NTSB recommends changes to improve truck safety

Each day, millions of large trucks travel U.S. highways and deliver goods where they are needed. While these vehicles play an essential role in keeping our economy moving, they can pose a serious safety risk to other drivers. Indeed, although the overall number of fatal car accidents in the U.S. has dropped in recent years, some studies indicate that the number of serious truck accidents has actually increased. Recently, the National Transportation Safety Board announced several recommendations for improving truck safety.

Last year, the NTSB conducted a study of safety issues involving not only single unit trucks, but tractor-trailers, too. This study identified two key areas where improvement could greatly increase safety for both types of vehicles and could help reduce the number of fatal truck accidents overall.

• First, the study recommended developing ways to reduce or decrease the size of blind spots for large commercial trucks. As many people know, tractor-trailers can have large blind spots, which can prevent drivers from seeing other vehicles on the road. NTSB researchers discovered that having large blind spots greatly increases the risk of serious accident and death posed by large trucks.
• Second, the study recommended exploring options for preventing underride accidents. According to NTSB statistics, approximately 500 deaths occur each year when vehicles collide with the sides of tractor-trailers and many of these deaths are underride events. Unfortunately, although trucks are required to have underride guards on the rear of their trailers, researchers found that the safety requirements for these guards have not been updated in many years and may be inadequate to prevent serious injury. The NTSB has recommended updating the rules to require not only more robust rear underride guards, but side underride guards, as well.

Finally, the NTSB recommended updating the ways in which information is collected when a truck is involved in an accident. Police often record information about the truck itself, but do not provide investigators with any information about the trailer component. Collecting this information could help regulators identify potential dangers and could help improve the process by which new safety standards are formulated.

It is currently unclear whether the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration is likely to consider any of these recommendations. Truck safety has, however, been a focus of the agency in recent years.

Unfortunately, truck accident injuries can be devastating. If you have been injured, contact a personal injury attorney to learn more about your rights.