After finding out about PATT and MATT and all these little groups out there trying to end truck driving in general because "they are the biggest cause of death on the highway", I decided to do some of my own research.
Interestingly enough, DOT had a third party think tank do some research on truck crashes involving cars.
I can't post the link because of forum rules, so shoot me a PM and I will send you a link to read the report yourself on DOT's website.
Turns out, although a wreck with a big truck can be fatal, it rarely occurs. But you'll never hear these so-called groups tell you anything like that.
FACT 1:
There are about 2.5 fatal crashes with big trucks per 100 million miles driven. This is down from 4 per 100 million miles in the '80's.
FACT 2:
Trucks compose only 8 percent of all vehicles involved in fatal crashes.
FACT 3:
The greatest cause of fatalities involving a big truck are the result of passenger vehicles crossing into the oncoming path of and hitting the truck head on (22.7%)
FACT 4:
Only 29% of fatal crashes involving a big truck and a passenger vehicle are caused by the big truck driver. 67% are caused by the driver of the passenger vehicle driver. 4% are caused by uncontrollable circumstances.
FACT 5:
Out of 400,000 accidents involving big trucks per year, only 5,126 result in a fatality or 1.2815%.
These groups would have you believe that big trucks are the sole reason why people die on the nation's highways and they should be banned from public roadways, when in fact, trucks compose the safest group of vehicles (and drivers) on the road.
What these "anti-truck" coalitions don't want you to know.
Discussion in 'Trucking Accidents' started by Big Poppa, Oct 14, 2007.
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I drive locally in Seattle every day. For the most part people in cars are courteous and sensible. The drivers that get everyone else into trouble are the younger men (and women) who appear to be late everywhere they go. They seem to be on the cellphone, oblivious to their surroundings, with a Starbucks 16oz. cup of go juice in the cupholder. No turn signals, accelerate to 75 m.p.h. to take an exit that is already blocked and cut the truck off that has left a safe distance ahead of him. It happens so often to me that I no longer question the person's intelligence. Their motto is"get ahead of the truck or risk sitting on the offramp forever". One of these days I hope a W.S.P. is watching and gives these idiots a ticket.
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The biggest thing that irks me about these "special interest action groups" is the fact that they post terrifying pictures of wrecks, pictures of victims of wrecks, and statements about how terrible trucks and truck drivers are. But........where are the actual statistics? None of them quote any emperical data to support their claims. Now, I truly feel sorry for the few folks that have lost loved ones due to tragic circumstances, but get real. These people should be focusing their efforts less on trying to destroy people's livelyhood and more on the greater dangers out there.......passenger vehicles and their drivers.
For instance, there is a group out there that claims underride on the side of trailers should be prevented by equipping trucks with heavy equipment to prevent it, thereby resulting in less ability to carry freight and a loss of income to truck drivers because of which. Yet, none of them focus their effort in getting tougher guidelines in the safety design of the passenger vehicle. Yes, it is possible to design passenger vehicles to withstand these impacts. The problem with that is........it would increase the cost of passenger vehicles. So, it is okay for the trucking industry to pick up the tab for this, but outrageous for the general motoring public to do so.....WHEN THEY ARE THEY CAUSE OF MOST ACCIDENTS.
As John Stossel of 60 Minutes would say, "Gimme a break".
</rant>
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