Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/925196
January 2018 | Overdrive | 19 A bipartisan and bicameral group of U.S. lawmakers last month announced intentions to introduce a bill in Con- gress to require tractor-trailers to be equipped with side underride guards, intended to protect car occupants in crashes in which the car slides under the trailer. The bill also would require the U.S. Department of Transportation to bolster the standards for rear-impact underride guards. Trailers already are required to be equipped with rear guards, but the senators introducing the bill say the standards are outdated. Several trailer manufacturers, however, already have taken steps to beef up rear impact guards. Underride crashes pose risks to car passengers for severe head and neck injuries, even decapitation. The Stop Underrides Act is being introduced and sponsored in the Senate by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and in the House by Reps. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) and Mark DeSaulnier (D-Calif.). The lawmakers say the new require- ments could save hundreds of lives a year. Though they offered few details on the legislation, it likely would re- quire only new trailers to be equipped with the guards and not institute a requirement that existing trailers be retrofitted. Gillibrand joined Cohen and De- Saulnier in publicly announcing the legislation, alongside representatives from the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety and family members of victims of fatal underride crashes. A study released earlier this year by the Insurance Institute for High- way Safety found that side underride guards provide similar safety benefits as rear-mounted guards. IIHS said in its report that 301 people died in crashes in which a passenger car struck the side of a tractor-trailer. IIHS determined that rigid side underride guards could reduce injury risk in about 75 percent of side-trailer crashes. – James Jaillet BILL ADDRESSES TRAILERS' REAR IMPACT AND SIDE GUARDS The number of people killed in crashes involving medium- and heavy-duty trucks in 2016 increased by 57 over the previous year, according to data from the National Transportation Safety Board. NTSB determined total year-over- year U.S. highway deaths increased by 1,976, which included 722 fatalities from crashes involving medium- and heavy-duty trucks compared to 665 in 2015. The highest increase in fatalities was seen with passenger cars, which increased from 12,761 fatalities in 2015 to 13,412 fatalities in 2016. In addition to highway fatalities, which accounted for 95 percent of all transportation deaths in 2016, increas- es also were seen in the railroad and marine sectors. Aviation fatalities saw a slight year-over-year decrease. – Matt Cole NTSB: Truck-involved fatalities rose in 2016 A TRUCK DRIVER was injured in an apparent road rage incident Dec. 13 while driving on Interstate 30 in Rowlett, Texas, outside of Dallas, when some- one shot out the driver's-side window of his truck, Rowlett police said. The victim was treated for a neck wound. CALIFORNIA-LICENSED TRUCKER Dharm Lingam was shut down following a fatal crash Sept. 17 on Interstate 10 in Arizona where he lost control of his truck, crossed the median and hit another truck, killing its driver. An investigation revealed Lingam had a medical condition at the time of the crash that disqualified him from operating a commercial vehicle. CALIFORNIA DMV employee Aaron Gilliam pleaded guilty to altering records to show commercial driver's license ap- plicants had passed written CDL tests when they had not. Gilliam and co-conspirators issued at least 57 fraudulent licenses. CHRISTINE CLARK, owner of Shelton, Washington-based drug testing company Premium Drug Screening, was charged with defrauding companies that hired her to administer their drug test- ing programs. It's alleged that only 94 of the 592 samples she collected between 2009 and 2015 were tested by labs, with the rest of the results being falsified. ORLINTE CRUZ, owner of 30-truck Dallas-based fleet Cruz and Sons Transportation, was charged for bribing state troopers in exchange for favor- able safety inspections. Cruz allegedly paid a Texas Depart- ment of Public Safety trooper $4,000 to receive favorable Level I inspections. The trooper reportedly submitted 39 false truck inspection reports. One study found trailer guards could protect passen- ger car occupants in side underride crashes, which claim about 300 lives a year.