Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is trying for the third time to pass legislation that would require safety requirements for big rigs – legislation that has the potential to save hundreds of lives each year. According to a CBS news report, the bill, Stop Underrides Act, was reintroduced by Gillibrand, a Democratic senator from New York, and Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican from Florida. The bill would essentially require guards on the sides and front of all new tractor-trailers and update safety standards for underride guards on the rear of trucks to protect the drivers around them. …Read the rest »
A jury in Florida handed down a $411 million verdict in connection with a 2018 crash that left a motorcyclist severely injured. According to news reports, a jury in Florida’s Second Circuit Court returned the verdict for 42-year-old Duane Washington in a case against Top Auto Express Trucking Company. Washington, a former career Army sergeant, suffered major injuries in a 45-vehicle pileup that occurred in stormy weather on the westbound I-10 in Tallahassee, Florida, on July 24, 2018. …Read the rest »
A new study has found that safety features such as automatic emergency braking and forward-collision warnings could end up saving lives by preventing more than 40% of large truck accidents where big rigs rear-end other vehicles. According to an Associated Press news report, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), a research group that is supported by auto insurers, also found that when rear-end crashes happened, these systems cut the speeds by over 50%, reducing injuries and damages caused. …Read the rest »
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has launched a comprehensive study of the causes of large truck accidents with the intention of using that information and data to guide its enforcement priorities in the future. According to a news report, this is the first of such a study since the agency conducted the last one back in 2001-2003, which at the time included a review of 120,000 truck accidents. Over the last 15 years since this study was done, there have been a number of changes in technology, vehicle safety, driver behavior and roadway design, which have affected how a driver performs. …Read the rest »
Biometric sensors could help warn truck drivers before they become too fatigued, according to an article in The New York Times. Fatigued driving has caused a number of catastrophic or fatal truck accidents. However, new technologies are becoming available to alert drowsy truck drivers, sometimes, even before they become tired. Biometric sensors are getting lighter, cheaper and more accurate and new software systems can connect drivers and vehicle data. The feedback loops these systems create can make roads safer for everyone. …Read the rest »
Drowsy driving and falling asleep behind the wheel are on the decline, but speeding and cell phone use is on the rise among truck drivers, according to customer data unveiled by video telematics provider Lytx. The San Diego-based company’s data also shows that truck drivers are safer than drivers in other commercial fields when it comes to several specific risk categories. The data showed that cell phone use, speeding and drivers not wearing seatbelts increased among truck drivers, there were declines when it came to drivers following other vehicles too closely and responding too late to emergencies. …Read the rest »
The Trump administration is now a step closer to relaxing federal hours-of-service regulations for truck drivers, which govern the amount of time truckers can spend behind the wheel, Detroit News reports. While this is a move that has been long sought by the trucking industry, it has been vociferously opposed by safety advocates who warn it could lead to more devastating big rig accidents. …Read the rest »
Authorities are looking for a large truck driver who fled the scene after a Los Angeles hit and run that killed a tow truck operator who was changing a disabled vehicle’s tire on the 5 Freeway near Castaic. According to a KTLA news report, California Highway Patrol officers responded to the scene on the southbound 5 Freeway about 3 miles north of Templin Highway the night of May 31. …Read the rest »
A truck lost control after its brakes failed on a California mountain road and overturned in a terrifying crash. Dashcam footage from another vehicle on the Pacheco Pass near San Jose showed the out-of-control truck veering onto the hard shoulder as it approached a queue of standstill traffic. The truck – which was carrying a large number of fruit crates on its trailer – was unable to stop, and started to tip as the narrow hard shoulder turned into sloping mountainside. The trailer tipped over and crashed onto its side, sending fruit cascading across the roadway. As it toppled, the vehicle crashed into another large heavy goods vehicle which was waiting in traffic, shunting the other vehicle across its lane. …Read the rest »
For the first time, U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., have proposed a bipartisan bill that will require guards on the sides and front of all trucks to help prevent cars from sliding underneath them during collisions. According to an NBC News article, Gillibrand said the bill would help close a safety gap and save hundreds of lives that are lost in truck accidents. Federal law already requires rear guards for big rigs. …Read the rest »
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