Letter to the Editor: Root Cause

hile I support DOT efforts related to truck safety, it would seem that an effort on automobile driver education would go a long way toward reducing car-truck collisions. The cost of additional training for new automobile drivers, which could be passed on, is miniscule compared to some of the initiatives that DOT is currently pursuing that do not address the root cause of 70% of the accidents — the automobile driver.

With better training for all new drivers, addressing car-truck safety and share-the-road issues, auto drivers would certainly be better equipped to "hare the road" ith trucks. The statistics would quickly verify this strategy as the fatality rate of young drivers in car-truck collisions should drop after this training is incorporated.

Tom Determan

This story appeared in the Jan. 21 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.

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