The sight of large tractor-trailers toppled on interstates routinely garners splashy headlines and nightly news reports. That’s largely because the wreckage associated with commercial motor vehicle accidents garner public attention, readership, and website click-throughs.
These images appear to have heightened fears that tractor-trailers and their operators pose an existential threat. But the hard data proves nothing could be further from the truth. Take, for example, a recently published Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) report called “Fatality Facts 2019: Large trucks.”
“Most deaths in large truck crashes are passenger vehicle occupants. The main problem is the vulnerability of people traveling in smaller vehicles. Trucks often weigh 20-30 times as much as passenger cars and are taller with greater ground clearance, which can result in smaller vehicles under-riding trucks in crashes,” the IIHS report states. “Truck driver fatigue also is a known crash risk. Drivers of large trucks are allowed by federal hours-of-service regulations to drive up to 11 hours at a stretch. Surveys indicate that many drivers violate the regulations and work longer than permitted.”
Vilifying truckers has been a consistent theme among fearful non-profits and politicians trying to score points with voters. But what many fail to point out is that fatalities related to commercial motor vehicles were lower in 2019 than in 1975. There were a reported 4,305 total deaths involving large trucks in 1975 and 4,119 in 2019. Keep in mind, there are far more heavy-duty rigs on the road today than in the 1970s.
Although it might be easy to consider that statistic in a vacuum, what’s interesting is that federal agencies have talked a great deal about the link between hours of service, fatigue, and fatalities. In terms of safety regulations, little has changed regarding hours of service.
In 1938, drivers could lawfully operate a rig for 12 hours in a 15-hour shift and then take 9 hours off. By 2003, those numbers swayed to 11 hours over 14, with 10 off-duty hours. That closely resembles the hours of service regulations today, excluding the overly complicated 7-8 workweek hours and 30-minute breaks. Over the years, fatal crash statistics have risen and declined in ways that do not necessarily sync with enhanced safety regulations or reduced hours of service. In other words, it’s something of a hard sell to attribute fatigue and collisions.
For example, the high-water mark for large truck fatalities occurred in 1979, with a reported 6,539 people losing their lives. A low-water mark came in 2009 with only 3,147 deaths. Neither statistic can necessarily be attributed to a proactive safety regulation or rollback. However, 1975 saw a GDP upswing of -6.19 to 0.34 percent, meaning more commercial motor vehicles were likely hauling loads. In 2009, the country plummeted to an economic retraction of -2.40 during the great recession, meaning less work for truckers. But in 2010, the economy started running around and truck accidents deaths rose by nearly 300. The link between more truckloads, miles logged, and accidents appear to make more sense.
Although efforts to reduce driver fatigue and substance abuse make good common sense, the hard data indicates over-regulation has little impact. Responsible truck drivers do everything in their power to deliver America’s goods and materials safely. That fact has never changed.
Source: freightwaves.com
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