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Snobby drivers in cars will not believe this.
Big Sky Redneck
Member Posts: 19,752 ✭✭✭
The trucking industry has tried to state the case for years to a motoring public in denial. But a new study from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety says nationally, car drivers are more likely to cause car-truck fatalities than truckdrivers.
The AAA Foundation study says educating motorists about the risks of driving near trucks or training motorists how to drive near trucks likely would help promote safer driving practices.
"We have a lot of inexperienced drivers in cars across the board," said Peter Kissinger, president and CEO of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Study. "There is definitely more information that would be helpful to educate people on the differences between cars and trucks."
The study points out that car drivers account for nearly 98 percent of driver fatalities in car-truck crashes primarily because of the differences in the size of the vehicles.
About 80 percent of car drivers had at least one unsafe driving act recorded compared to 27 percent of truckdrivers, AAA says. Each driver could have up to four unsafe driving acts recorded and if you look at all of these unsafe actions, 75 percent were linked to car drivers and 25 percent were linked to truckdrivers. It notes the five most common driving behaviors that contribute to about 65 percent of crashes.
* Failing to stay in the lane or running off the road;
* Failing to yield the right of way;
* Driving too fast for conditions or above the speed limit;
* Failing to obey signs and signals; and
* Driver inattention.
AAA says the study supports previous studies of car-truck crashes, which also show unsafe actions by car drivers are more likely to be recorded than unsafe actions by truckdrivers - a finding first publicized by the Automobile Club of Michigan in its 1999 Sharing the Road series in Michigan Living magazine.
"Motorists don't recognize that trucks behave very differently from cars, so they think trucks can stop on a dime and change lanes quickly," says Richard J. Miller, manager of Community Safety Services for Michigan's Auto Club. "In reality, trucks take a long time to stop and cannot whip from lane to lane. As a result, a mistake near a truck can have catastrophic consequences for a motorist."
"These tragedies are preventable," Miller says. "When car drivers understand how trucks are different, they can make allowances for the big rigs' limitations. By adjusting their driving style, motorists can safely and confidently share the road with large vehicles."
An examination of California data by Steven Bloch, Ph.D., senior researcher for the Automobile Club of Southern California, suggests the same holds true for the state. Cars and trucks collided in 349 fatal crashes in California last year, according to the Auto Club, often because car drivers don't change their behavior when driving around trucks to adjust for the difference.
Bloch says "The good news is that despite increasing numbers of cars and trucks on California roads and highways, the number of fatal car-truck crashes declined 6 percent from 1995 through 2001. However injury crashes involving cars and trucks went up 4 percent during the same time period. Both car and truckdrivers need to be careful and take precautions when driving near each other to save lives and reduce injuries."
"Any fatal crash is one too many," says Bloch. "Car drivers need to realize that greater precautions must be taken when driving near trucks. Truckdrivers need to be aware of speed, abrupt lane changes and to check blind spots for smaller vehicles. If both truck and car drivers drive safely and responsibly, the chances of crashes diminish."
The California Highway Patrol currently operates an "Operation Road Share" program where officers focus on the driving behaviors of both car and commercial vehicle drivers in an effort to increase safe driving.
The Automobile Club of Southern California says it will be sharing the AAA Foundation study with various law enforcement organizations and will publish information for members about driving safely near trucks in its Westways magazine.
The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety Study can be found at www.aaa-foundation.org.
-- Keith Goble, staff writer
The AAA Foundation study says educating motorists about the risks of driving near trucks or training motorists how to drive near trucks likely would help promote safer driving practices.
"We have a lot of inexperienced drivers in cars across the board," said Peter Kissinger, president and CEO of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Study. "There is definitely more information that would be helpful to educate people on the differences between cars and trucks."
The study points out that car drivers account for nearly 98 percent of driver fatalities in car-truck crashes primarily because of the differences in the size of the vehicles.
