Just last week, there was a pile-up of 37 vehicles in snowy conditions on I-75 in Michigan. Thankfully, there were no fatalities — plenty of totaled vehicles, I’m sure, but no fatalities.
Had there been truck underride by passenger vehicles, it could have been a whole different story.
A new complaints body will provide the public with greater confidence that their voices have been heard.
I believe this is the right approach to ensure every citizen knows their voice matters and bring the Ombudsman framework into the 21st century. I look forward to scrutiny over the coming months, and to working closely with the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, the Local Government Ombudsman, and all those with an interest in this matter to deliver these reforms. Draft Public Service Ombudsman Bill Cm 9374
Understanding why large trucks crash is key to developing countermeasures to reduce those crashes. New IIHS-sponsored research shows that serious vehicle defects triple the risk of being involved in a crash. Long hours behind the wheel and use of the short-haul exemption for federal hours-of-service rules also are important contributors to crashes. Safety defects and long hours contribute to large truck crashes
What will the future hold for oversight of the trucking industry? Who will be the winners and losers in this battle for control of truck safety? How many people will lose their lives or be seriously injured or lose a loved one due to a preventable truck crash in the coming years?
The IIHS just published the results of their study of large trucks and crash risks. Topics covered include:
Vehicle violations raise crash risk: Having vehicle defects of any type raised crash risk.
Tired truckers and short-haul exemption are factors: Although short-haul drivers must comply with federal rules on work and rest times, they don’t have to record their service hours.
Gertie was our family’s St. Bernard. She was part of the family when Mary was born and Mary loved her — despite actually being much smaller than Gertie! We lost Gertie when she ran out in the road and got hit by a car while Mary was still a toddler.
Later, Mary had her very own beloved stuffed toy Gertie. It was her sister AnnaLeah’s idea to get Mary a St. Bernard for her four year-old birthday. Mary was delighted and, from then on, Gertie was Mary’s cherished companion — with her to the end.
Gertie reaching for Mary. . . Photoshoot by Mary’s sister Susanna, circa 2010
Gertie is a reminder to us of Mary’s joy and laughter and loving spirit. And now she is a part of Mary’s nephew Romie‘s life — carefully tended to by his parents. And so the joy & belly laughs continue.
Enjoy this glimpse of Life with Gertie.
Gertie was our family’s St. Bernard. Later, our joyful Mary had her very own beloved stuffed toy Gertie, who now keeps her nephew Romie company. And so the joy & belly laughs continue.
Mary’s grandpa, James Oliver Waldron, sings The Teddy Bear Picnic
It didn’t take me long — after our family’s tragic truck crash — to grasp the futility of lobbying on The Hill as a truck safety advocate in an attempt to push for safer roads through safer regulations.
And then I learned a secret (shh). . . DOT’s safety agencies have their hands tied by an Executive Order (12866) which requires stringent cost/benefit analysis during rulemaking that too often undervalues human life & health and effectually allows industry lobbyists to sabotage and snuff out regulations which could make our roads more safe to travel on.
In case you hadn’t noticed, the DOT agencies which were meant to be our protectors — the FMCSA (Federal Motor Carrier SAFETY Administration) & NHTSA (National Highway Traffic SAFETY Administration) — have not proven to be consistently effective voices for our SAFETY.
That revelation — in combination with my own experience in wasted lobbying hours and my realization that others had tried unsuccessfully for decades before me to push for truck safety rules which might have saved my daughters — spurred me on to launch the Vision Zero Petition in 2015. It garnered over 20,000 signatures online in support of our requests for:
A National Vision Zero Goal.
A White House Vision Zero Task Force.
A Vision Zero Executive Order to authorize Vision Zero Rulemaking (which would favor saving LIVES over saving PROFIT).
An Office of National Traffic Safety Ombudsman (an independent but influential and vigilant voice for vulnerable victims of vehicle violence who could facilitate these goals).
A nationwide network of Vision Zero/Traffic Safety community action/advocacy groups.
Although we took this Petition to DC in March 2016, we have not yet received a response to our requests. And, as I expected, the month of December 2016 has presented us with one more example of the need for this essential strategy: a resurrection of the Tired Trucker hours of service tug-of-war.
Proposed fix to 34-hour restart in Congressional Continuing Resolution (Note this quote: “The American Trucking Associations was pleased that the restart fix was included in the CR, something that didn’t happen when the current CR was passed just before FY2017 began October 1.“ATA thanks Congress for including what should be a permanent fix to the Hours of Service restart in this Continuing Resolution, and we look forward to its final passage into law to resolve this issue,” said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear. “Reverting back to the pre-July 2013 restart shifts the emphasis back to safety by removing flawed data from the rulemaking process. The entire industry will now be able to comply with this rule thanks to a common-sense approach championed by a bipartisan group of legislators.”)
All of this, and more — most especially my daughters’ truck crash deaths which might have been prevented had all of this nonsense been addressed appropriately — has led to my efforts to work with others to organize a successful Truck Underride Roundtable and an upcoming Tired Trucker Roundtable.
And I really do keep hoping that a national traffic safety advocate will be appointed and Vision Zero Rulemaking will become a thing. . .
“At a Capitol Hill roundtable Tuesday, industry reps and lawmakers grappled with potential safety issues concerning how human drivers will interact with emerging autonomous technologies on roadways.
“The discussion, organized by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, drew a standing-room-only crowd on a rainy day in Washington. . .
“Chris Spear, president and CEO of the American Trucking Associations, said Congress could help by promoting cooperation and coordination among federal agencies with a role in overseeing various parts of the autonomous vehicle revolution — from NHTSA to the Federal Communications Commission, to the Environmental Protection Agency, to the Departments of Homeland Security and Agriculture.”
After Josh and his sister survived a crash due to a texting driver, he decided to do something about the problem of distracted driving due to cell phone use.
“This honour system where we expect you to protect yourself, put your phone away while driving, it doesn’t work,” said Josh, now 26. “Technology created the problem and technology is the only way to solve the problem.”
Today, Josh and his father have a company called Keeping Roads Safe, which makes a product called DriveCare. The device prevents drivers’ mobile phones from displaying calls, texts and social media notifications while their vehicles are turned on, sending an automatic reply to incoming text messages informing the sender the recipient is driving and unable to respond.
Louis Lombardo, respected auto safety researcher, advocate, and the publisher of Care For Crash Victims Reports, has written an insightful article for the Legal Reader:
Lombardo notes that, “The history of Presidents using powers to protect people has resulted in millions of lives saved.”
He also provides insight into presidential, “Milestones in the history of protecting people – and in failing to protect people.” For example, “By 2008, 3.4 million Americans had lost their lives to vehicle violence. President Obama will be sadly remembered for weak oversight of the auto industry resulting in many needless deaths and injuries.”
What will the next four years look like, I wonder?
One way that our president could use his power to protect people would be by taking the initiative to move our country toward zero crash deaths & serious injuries through these actions:
Set a National Vision Zero Goal.
Establish a White House Vision Zero/Traffic Safety Task Force.
Sign an Executive Order authorizing Vision Zero Rulemaking.
Establish an independent Office of National Traffic Safety Ombudsman/Advocate.