The deaths of truckers Nate Moody, who died in the fiery blaze that incinerated a section of I-95, and Christopher A. Scott, who plunged to his death off the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, appear lost on the mainstream media. The news coverage has largely focused on reopening I-95 near Philly and the deep sea fact-finding mission in the Chesapeake.
“This is a concentrated joint search effort consisting of multiple rescue crews, search aircraft and boats,” Chief Warrant Officer Dan Butierries reportedly said to USA Today “We are committed to searching by land and sea throughout the night and into the morning,”
Adding insult to injury, reports tend to toss about tractor-trailer wrecks and fatalities almost as if truck drivers survive. Truth be told, a reported 59 percent of semi-truck accident deaths do not involve another vehicle or pedestrian. That’s precisely the case with both of these tragedies being covered by the national media.
And when big rigs and passenger vehicles collide, trucker fatalities average approximately 15 percent annually. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System, 756 truck drivers died in collisions in 2021. That figure pales by comparison to the more than 42,000 car accident fatalities. But it begs the question: Why are so many truckers dying while keeping America’s supply chains moving? These are correctable reasons why truckers lose their lives.
Pressure to Meet Tight Deadlines
Freight carriers and fleet supervisors can place an inordinate amount of pressure on truckers to deliver loads on schedule. When CDL professionals are hauling goods and materials, they have to deal with reality. Road construction, car accidents, and other delays derail tidy schedules. The urge to speed and make up lost time puts truckers and others at risk.
Driver Fatigue
Politicians and federal transportation officials tend to claim hours of service violations as a prime reason for driver fatigue. Truckers are usually too concerned with suspensions to exceed driving mandates. But having to park in loud, high-traffic areas overnight leads to interrupted sleep patterns. Truckers could be more alert if they had reasonable access to legitimate parking.
Rather than address these and other critical factors, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration recently proposed yet another safety equipment regulation. The new rule would require all trucks over 10,000 pounds to have an automatic emergency braking (AEB) system and an electronic stability control (ESC) system that works together. While effective brake systems are welcome, would they have prevented the two recent truck driver deaths?
Sources:
https://www.nhtsa.gov/crash-data-systems/fatality-analysis-reporting-system
https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/2023-06/NPRM_HV-AEB-for-web.pdf
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