About 80 percent of car drivers had at least one unsafe driving act recorded compared to 27 percent of truckdrivers, AAA says. Each driver could have up to four unsafe driving acts recorded and if you look at all of these unsafe actions, 75 percent were linked to car drivers and 25 percent were linked to truckdrivers. It notes the five most common driving behaviors that contribute to about 65 percent of crashes.
* Failing to stay in the lane or running off the road;
* Failing to yield the right of way;
* Driving too fast for conditions or above the speed limit;
* Failing to obey signs and signals; and
* Driver inattention.
AAA says the study supports previous studies of car-truck crashes, which also show unsafe actions by car drivers are more likely to be recorded than unsafe actions by truckdrivers - a finding first publicized by the Automobile Club of Michigan in its 1999 Sharing the Road series in Michigan Living magazine.
"Motorists don't recognize that trucks behave very differently from cars, so they think trucks can stop on a dime and change lanes quickly," says Richard J. Miller, manager of Community Safety Services for Michigan's Auto Club. "In reality, trucks take a long time to stop and cannot whip from lane to lane. As a result, a mistake near a truck can have catastrophic consequences for a motorist."
"These tragedies are preventable," Miller says. "When car drivers understand how trucks are different, they can make allowances for the big rigs' limitations. By adjusting their driving style, motorists can safely and confidently share the road with large vehicles."
An examination of California data by Steven Bloch, Ph.D., senior researcher for the Automobile Club of Southern California, suggests the same holds true for the state. Cars and trucks collided in 349 fatal crashes in California last year, according to the Auto Club, often because car drivers don't change their behavior when driving around trucks to adjust for the difference.
Bloch says "The good news is that despite increasing numbers of cars and trucks on California roads and highways, the number of fatal car-truck crashes declined 6 percent from 1995 through 2001. However injury crashes involving cars and trucks went up 4 percent during the same time period. Both car and truckdrivers need to be careful and take precautions when driving near each other to save lives and reduce injuries."
"Any fatal crash is one too many," says Bloch. "Car drivers need to realize that greater precautions must be taken when driving near trucks. Truckdrivers need to be aware of speed, abrupt lane changes and to check blind spots for smaller vehicles. If both truck and car drivers drive safely and responsibly, the chances of crashes diminish."
The California Highway Patrol currently operates an "Operation Road Share" program where officers focus on the driving behaviors of both car and commercial vehicle drivers in an effort to increase safe driving.
The Automobile Club of Southern California says it will be sharing the AAA Foundation study with various law enforcement organizations and will publish information for members about driving safely near trucks in its Westways magazine.
The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety Study can be found at www.aaa-foundation.org.
-- Keith Goble, staff writer
Comments
What about the truckers that ride a cars butt because it's not doing 90....
Pros and cons to everything.....
Harleeman1030@aol.com
Be quiet honey i know what i am doing ...
!!!!!KaBOOM!!!!!
Edited by - harleeman1030 on 09/07/2002 20:17:56
Now the 4 wheeler doesn't have company rules to follow, can speed along without worrying about his job, can take risks because he's not hauling someone elses property...and if he has an accident it won't be any down time or lost wages, just rent another 4 wheeler and repeat the process........suppose that has anything to do with it?
7MM, unrelated question...why do so many truckers not keep 300' intervals? Sure see a lot of them bumper to bumper.
The biggest problem Harleeman is when 1 truck makes a mistake, it is big news, Just like guns. Alot of cars force truckers to be aggressive, it's not right and it's not fair to the good motorist but sometimes it happens. I'm guuilty of it at times, I'm not perfect but when I keep getting cut off time after time and I keep getting knocked back I will do what I have to do to stay with the flow of traffic. Its a two way street out there bub, truckers need to do right but alot of car drivers are too friggin snobby around trucks and will not give 1" let alone a break to a truck, these people get people killed on the roads and the first thing out of someones mouth is "DAMNED TRUCK!"
"The study points out that car drivers account for nearly 98 percent of driver fatalities in car-truck crashes primarily because of the differences in the size of the vehicles."
It isn't just that these studies don't make us any more knowledgeable when they leave us; it's that they don't make us any more knowledgeable than when they found us.
