P.M. Executive Briefing - Feb. 16
This Afternoon's Headlines:
ul>
New Law Targets Inexperienced Owner Operators
The law that replaced the Federal Highway Administration's Office of Motor Carrier Safety with the new Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will also require new carriers to go through a safety review during the first 18 months of operation. In addition, the new agency is responsible for establishing minimum safety requirements and testing new carriers to discover if they are familiar with federal safety standards.The bill was opposed by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association because federal data does not prove older carriers are safer than new ones, and the association contends that the largest safety threat comes from inexperienced drivers, not new carriers.
Other directives for the FMCSA include disqualification of drivers who cause a fatal truck accident as a result of neglect or criminal actions, driving without a license, or driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol; creation of databases by the states to keep track of all violations by truck drivers that can be made available to government officials and possible employers; and attachment of drivers' federal medical qualification certificates to commercial drivers' licenses. Owner Operator (02/00) Vol. 30, No. 1; P. 14; Snyder, Charles A.
Accidents Involving Tractor-Trailers More Likely Caused by Car Drivers, Canadian Report Finds
The Canadian Ministry of Transportation has released its annual Ontario road safety report, which indicates that for 1997 tractor-trailers and truck drivers with Class A licenses are the safest drivers and vehicles on the road.According to the report, when cars are involved in accidents with tractor-trailers, it is the driver of the car who is more likely to have been driving improperly or drinking, and it is the car that is more likely to have a mechanical defect. In 1997, just 3% of the vehicles involved in reportable collisions were tractor-trailers, a drop from 1996's 3.2%, and the number of personal injury and property damage accidents fell by 1.7%.
Fatalities remained constant at 91 total, but tractor-trailers made up 1.2% of vehicles involved in all personal injury collisions and 1.7% of all property damage collisions.
Tractor-trailer drivers with Class A licenses were deemed to be not at fault in 71.6% of the fatal accidents in which they were involved compared to 45.4% of auto drivers; meanwhile, alcohol was a factor for 1% of truck drivers, and for 24% of auto drivers.
Car mechanical defects were cited as a factor in 3.4% of the fatal accidents involving trucks, compared to 1% of trucks.
According to the Ministry, between 1988 and 1997, the number of trucks rose 8% but the number of fatalities involving tractor-trailers dropped 20.5%. The collision rate for Class A trucks has gone from 7.9 per million kilometers traveled to 5.4 per million kilometers in 1997.
The Ontario Trucking Association has been prompted by the report to create a public education and awareness campaign on how drivers can share the road safely with tractor-trailers. Refrigerated Transporter (01/00) Vol. 37, No. 8; P. 17
© copyright 2000 INFORMATION, INC. Terms of Service
