According to NHTSA, fatal accidents involving tractor-trailer combinations rose by 5.8%, with fatal accidents involving straight trucks jumping up double digits to 18.7%. Those cars and other vehicles involved in collisions with trucks didn’t fare all that well either.

Occupants of other vehicles involved in large-truck crashes had 280 more fatalities, says NHTSA, an 8.8-% increase from 2016. Large-truck occupant fatalities in multiple-vehicle crashes increased by 76, a 28.5-percent increase from 2016. Large-truck occupant fatalities in single-vehicle crashes increased by 40, notes the administration an 8.7-% increase from 2016.

Troubling but understandable

The upward trend in negative safety statistics for truckers is troubling, but perhaps understandable considering the rising commercial tide increasing demand for logistics and shipping services in general and the reliance on truckers stoking the consumer goods economy with more last mile deliveries than ever. The double-digit growth in fatalities involving straight trucks is telling and offers a glimpse of the jeopardizes driving commercially can bring to on-the-road professionals.

Troubling but understandable

The upward trend in negative safety statistics for truckers is troubling, but perhaps understandable considering the rising commercial tide increasing demand for logistics and shipping services in general and the reliance on truckers stoking the consumer goods economy with more last mile deliveries than ever. The double-digit growth in fatalities involving straight trucks is telling and offers a glimpse of the jeopardizes driving commercially can bring to on-the-road professionals.

ATA’s safety priorities

In a recent speech, Dave Manning, the 73rd and outgoing chairman of the American Trucking Associations (ATA) outlined ATA’s top seven legislative and regulatory priorities as the association transitions from 2018 and heads into 2019. Much of it speaks directly to truck and trucker safety.

Manning, who is president of Nashville-based TCW Inc., a diversified transportation provider, was keynote speaker at dinner held to celebrate the 25th anniversary of a company that makes automatic tire inflation and tire pressure monitoring systems.

In the report in Truckinginfo.com, Manning outlined the ATA’s agenda for the coming year. First is petitioning the Secretary of Transportation to make a determination that California’s meal and rest break rules are preempted by federal law. Manning says that allowing breaks beyond what federal rules allow is a safety issue because truck parking is so hard to find that “trucks end up parked in unsafe locations.”

The next big issue for ATA says Manning is “making sure the Trump administration knows that trucking and trade are synonymous,” noting “You mess with trade and you mess with trucking. We’re working to make sure the administration understands that.” Looking at that through a safety lens, if the over-the-road safety of driving professionals (and civilians they share the road with) aren’t addressed, there will be consequences.

Turning to the ever-advancing arena of autonomous driving technology, Manning explains “our message is that it’s about driver assist, not driverless technology.” Comparing it to airline pilots, Manning said “we need trained drivers. Steering a wheel is just a small part of a driver’s job.” The ATA he said, is concerned that “legislation in Congress [for autonomous vehicles] so far does not address commercial vehicles.”

DRIVE-Safe Youngsters, Get Your Safety Technology Now!

After dragging out depressing statistics of the driver shortage and the aging of the driving team in general, Manning talked about efforts to change federal law and allow 18- to 20-year-olds to drive trucks serving interstate commerce. “Forty-eight states allow 18-year-olds to drive intrastate, but the federal government doesn’t allow them to cross state lines,” Manning explained, despite “safety technology enables us to do this in a safe way.”

Manning said the DRIVE-Safe Act requires specific training for an 18-year-old CDL driver including qualifications for the trainer and recommendations for truck safety technology noting that “lane departure warning systems etc. can help an 18-year-old” be safe behind the wheel of a truck.

Well how about that? According to new research from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, equipping large trucks with advanced safety technologies has the potential to prevent up to 63,000 truck related crashes each year.

In 2015, says AAA, large trucks were involved in more than 400,000 crashes that resulted in more than 4,000 deaths and 116,000 injuries — a 4% increase from 2014. What to do? AAA recommends that all large trucks, both existing and new, get equipped with cost effective technologies that improve safety for everyone on the road.

“There’s no question that truck safety technology saves lives,” said Dr. David Yang, executive director of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. “This new research shows that the benefits of adding many of these technologies to trucks clearly outweigh the cost.”

AAA’s report, “Leveraging Large Truck Technology and Engineering to Realize Safety Gains,” examined the safety benefits and costs of installing four advanced safety technologies in both existing and new large trucks:

1. Lane departure warning systems;

2. Automatic emergency braking;

3. Air disc brakes; and

4. Video-based onboard safety monitoring systems.

The AAA stud also revealed the societal safety benefits (i.e., economic value of lives saved, injuries prevented, etc.) of equipping all new and existing large trucks with lane departure warning and video-based onboard safety monitoring systems far outweigh the costs. According to AAA statistics, lane departure warning systems have the potential to prevent up to 6,372 crashes, 1,342 injuries and 115 deaths each year.

Similarly, video-based onboard safety monitoring systems, say AAA, can prevent as many as 63,000 crashes, 17,733 injuries and 293 deaths each year. Similarly, the societal safety benefits of equipping all new trucks with automatic braking or air disc brakes should outweigh costs as well. AAA researchers say that automatic emergency braking could prevent up to 5,294 crashes, 2,753 injuries and 55 deaths annually and that air disc brakes could prevent up to 2,411 crashes, 1,447 injuries and 37 deaths each year.

Civilians Fearful Too

A recent parallel AAA survey found that six out of ten (61%) U.S. adults feel less safe driving past large commercial trucks than driving past passenger cars. Commonsensically, the three main boogie men are:

1. Trucks’ large size and length (28%)

2. Trucks have greater blind spots/less visibility (18%)

3. Trucks can drift or swerve out of their lane (14%)

The folks at AAA say about one in four (26 %) U.S. adults say adding safety technology to large trucks would help them feel better about sharing the road. “It’s understandable that many motorists are fearful and feel vulnerable when traveling near large trucks,” said Jake Nelson, AAA director of Traffic Safety Advocacy and Research. “Adding these safety technologies to the trucking fleet is not only cost effective, but doing so helps to alleviate driver concerns and prevents crashes. In the long run, it’s a win-win for industry and drivers nationwide.”

So a good majority are nervous? Like all on the road, professional truck drivers and motoring civilians have a shared responsibility to safely share the road. But the driving habits of civilians and the behaviors they display while behind the wheel might make one think that most people are completely oblivious to the extra danger trucks might represent to them.

Here’s what AAA recommend to the folks out there:

• Be aware that trucks have large blind spots or “no-zones.” As a rule of thumb, if you cannot see the driver in the truck’s side view mirror, they cannot see you.
• Leave plenty of room between your vehicle and a truck when coming to a stop on a hill. Trucks may roll back as the driver takes his or her foot off the brake.
• Avoid speeding up when a truck is passing. Slow down and give the truck driver plenty of room to pass.
• Follow trucks at a safe distance.
• Allow plenty of space for a truck driver who is signaling to change lanes.

That about covers it, but until all drivers “Get It” professional drivers are going to have to do most of the heavy lifting to move the safety stats needle in a better direction.