Safety Concerns
The United States Congress in H. R. 3820 “The Commercial Motor Vehicle Advanced Safety Technology Tax Act of 2007 makes the following findings:
- Commercial motor vehicle crashes remain a primary source of concern in the United States, particularly in light of the increasing number of trucks and motor-coaches on the Nation’s roads and their critical role in the transportation of hazardous materials.
- A 2004 report by the National Cooperative Highway Research Program found that when a large truck is involved in a crash, it is about 2.6 times as likely to result in a fatality compared with passenger cars.
- The number of fatalities associated with large truck crashes is a significant portion of all crash fatalities in the United States. In 2005, 5212 individuals died and 114,000 individuals were injured as a result of large truck-related crashes in the United States. Overall, from 2001 to 2005 there have been 25,533 large truck related fatalities in the United States.
- In addition to the tremendous human loss, these crashes also impose a significant economic cost on society. The Department of Transportation estimates that highway crashes cost society $230.6 Billion a year about $820 per person. A 2006 report issued by the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration determined that the estimated cost of each crash involving a large truck with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 10,000 pounds is $91,112, while the average cost of a fatal crash is $3,604,518.
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