Deaths from truck-involved accidents have been on a steady increase since 2009, but the trucking industry still wants to loosen regulations that could save lives, reported AllGov.com.
From 2009 to 2013, roadside fatalities resulting from truck accidents increased by 17 percent. In 2013, 3,964 people died on the highway in truck-involved accidents. In contrast, automobile deaths decreased by 3 percent because of advanced safety technologies. The trucking industry is resistant of such technological change and wants Congress to allow weaker regulations.
The trucking industry wants Congress to allow truckers to work 82 hour weeks, instead of the current 70 hour week, and they want to eliminate the two-day rest period that truckers are required to take. The industry is also pushing regulatory changes that allow longer and heavier trucks on the road and decreasing the minimum truck-driving age from 21 to 18. These changes are all for the pursuit of profits.
The American Trucking Associations say the changes will actually be safer. However, former ATA employee Howard Abramson doesn’t agree and also noted the industry’s scramble for profits.
“The industry also bases its opposition to safety-rule changes on money, saying that increasing costs will hurt profits and raise rates for shippers and, ultimately, consumers,” said Abramson.
The trucking industry is putting its pursuit of profits over people, and it’s not just its employees, but they stand to threaten the lives of other people on the country’s highways.
