The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Branch Of The U.s. Department Of Transportation

Eighteen wheelers are a vital part of interstate commerce in our country. The big rigs carry products across state lines, and keep our stores’ shelves stocked with the things we need on a daily basis. But, when a trucker is involved in an accident, the injuries are usually catastrophic. The sheer weight of a truck is such that when it collides with a car, the results are severe. Drivers and passengers in cars can suffer broken bones, internal organ damage, spinal and brain cord injuries, or even death. Staying safe around big rigs requires drivers to pay extra special attention when near a truck, and to keep a safe distance. But, drivers can only do so much; it also takes diligence on the part of the trucker in order to safely share the road.

Jerry Johnson is the site manager at a Department of Transportation (DOT) customer service office, where nine other employees also work. Mary Marshall, a former employee at that particular office of the DOT has reported to our office, the OIG of the DOT, that Jerry Johnson has been devoting his attention to his own personal things, such as engaging in “church work” and “political work” while on government time from the DOT.

Unsecured loads within dry van trucks can cause damage to the cargo, trailer, and are a potential hazard to drivers, dock workers, and the public. Therefore, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has set forth rules governing the way cargo is secured. Although this article specifically speaks about dry van trucks, the rules apply to all cargo-carrying commercial vehicles. The only exceptions are those that transport liquids, gases, grain and other commodities that have no fixed shape or structure.

One concern with the NHTSA accident records was that they do not control for how the vehicles were used, which could affect the frequency with which they were involved in accidents. A more informative approach would be to examine how safely the vehicle protects the passengers in an accident. Data from a study of fatal and major injury accidents indicated that per 1000 collisions GM C/K pickups had a lower rate of fatal and major injuries than did either the Ford F-Series pickup or the Dodge D/W Series Pickup. The frequencies are: GM 33.82, Ford 34.30, Dodge 35.21. For side impact collisions the frequencies of fatal or major injury were: GM 23.03, Ford 23.59, and Dodge 25.53. No statistical test, however, was likely to show that GM pickups were less safe than Ford or Dodge pickups. Newsweek titled the article cited in the previous footnote, “Just as Safe at Any Speed.”

1.6 million crashes per year; nearly 333,000 injuries caused by these crashes (Snyder & Associates, 2015). The NTSB reported that, in 2008, driver distraction caused 16 percent of all fatal crashes, and 21 percent of crashes resulting in an injury (Genachowski, 2009). This totals 5,800 deaths and 515,000 injuries in the year 2008 (McLaughlin, 2013). What causes these horrific events? Texting and driving. Texting and driving has become a major issue in society today. Teens, as well as adults have become hazardous behind the wheel because of the distractions produced by using a cell phone while driving. Texting and driving can be catastrophic in causing yourself and others to become injured, harming oneself because

Automobile accidents are terrible things to be involved in, even if they are minor fender benders, they are still stressful, or at the very least they are extremely annoying. What if the vehicle that you have collided with is a 18 wheeled, 80,000lb contraption of metal, rubber, and cargo? Even a ‘fender bender’ caused by a semi-truck can take the front of your car off completely. They are vital parts of the world’s economy, though they are extremely dangerous when it comes to being in an accident.

Distracted driving have been a problem from day one of driving, but distractions associated with driving seem to be on the rise. According to U.S Department of Transportation, in 2009, 5,500 deaths and nearly 450,000 injuries occurred due to distracted driving in the United States. From 2010 through 2013, a total of 2,794,600 crashes occurred involving distracted drivers. Out of those, 211,000 crashes were found to have involved cellphone use (NCSA, FARS 2010-2012 Final, FARS 2010-2013 ARF, GES 2010-2013). Data from NHTSA also shows that traffic fatalities up 7.7 percent in 2015. That is from 32,675 reported fatalities in 2014 to estimated 35,200 fatal crashes in 2015.

