A senator’s Office recently asked me to provide them with a one-page history of reports and recommendations made on the truck underride problem in the U.S. Here it is (with clickable links):
Truck Underride Reports & Recommendations in the U.S.
Tag Archives: NTSB
NTSB truck crash hearing reflects endless stalemate. Could a Natl Traffic Safety Ombudsman end it?
NTSB Board hears reports on deadly 2015 TN truck crash. October 4 at 9:30 a.m.
Same issues over and over with no resolution. Could a National Traffic Safety Ombudsman work to more effectively end the continuing needless, senseless bloodshed on our highways? Why are we letting people like Mary and AnnaLeah anyway?
Tangled states & federal responsibilities.
NTSB: Trucker’s Use of Synthetic Marijuana Caused Fatal Crash of Texas Students on Sept. 26, 2014
From HDT Trucking Info.
NTSB: Trucker’s Use of Synthetic Marijuana Caused Fatal Crash
November 18, 2015, By David Cullen
“As a result of its investigation of a truck crash that killed four college athletes last year, the National Transportation Safety Board issued recommendations on Nov. 17 aimed at helping motor carriers address ‘impairing substances’ that are not tested for under federal regulations.
NTSB said it has determined that the truck driver charged with killing four members of the North Central Texas College softball team by crashing his tractor-trailer into the bus they were riding in caused the accident ‘due to incapacitation stemming from his likely use of a synthetic cannabinoid,’ commonly known as synthetic marijuana. . .
NTSB pointed out that while federal law prohibits CDL drivers from operating a vehicle while impaired, federal regulations require testing for only a few impairing substances.
The board said this crash investigation highlights the challenges that disconnect presents to both employers and law enforcement. ‘Motor carriers need to know about this emerging class of drugs, and they need better tools to detect driver impairment,’ said NTSB Chairman Christopher Hart.”
See more at: http://www.truckinginfo.com/news/story/2015/11/ntsb-trucker-s-use-of-synthetic-marijuana-caused-fatal-crash.aspx
Letter from wife of truck driver killed by fatigued truck driver: Federal studies show longer truck trailers dangerous.
By
on July 31, 2015 at 11:28 AM
“I am writing in response to Mark Rosenker’s July 28 letter, “Longer truck trailers have a good safety record.” Nearly three years ago my husband Brad, a truck driver, was killed by a fatigued truck driver who swerved off the road and struck Brad while he was standing on the shoulder. Sadly, this crash is not unique. All too often I read about a construction worker hit by a semi in a work zone, or a family crushed in their minivan simply because the truck driver did not apply the brakes soon enough.
Yet some people in Washington believe it’s time to increase the length of double tractor trailers, from 28 feet per trailer to 33 feet. Proponents of the increase rely on one study — industry-funded junk science that claims these longer trucks to be safer. That is false. . . ”
“. . . These differences could be what prompts yet another wife or mother to write a letter to the editor on truck safety.
Kim Telep
Harrisburg”
Investigative Report on Underride Guards in Atlanta
Jim Strickland, consumer investigator with WSB-TV in Atlanta, looked into underride guard problems in November 2013 in the Atlanta area and reported on them: http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/youll-never-look-tractor-trailers-same-way-again/nb4Kf/
Here is his newscast in April 2014 after the National Transportation Safety Board issued their recommendations to NHTSA to improve underride guards:http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/ntsb-recommending-safety-device-big-rigs-after-cha/nfZYM/
When he found out that NHTSA had initiated a rulemaking process for underride guards, he wanted to do an update. He called me yesterday at 11 a.m. for a phone interview.
His report on underride guards, our crash, and the AnnaLeah & Mary Stand Up For Truck Safety Petition was on WSB-TV Atlanta’s evening news yesterday in two parts first at 4:45 p.m. and the second part at 6:15 p.m.: http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/families-seek-reduce-fatal-tractor-trailer-acciden/ngtnD and http://bcove.me/vfrhezzh
