Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/114712
Logbook ATA: Four-wheelers cause 80% of car-truck crashes The American Trucking Associations released a report last month combining outside studies to show that drivers of cars are at fault in most fatal car-truck crashes. ATA presented this to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration as more evidence that the agency needs to do something about crash fault and accountability relative to When you need expert service and repair on "YOUR IRON" we'll do the job right. Whether you're at home or on the road, look for the local VIPro TruckForce™ Service Center for service you can trust. The Right People. The Right Service. The Right Places. Find your local VIPro TruckForce™ Service Center by visiting www.VIProTruckForce.com or call 800.494.4731 Locations from coast to coast in the United States and Canada. Text INFO to 205-289-3555 or visit www.ovdinfo.com Trust it to the experts. Supported by these quality brands: its Compliance, Safety, Accountability program. As it stands, any wreck involving a truck – whether the truck driver was at fault or not – adds points to a carrier's and driver's score. The University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute studied 8,309 fatal car-truck crashes to determine fault; 81 percent of the time, car drivers were assigned at fault, said the study, versus 27 percent for truck drivers. In some cases, fault was assigned to both parties. A similar study done by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 2003 studied 10,092 fatal accidents, deeming that cars were responsible for 91 percent of head-on crashes, 91 percent of opposite-direction sideswipes, 71 percent of rear-end crashes and 77 percent of samedirection sideswipes. A Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration study looked at 6,131 fatal cartruck crashes over three years. In 2007 and 2008, cars were assigned fault in 85 percent of crashes; the number dropped to 81 percent in 2009. ATA President Bill Graves said FMCSA needs to take this information into account and figure out how to deal with the issue of crash accountability in CSA scoring. He said it is "tragic that carriers and drivers across this country are saddled with guilt and blame for many crashes they could do nothing to prevent." — Staff reports 16 | Overdrive | March 2013 Logbook_0313.indd 16 2/27/13 10:36 PM