Last week we wrote about the pressure facing the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to keep our highways safe with stricter regulations for truckers. Here’s more about necessary improvements to our laws so that everyone is safer on the road.

Large-truck accidents accounted for nearly 4,000 fatalities in 2013—the fourth straight year that the number of truck-related deaths has risen, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. That’s a 17 percent increase based on numbers collected by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

In a statement, the NTSB recommended that trucking companies explore more ways to manage driver fatigue and sleep disorders, afflictions that have been the source of several deadly accidents on the road. Sleep deprivation and mandated driving hours remain constant topics of discussion among safety experts and legislators, some of whom find themselves arguing opposite ends of the spectrum. The NTSB also unveiled its “Most Wanted List” of transportation improvements for 2015, including strengthening the safety of commercial trucking through increased industry oversight.

The statistics come at a time when Congress voted to tamp down trucking regulations last year, part of an ongoing trend of legislation that effectively weakens driving limitations and mandated driving hours. An example of one such amendment, passing on a 21-9 vote by the Senate Appropriations Committee in early June, rescinded a provision that required drivers to take breaks between the hours of 1-5am. The vote passed despite widespread opposition by safety advocates, transportation experts and the White House, all of which expressed concern for those driving at high speeds in the wee hours of the morning.

Also from NTSB: Highway regulators have failed to act on more than 100 recommendations over the last year to improve truck safety, as trucking lobbyists aggressively seek to protect the working rights of operators and those who maintain clean driving records. It’s a proverbial game of cat and mouse in the eyes of many.

The Board says that safety should be the industry’s highest priority, though recent amendments and deregulations seemingly prove otherwise. When it comes down to it, trucking accidents are increasingly preventable, thanks to new technology such as vehicle sensors. At this stage, sensors are more of a suggestion than a requirement.

So why aren’t more laws being passed to prevent accidents from happening?

The cynical person might chalk it up to the nature of the system — high price of doing business in a fast-paced world. But others, like Steve Pociask, President of the American Consumer Institute, in an opinion piece for the Daily Caller, points out that revisiting transportation reform should be a higher priority for the 114^th Congress, whether it be new laws and regulations or revisiting long-standing laws to determine what’s working and what isn’t. But assuming the issue gets swept under the rug, it’s safe to conclude that accidents will continue to happen.

For years, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has faced a bevy of criticism for failing to institute stricter training requirements for operators of large commercial trucks. That criticism has turned into action, according to the New York Times, which reports that safety advocates and at least one labor union has filed suit in federal court over FMCSA’s lack of progress. It seems it was only a matter of time.

In a span of ten years, says the Times, Congress has twice ordered the FMCSA make changes to its training measures, only to see the FMCSA bypass the requisite deadlines. The federal organization has made incremental improvements over the last decade, but not enough to satisfy a growing contingent of safety groups and those who say the FMCSA’s so-called improvements are akin to a running joke. Currently the FMCSA requires a minimum of ten hours in the classroom and a driving test before allowing drivers with big rigs onto the road, only after the “relatively simple process” of filing for a commercial license.

That doesn’t satisfy people like Henry Jansy, general counsel at Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, who took a harsh line with the FMCSA, saying “There’s just no excuse anymore. This should be basic stuff. People are dying because of the lack of training out there.”

Making matters worse for the FMCSA is the rising number of fatalities related to large commercial trucks. The Times points out that traffic related fatalities have reached a new low, however accidents involving large trucks have steadily increased; fatalities are up by four percent and serious injuries up by 18 percent since 2012. Based on data from the Transportation Department, an additional 200,000 accidents with large trucks caused damage but no injuries.

The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) reports that Illinois tractor-trailer accidents account for nearly 11% of traffic deaths over the last five years. In 2005, Illinois eighteen-wheeler accidents caused a little more than 200 of the nearly 2000 total traffic fatalities.

Some safety points to note from the IDOT:

In Illinois, fatal crashes between trucks and other vehicles most often occur:

On Tuesday through Friday, between 11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., when the weather is clear and the road is dry
Due to speed or improper lane use
When the truck driver is between 28-43 years old and the driver of the other vehicle is between 20-30 years old
When the driver (of the truck OR the other vehicle) has fallen asleep or has been drinking

Avoid these four blind spots when driving near or around a large vehicle:

Don’t return to the driving lane until you can see the entire front of the truck in your rearview mirror
If you can’t see one of the truck drivers’ side mirrors, he or she can’t see you either
If you can’t see the truck driver in one of your side mirrors, he or she can’t see you
Don’t enter the area between the curb or shoulder and the truck if the truck is signaling a turn

Additional safety points:

Some other safety information to be aware of when you encounter larger vehicles on the road include things like weight difference, the risk of underride and override, stopping distance, and “splash and spray.”

Reviewing and remembering these basic principles can help keep you safe on the road, and prevent the unexpected.

Why Aren’t More Trucking Laws Being Passed?

Advocates Aim for Stricter Requirements for Commercial Drivers

highway safety