Car crashes are one of the leading causes for death in many countries all around the world. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “About 1.24 million people die each year as a result of road traffic crashes.” This number is increasing rapidly and the WHO predicts it will reach 1.9 million deaths annually by 2020. To put that into perspective, that is almost like the entire population of Latvia dieing out over the course of a year because of car crashes. Speeding and driving under the influence (DUI) are two other prominent reasons for road traffic collisions. It would be close to impossible to stop all crashes, so the best thing we can do now is to do what we can in order to protect the people facing these tragic occurrences.

All too often, motorists throughout Southern California, and elsewhere, are involved in collisions with large commercial vehicles. The effects of such crashes are often devastating for the occupants of passenger automobiles. This is due, in large part, to the size differential between their vehicles and tractor trailers. The California Highway Patrol reports that 278 people were killed in truck accidents in 2013 alone, and more than 7,500 people were injured. While some truck-car wrecks are not avoidable, there are things that drivers can do to help share the roads safely.

The Hours-of-Service regulation was created to ultimately save lives. The hours-of-service published by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is about more than just the fatigued drivers behind the wheel of a vehicle, although the title of the regulation suggests otherwise. This regulation is about reducing the fatalities that involved truckers to zero or as close as possible to zero, explaining what is meant by being on and off duty, explaining the limits of employees and laying out what accommodations are acceptable for resting in a cab. The regulation was put in place to prevent fatigued heavy truck drivers from being behind the wheel. Not unlike the majority of regulations that created this regulation is in response of events that have taken place and were reported. “800 of the 5,203 truck-related fatalities in 1999 resulted from the driver fatigue” (Dilger, 2003, p.?). In response

“In 2013, 3,154 people were killed and an estimated additional 424,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers”, according to the website stoptextsstopwrecks.org. Out of these astounding high numbers, 10 percent of these distracted driving crashes involved drivers 20 years old or younger (stoptextsstopwrecks.org). 15 percent of these drivers were involved in crashes distracted by the use of cell phones (stoptextsstopwrecks.org). In response to these frightening statistics, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Ad Council, worked together to create the ad, “STOP THE TEXT. STOP THE WRECKS” shown above. The ad is addressing parents of young drivers, asking them to stop texting their children while they are driving. The authors of the ad use a single image of an ambulance, looming off to the side, to warn the audience of what could happen if they do not stop texting. In big capitalized letters it yells, DO NOT SEND TEXT TO KIDS WHEN THEY ARE DRIVING. Then, the author zeros in with a smaller sized font making the audience concentrate, and keep reading. Using yellow

Studies indicate that manufacturers of commercial passenger vehicles such as motorcoaches and school buses are not doing enough to keep those inside safe in a crash, according to the NTSB. The agency calls for better vehicle body designs that allow passengers to safely evacuate after a crash, and improved restraint systems. Instruction in the appropriate use of seatbelts and evacuation procedures should be a part of each trip, as

As stated under Findings, we would expect highly-populated areas to have a similarly high fatality counts. However, New York, the fourth most populated state at 19.8 million inhabitants, had substantially lower motor vehicle deaths than expected. New York had only 1,113 fatalities in 2015, a rate of 5.62 deaths per 100,000 people – the fourth lowest in the nation. Understanding why New York has such a low traffic fatality rate could be the key to reducing fatalities in similarly populated states. Since a large portion of New York’s population resides within New York City, the extensive use of the subway system there could be the reason for the state’s low rate of motor vehicle deaths. Fatalities due to subway systems were not included in the

People are putting their lives at risk every time they climb into a vehicle. To show how dangerous distracted driving is compared to gun related deaths. Statistics show, “The total number of Gun-Related Deaths in 2010 were 428, while the total number of Traffic Fatalities in 2010 were 608” (Jones Para 1). The total number of traffic fatalities exceeds the total number of gun deaths. There are several distractions on the road today such as, using electronic devices while driving, drinking, and being an aggressive driver. Traffic safety is one the most important thing on the roads today.

Background and Audience Relevance: According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2015, about thirty-five hundred people were killed, and four hundred thousand were injured in car crashes.