› $150,000,000 verdict in personal injury case
Two women from India were killed and 35 others injured when a tour bus veered off a New York highway and flipped Sunday afternoon. The bus, operated by Bedore Tours, was transporting a group of visitors from India from Washington D.C. to Niagara Falls when one of the vehicle’s front tires blew out, causing the driver to lose control of the bus.
Months of studying, long hours on the road, and being held to the highest traffic safety standards make commercial drivers some of the safest drivers on America’s roads and highways. But even though the number of truck crashes is at its lowest level since 1950, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports there were still 3,380 commercial truck crashes involving fatalities in 2009. So what are the leading causes of commercial vehicle crashes?
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) this week announced it had taken a major step toward improving commercial truck and bus safety with the launch of its Compliance Safety Accountability (CSA) program nationwide. FMCSA first launched a field test of CSA in Colorado, Georgia, Missouri, and New Jersey in February 2008. Last year, the agency added Delaware, Kansas, Maryland, Minnesota, and Montana to the test group. The program was then modified according to testing results and feedback provided by industry partners.
When it comes to improving commercial vehicle safety, technology plays an increasingly vital role. New-to-market and emerging technologies that weren’t available just months ago promise to mitigate the dangers commercial truck and bus drivers and other motorists face on U.S. roads now and in the years to come. To help showcase these new and developing technologies, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration director Anne Ferro participated in last week’s Commercial Motor Vehicle Technology Showcase, held at FMCSA’s Roadside Technology Corridor in Greene County, Tennessee.
Early results from the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) Roadcheck 2010 found that the commercial motor vehicle industry is close to the record low out-of-service rates set during 2009. Trucks are placed out of service when inspectors deem them to be in serious or repeat violation of federal safety standards. Low out-of-service rates mean that more trucks are complying with rules and regulations.
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) will help mobilize thousands of roadside inspectors who patrol American and Canadian highways June 8-10 for Roadcheck 2010. Approximately 14 trucks and buses will be inspected every minute during the intense three-day campaign. Typically, 20 percent of vehicles are found in violation of federal safety standards and placed out of service, based on Roadchecks in previous years.
When the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration rolls out its new Comprehensive Safety Analysis (CSA 2010) safety rating system this summer, commercial trucking companies and drivers alike will have take extra caution that their record complies with the government’s rules and regulations. Violations and sub-standard performance will become part of the public record, which could be reviewed in negotiating contracts and hiring new drivers. Drivers might also access the information to screen the safety records of potential employers.