Why does man kill? He kills for food. But not only for food; frequently, he must have a beverage.
I know what you mean. I drove a truck for 2 years.
Cars just show you no respect and some make it intentionally harder for you. They have the attitude that they have a right to be there and you dont. I respect drivers and try to be very curtious to them on the road.
Pa
Best!!
Keep em'rollin
Rugster
Toujours Pret
I don't have any problems with cars or trucks that follow the printed rules of the road in the typical state driver's handbook. I DO have a problem with those who don't. In fact, if you begin using your vehicle in a very focused aggressive way against another vehicle, it becomes assault with a deadly weapon, which is one eventuality against which I carry at least one gun in the car. A car weighs, what, a ton in round numbers? A semi may be ten or more times that.
I once had a drunk in a pickup tailgate me who wound up in a jail cell for the weekend after I flagged down a cop. He said he was mad because I passed him (in a legal place). I guess he blew over the legal limit. Oh well. Then there was the semi (nice brand new expensive one) tailgating everything in sight going around the city of Chicago, weaving in and out of lanes. He passed all of us. We finally saw him -- pulled over by a black & white -- on an off ramp. It's easy to tell stories. The only thing that really counts is how I act, and how you do, when we drive, I think. No excuses.
- Life NRA Member
"If cowardly & dishonorable men shoot unarmed men with army guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary...and not by general deprivation of constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
- Life NRA Member
"If cowardly & dishonorable men shoot unarmed men with army guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary...and not by general deprivation of constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Edit: What I'm comparing here is averages when discussing the miles driven. So on the average, the amount of accidents per mile would be lower for the 18 wheelers if you figure out how many accidents per mile are occuring. Now there will be people who will say that is unfair to the 4 wheelers because most accidents dont happen on the highway, well thats partly correct, but then again, seems most people who complain about truck drivers arent exactly talking about the ones driving down truck routes on the way to the WalMart loading dock either, they're complaining about the trucks on the highway, so there you go, thats my logic.
SSgt Ryan E. Roberts, USMC
Edited by - robsguns on 09/07/2002 21:11:18
BTW, offeror a fully loaded truck at the legal limit is 40 tons, 80,000#s, say it out loud, EIGHTY THOUSAND POUNDS. A Ford Explorer wieghs a little over 2 tons. Screwing off and getting hit by a truck is like placing a 12g shotgun against a little rabbit and squeezing the trigger.
A truck driver was driving along on the freeway. A sign comes up
that reads "low bridge ahead." Before he knows it the bridge is right ahead of him and he gets stuck under the bridge. Cars are backed up for miles. Finally, a police car comes up. The cop gets out of his car and walks around to the truck driver, puts his hands on his hips and says, "Got stuck, huh?" The truck driver says, "No, I was delivering this bridge and ran out of gas.
SSgt Ryan E. Roberts, USMC
My kids dad was killed by a trucker that was stoned and pulled out in front of him....(just like any other job the good the bad and the ugly i know ) But tell that to my kids who just had the 1 year annv. of their dad getting killed by a dumb a** )
Do you know how hard it is on a man to have a CHILD hug you so tight and say i miss my daddy....
So maybe thats why i said what i said..but truckers have no respect for cars..Just what you said i am 80,000 pounds you can not hurt me)
Harleeman1030@aol.com
Be quiet honey i know what i am doing ...
!!!!!KaBOOM!!!!!
Somebody shouldn't have reminded me about snow though -- truckers blasting down the left lane in a whiteout snowstorm are one of my favorite P.O.s -- expecting everything to get out of the way because I guess they float along over that newfallen snow and ice. Or could it be time they're worried about? Whatever happened to moving with the flow of traffic and according to weather conditions? And we have an awful lot of trucks rolling over on the cloverleafs around here, I assume from trying to maintain highway speed on the tight turns. Ducking again. I really don't hate trucks. Just bad drivers, wherever we find them.
