Large Truck Crashes Go Down, but Fatalities Increase

Over 140,000 large trucks were involved in accidents in the United States last year, an increase of over 20 % since 2002. These large truck accidents killed almost 5000 people in 2006, including 137 in Alabama. In Alabama, the total number of crashes has gone down steadily for the last several years, but, contrary to the overall national trend, fatalities have actually increased. In many cases these crashes and the resulting fatalities might have been avoided if proper maintenance had been conducted on the trucks' safety equipment before they were put on the road.

Vital Safety Equipment

There are several major categories of safety equipment that must be regularly inspected and maintained on all large trucks according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA):

· Reflective Devices and Lights allow the truck driver to see and be seen by other cars on the road, but lights regularly fail and reflectors get covered with dirt
· Brakes regularly wear down and have very tight tolerances that must be observed constantly to ensure the truck can stop
· Windows fail to give drivers a clear field of vision when dirty or cracked
· Fuel Systems can leak, leading to fires or explosions in even relatively minor accidents
· Coupling Devices can be strained by overloaded trucks, leading to trailer disconnect accidents
· Miscellaneous Parts include essential safety features such as tires--also subject to failure as a result of overloading trucks--windshield wipers, rear vision mirrors, seat belts to protect the truck driver in the event of an accident, and impact guards to prevent deadly underride accidents
· Protection against Shifting and Falling Cargo cargo spills can lead to deadly multi-vehicle accidents
· Frames, Wheels, Steering, and Suspension also suffer from the strain of overloading and can fail in critical moments

A truck with fully functioning safety features driven by an alert and awake driver is probably the safest vehicle on the road, but sadly the reality is far different.

Unsafe Trucks Allowed on the Road

To try and make sure that all trucks on the road have fully functioning safety equipment, the FMCSA has established an inspection schedule for all commercial trucks. There are, however, two main flaws with the inspection process. First, a vehicle that fails its annual inspection is not taken out of service. Out of service criteria often allow as much as a 20% failure rate on vital safety components. These lax criteria give trucking companies a real incentive to put off expensive and time-consuming maintenance, fixing only the minimum necessary to keep a truck on the road. Second, trucking companies are allowed to perform their own inspections, and they are only made to suffer for violating standards if their shortcutting can be brought to light through the courts.

Trucks are complex machines, and when one component breaks unexpectedly as a result of stressful driving conditions or an overloaded truck, the results can be tragic. Whenever a truck is allowed back on the road with less than perfect safety equipment, it can lead to deadly consequences.

Can anything be done?

You can do several things to prevent unsafe trucks from being allowed on the road. Since the FMCSA favors the trucking industry in making its regulations, the main recourse is legislative oversight. Write your senator or representative and let him know that trucking safety matters to you. If you can, write a personal letter or visit your congressman's office, which is taken more seriously than emailing by the congressman. The legislature has the power to mandate certain safety measures be taken.

And it is absolutely imperative that you penalize the trucking industry for its dangerous practices. If you have been involved in a trucking accident as a result of equipment failure, you must bring the company's dangerous practices to light.