Get Educated
RSA Wants Safer Highways
ROAD SAFE AMERICA initially expected to find speeding trucks to be the clear culprit in the tragic deaths caused when big trucks and passenger cars crash. Though speed is certainly a leading cause, RSA discovered that there are numerous additional issues affecting trucking safety.
Speed Governors
Trucks we see on our highways are not all driving under the same management and safety control rules. Many fleets of trucks have their top speeds limited by a simple on board computer (speed governor) that limits the top speed the truck can achieve. This simply enables the truck driver to stop in a reasonable distance if an emergency were to occur. Read more...
Cruise Control
Did you know that heavy commercial trucks actually have cruise control? As we all know, use of cruise control causes the driver to be less-engaged and slower to react. Well-managed fleets of trucks set their speed governors slightly slower if the driver chooses to use cruise control, to adjust for this lost reaction time.
We strongly believe that the only type of cruise control that is safe to use on a heavy commercial vehicle is adaptive cruise control with active braking. This type of cruise control sets both speed and the distance between the front of the truck and the vehicle it is following. Sensors cause the truck to slow down if the vehicle it is following slows down, and active braking will actually stop the truck safely without any action from the driver.
Log Books
Almost all truckers use a log book of some sort to track their time behind the wheel. When tractor-trailers are stopped by the police or when pulling into a weigh station, this log book is commonly reviewed to assure that the driver is not driving longer than the legally allowed hours of service. Read more...
Trucking Industry Position
The American Trucking Associations is the recognized leader in representing truckers and the trucking industry in America. In June of 2009, the ATA released its 18 point Safety Agenda and invited Road Safe America to the US Capitol for the press briefing. The ATA Safety Agenda includes a number of the improvements that Road Safe America has supported for years. In the past, ATA and 9 leading trucking companies petitioned the Department of Transportation for new regulation requiring speed governors to be used at all times on class 7 & 8 trucks made since 1992.
The American Trucking Associations does not count all truckers or truck companies in their membership. There is also a large number of truckers and fleets that do not agree with RSA's position on speed governors or the use of Electronic On-Board Recorders. New requirements would make our highways safer by taking the choice of driving at extreme speeds and/or driving regularly beyond the allowed time from those who choose to drive too fast and/or fatigued.
Fatigue
Though difficult to regulate without the use of EOBRs, truck drivers are required by law to drive no more than eleven hours without a ten hour break. Some disregard the law by choosing to put more miles in that day and thus generate more revenue.
Exacerbating this problem is the fact that, sadly, they often have NO PLACE TO STOP AND REST. Truck stops fill up early; rest areas are being closed for budget reasons, and, too often, there is literally no place to stop to sleep. Take notice of the trucks illegally parked on the shoulder of the exit ramps next time you drive our interstates at night. These drivers are attempting to rest, but have no other place to park. Often, these same sleepy drivers are wakened by the highway patrol and required to move their rig, forcing a sleepy driver to drive illegally his 80,000 lb truck later into the night looking for a place to rest. Not safe.
Schneider National and other large progressive fleets are tackling a separate fatigue issue. Many truckers are overweight and this can lead to poor health and potentially the sleep deprivation syndrome known as sleep apnea. This condition causes drivers to sleep so unsoundly that their waking hours are less safe because they are sleepy. Driver testing, sleep studies and diet programs are ways that these progressive fleets are working to improve the safety of their employees.
This issue of fatigued drivers goes to the heart of Road Safe America's efforts to improve the lifestyle of the men and women who deliver the goods America needs every day. We believe every trucker wants to be a safe driver. Read more about how antiquated compensation rules make this issue more complicated.