2010 truck crash numbers prove HOS rules need improvement, safety groups say

December 7th, 2011 by Kurt Niland

underpass crash e1298766229318 100x100 2010 truck crash numbers prove HOS rules need improvement, safety groups sayLast month, President and CEO of the American Trucking Associations (ATA) sent a letter to Cass Sustein, administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, asking whether federal regulators had a “legitimate reason” to tighten the current hours-of-service (HOS) rules. Mr. Graves noted that the latest safety statistics (2009) showed historically low levels of truck and bus crashes, meaning that the current HOS rules were working. ATA has been an adamant opponent of the ’s proposed HOS rule changes, which will go in effect after the final rule is published in the National Register.

However, the Safety Coalition (TSC), comprised of Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways (CRASH) and Parents Against Tired Truckers (PATT), issued a press release Friday saying that commercial- crash deaths soared from 3,380 in 2009 to 4000 in 2010. The TSC cited the November 30 testimony of FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro before a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing about the pending HOS rule changes. That hearing was the first time 2010 commercial crash statistics had been cited.

According to the TSC, “This critical data supports the position of safety groups, families of crash victims, and labor who have been urging the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Obama Administration to issue a safer driver HOS rule to reduce driver fatigue.”

TSC says that ATA pushes to keep the current HOS rules in place, using 2009’s record decline in commercial crashes as evidence that the current rules are working to prevent driver fatigue and crashes. But 2010’s statistics prove “that the claim is patently false,” the TSC said in a statement.

Nine other safety organizations joined the TSC in sending a letter to Mr. Sustein, countering the claims the ATA president made in his Nov. 15 letter. Citing the FMCSA’s 2010 numbers and a number of other studies, TSC said that the current HOS rules have “done nothing to reduce the relative occurrence of fatigue in crash involvement.” The ATA has its logic completely backwards, the letter stated.

Sources:

The Truck Safety Coalition press release

The Truck Safety Coalition’s letter to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 7th, 2011 at 10:39 am and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

  • RMar847062

    What the statistics presented by these safety groups and Anne Ferro failed completely to show is cause, fault, training or ability, circumstances, during what hours of the day, during what hours of the truck drivers drive line, and other important variables that would show that it isn’t the hours that are the problem. If you were to look at the hours of service regulations prior to the current ruling, you may notice that there were fatality accidents in the same numbers, and greater. There is a false belief that the more pressure and regulations we put solely on the driver, the safer our roads will be. That is an incorrect assumption.

    These purported safety organizations want a reduction  in drive hours from 11 to 10 hours in the 14 hour day. Reported statistics show that a staggering 85% of
    the accidents take place in hours 1 and 2 of driving. Less than 1% of
    accidents happen in the 11th hour, and approximately 85% of accidents involving a commercial vehicle are not caused by the truck driver.
    By only focusing on truck drivers, fatigue and HOS, they are totally
    ignoring areas of safety that should indeed be seriously confronted. 
    The data has been manipulated by the omission of relevant facts and
    figures that have created a vague and biased picture. Although federal government regulators attempt to
    promulgate regulations based on current circadian science, the regulations are ineffective as stand-alone measures. Labor policies and practices must foster a work environment that facilitates sleep and safe driving performance.
     I will tell you that this industry can not have professional skilled drivers
    who are well rested as long as they are having to fight to earn a
    living because of over-regulation and current industry conduct.
    23 hours ago · Like

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