NTSB Chair Pushes Safety Devices
NTSB Chairman Jim Hall said Tuesday that state and federal governments need to find ways to cut through bureaucratic red tape that prevents the use of devices like electronic brakes, which allow drivers to stop 3 seconds faster than conventional brakes.
The other challenge is coming up with incentives to convince trucking and bus companies to install driver fatigue monitors, data recorders similar to black boxes used on airplanes, collision warning systems and other high-tech safety devices, Hall said.
Some 5,355 people died in collisions with trucks nationwide in 1997, the most recent year for which data is available, up more than 200 from the prior year.
Joshua Beddingfield, 16, of Gardendale, Ala., was riding in a van with his mother, grandmother and a friend on May 27 when their vehicle was sandwiched between tractor-trailers at a construction area on Interstate 75 near Sweetwater. All four were killed; the truckers were uninjured.
"It is extremely important to the American people to ensure these vehicles are equipped with technology to prevent highway crashes such as the one that took the life of Joshua," Hall said.
Collision warning systems now are standard equipment on many U.S. Army vehicles and some U.S. companies are working with the government to test them, according to testimony during the hearing. The devices beep and flash a red light to warn drivers when an obstacle is near.
U.S. Xpress Enterprises Inc. of Chattanooga has installed them on more than 4,000 trucks, which cut the company's rear-end accident rate by 75 percent and the cost of wrecks by two-thirds.
"The widespread use of this safety device would prevent injuries, save countless lives and save companies millions of dollars each year," Hall said.
Christine Johnson of the U.S. Department of Transportation said the government should advocate - but not mandate - the use of such systems, which sometimes give false warnings.
Kevin Holland of the American Trucking Associations said the industry is investing $30 billion a year into new technology, some of it aimed at safety. He said the accuracy of collision warning devices remains a concern, and so does the idea of drivers becoming too dependent on technology.
But Marilyn Cochrane, a driver for U.S. Xpress who demonstrated a test truck with several high-tech safety features, said that won't happen.
"It makes you more aware of what's going on," she said from the driver's seat of the rig, which includes a sensor to let her know if the truck is about to tip over, infrared beams that can see objects beyond headlights, smart cruise control that slows her when she gets too close to traffic and a collision warning device.
She said she was getting ready to pull out into traffic one day recently when a monitor began beeping and flashing.
Cochrane said she did not see anything - until a little boy who had run out on the street in front of the truck jumped back on the curb as his mother came rushing around the corner.
"If I can save a life like that, isn't that what it's all about?" she asked.
