It Is Time to End the Battle over Bus and Truck Safety Rules | Toledo Ohio car accident attorneys

During the summer of 2011, there were many accidents involving tour buses and trucks.  The National Transportation Safety Board held a forum to hear from federal regulators, safety experts and the truck and bus industries about what is being done to prevent the daily accidents on highways.

In 2009, there were 3,200 deaths in accidents involving big trucks.  These big tour buses average about 20 deaths each year to passengers out of more than 70 million passenger trips a year in the U.S.  Reports show that between 2000 and 2009, tour buses were involved in 338 fatal crashes.

The Obama administration has made some proposals to improve bus and truck regulation.  One proposal would require equipping trucks and buses with devices that record how long drivers have been behind the wheel.  About one third of all commercial motor vehicle crashes are due to fatigue, according to NTSB.  The administration also wants to reduce the daily limit that drivers spend driving from 11 hours to 10 hours.  The proposal would also require mandatory breaks, limit overall work day to 14 hours and require that drivers be given more time off to rest when they’ve reached their weekly limit of 60 hours. 

Safety advocates argue that it is just as important to ensure passengers can survive a crash when one occurs.  The NTSB has been trying to push for stronger bus roofs that wont crush in rollover accidents, better emergency exits, better fire protection and windows that prevent passengers from being ejected.  They also want trucks and buses to be equipped with electronic stability control to prevent rollovers, adaptive cruise control that automatically adjusts speed to traffic, warning systems that alert drivers when they are drifting into another lane and warning systems that alert drivers to an impending collision. 

 If you or someone you know has been involved in a car accident, call our Toledo, Ohio car accident attorneys at 800.637.8170 for a free case evaluation or to request your free copy of The Ohio Accident Book.