels to at least $3.2 million.
Additional Reports Support Increasing Minimum Financial Responsibility:
- Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE) – This report found that the upper range for liability awards involving death or catastrophic injury is $9-10 million, and recommended that DOT set limits per crash of at least $10 million.
- Trucking Alliance Review of Crash Settlements – Member companies of the Trucking Alliance voluntarily tracked 8,692 accident settlements between 2005 and 2011. According to the Trucking Alliance, 42 percent of the injury claims could have had no avenue for offsetting all medical costs.
The Daines amendment would inappropriately block a regulatory process that Congress directed.:
- Congress gave the DOT Secretary and FMCSA the authority to review the minimum insurance level, and the rule making process, including public comments, should be respected and followed.
- MAP-21 directed the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to review minimum financial responsibility requirements for motor carriers. The Daines amendment would inappropriately block changes necessitated by this review.
The losses of lives and injuries in the recent tragic crashes in California and in New Jersey are just two examples of the potential for large damages in truck crashes.
The American public should not be forced to subsidize the damages in these crashes.
OPPOSE THE DAINES AMENDMENT
