Tag Archives: Congressman Steve Cohen

DOT Victim & Survivor Advocate Act Introduced To Give Victims A Voice

On average, 42,075 people die on our roads every year, while 170,280 people are injured. Industry opposition. Regulatory capture. A lack of a sense of urgency or personal responsibility. These and other factors occur simultaneously — resulting in Too Little being done Too Late to prevent an unimaginable number of irreversible tragedies for those people and their loved ones.

It’s time to give vulnerable victims of vehicle violence a vigilant voice at the table. It’s time for a National Roadway Safety Advocate to serve the public’s best interests at the Department of Transportation. That’s why Senator Ben Ray Lujan (on May 9, 2024), and Congressman Steve Cohen (on May 10, 2024) introduced the DOT Victim & Survivor Advocate Act of 2024 — as a first step to provide safety advocates with a tangible means of bringing about meaningful change in a timely manner.

Find out more here:

You can help make this happen:

Hear Families Share Victim Stories — It’s time for a National Roadway Safety Advocate!

@RepCohen, thank you for telling House T&I Committee about importance of the STOP Underrides! Bill.

Congressman Steve Cohen, thank you for your strong message to the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee about the importance of passing the STOP Underrides! Bill to protect us all from deadly & catastrophic truck underride.

Documents which Representative Cohen discusses:

  • 2002 American Trucking Associations Technology Maintenance Council Task Force predicts underride regulations for single unit trucks by 2005 and for front & side by 2006.  2002 ATA Prediction of Side Guard Regulations
  • 2007 Transportation Research Board study from the University of Michigan describes how front underride protection could save 27-37% lives in these kinds of crashes. It also describes how it is likely that a government mandate will be required because the industry is not motivated to add [underride protection] voluntarily. The Domain of Truck and Bus Safety Research