Trucking Industry Pushes for Heavier, More Dangerous Trucks

Michael S. Callahan | | 18 Wheeler Accidents

Highway accident deaths are soaring, yet the trucking industry wants heavier 18-wheelers on the roads in Houston, across Texas and the nation.

This push will risk more and deadlier truck accidents. Bigger trucks are more unstable and need longer stopping distances in an emergency. Congress must say no to profit seeking at the expense of public safety.

Lobbyists Pushing For Heavier Trucks

Howard Abramson is a former Senior Executive with the American Trucking Associations, a national network of trucking groups. The organization advocates for various causes in the industry including safety concerns. In a Newsweek article Mr. Abramson reveals that trucking lobbyists want to introduce a measure in Congress to allow a bigger, heavier generation of trucks on the road, similar to a failed 2015 measure which would have jacked the accepted weight from 80,000 pounds to 91,000. Congress has rejected these bills many times because of the inherent safety risks.

How Do You Stop A Giant?

Traffic fatalities are rising generally and trucking related fatalities rose 26 percent from 2009 to 2015. Despite these grim statistics, Abramson says the industry, long resistant to increased safety measures, wants to roam the roads with stouter loads.

“During my 15 years as an executive for the trucking industry’s largest advocacy group, I learned that for far too long, motor carriers have been resistant to deploying safety technologies that could make traveling safer for all of us — all in the name of cost. Fleets have protested against the government’s attempts to reduce driver fatigue, and truckers are currently allowed to drive 77 hours a week.”

One of the most common fatal truck crashes happens when a rig rear ends a passenger car stopped or slowed due to construction. At the current legal weight limit, an 80,000 pound tractor trailer requires up to 40% more stopping distance than a car. Adding nearly 14% more allowable weight means bigger, more deadly behemoths hurtling toward helpless drivers stuck in construction traffic.

More, Not Less.

Mr. Abramson says that proponents for bigger rigs argue that trucks with more capacity will reduce the number of them needed on the road. He contends the opposite: that with increased capacities, vendors shipping goods will switch more toward using trucks and away from other forms of transport.

This video shows the explosive power of a big rig rear ending another vehicle, in this case another semi. Had this been a passenger vehicle, the results could have been fatal to the occupants of the car.

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Houston’s 18 Wheeler Accident Attorneys

How many times must Congress tell the trucking industry that bigger trucks are not welcome on America’s roads? Even with 4,000 trucking related deaths a year and untold more injuries, the trucking industry just doesn’t seem to get the message.

If you have been seriously injured or tragically lost a loved one to an 18 wheeler accident, you need an experienced, skilled attorney to fight for justice. Call or email today for a free case evaluation with an experienced truck accident attorney.

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