Robsguns -- You have a good point -- mileage MUST be factored in. It would be interesting to see if AAA properly considered relative numbers of vehicles, as well as relative mileage. Probably would either confirm or deny the validity of their whole study. Not to mention where they took their samplings, etc.
- Life NRA Member
"If cowardly & dishonorable men shoot unarmed men with army guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary...and not by general deprivation of constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
You mention the "Right Two lane Law", that is about the most idiotic, stupid, retarded, deadly, selfish, morronic, scewed up law next to split speed limits there ever was!! " HEY EVERYBODY! TIRED OF THOSE TRUCKS? WELL WE KNOW THEY CANNOT STOP AND CANNOT MERGE LIKE CARS, THEY ARE HEAVY AND IT IS HARD TO MAINTAIN SPEED WHEN LOADED HEAVY. WE KNOW THAT WHEN A TRUCK RUNS OVER A CAR THE CAR DRIVER WILL MOST LIKELY DIE, SO LETS MAKE A NEW LAW SO WE DON'T HAVE TO GET STUCK BEHIND THAT STUPID TRUCK. LETS MAKE THEM STAY IN THE RIGHT LANE NEXT TO ALL OF THE MERGIN TRAFFIC WHERE THE RISK FOR THEM TO RUN OVER A CAR IS QUADRUPPLED, SURE LETS DO IT. INSTEAD OF GETTING STUCK BEHIND A TRUCK LETS MAKE THEM KILL SOME PEOPLE IN THE RIGHT TWO LANES SO WE CAN GET MORE LEGISLATION TO RESTRICT THEM OFF OF OUR ROADS! WHO CARES IF TRAFFIC GETS BACKED UP, SCREW THEM TRUCKERS!!!!!!!!"
If you believe that lane restrictions and split speed limits are a good idea, you my friend are as selfish as the arrogant and selfish lawmakers who would make up such crap. Just sit back and put aside the selfish notion that only you need to get from point a to point b, think about what happens around trucks in the right lane, ever see some retard dive in front of a truck to make an exit? When that person dies, don't blame the truck. Blame the friggin retards who made that stupid law! If you want say " Well I saw a truck do this and I saw a truck do that", I can do the same thing. I drive 3000 miles a week, every week. I drive between Memphis Tenn and the northeast coast on a regular basis every week, you want to talk about retards on the road? I will take my video camera with me and start filming what I see EVERYDAY and put it up here for all to see. Sure there are some goofy truckers out there but Offeror said it all, there are 10 times more retards in cars than trucks, so who should be scared? All those laws to protect you from me, well how about some friggin laws to protect me from you on the road?!?!?!
This is a very sore subject for me, it's not a job anymore, this is my life and I cannot change it. Every year truckers are blamed for someone elses mistakes, when you screw up, we are punished and I'm sick of it. It's about high time that someone wakes up and smells the coffee, WE AINT THE PROBLEM!!.
I know this will sound arrogant and I don't care anymore, for those who do not like trucks, fine lets just take them off the roads, don't come begging when this country falls on its * and you are hungry. Truckers are people just like you and we do have rights, treat us like people not some animal in a cage that needs to be controlled.
For those of you who I see everyday that drive in a sensible manner, I applaud you, if there was only more like you the roads would be much safer. If I offended anyone on ewith this post I'm sorry, there are many many good drivers out there, cars and trucks. But unfortunalty the retards make their presense known all to often and it makes the entire crowd look bad. For those of you I did offend, what can I say? Maybe you drive just like the ones I describe, a retard!
Only defense I have for driving in the left lane when it's snowing, I sure as heck aint gettin behind nervous granny in that right lane that keeps hitting the brakes! You wouldnt believe how well we can see sittin up that high, and yes trucks do a heck of alot better in the snow than cars. Except for them southern drivers, never trust a Bubba from 'Bama in the snow, worse than a housewife in an Explorer after watching the latest commercials about what her vehicle will do in the snow!
Falling over and going boom on a ramp, I have no defense. You got me on that one. Maybe that one shows that although we are called pros, we are not perfect. I will say this, thanks to big business and the major trucking companies, there are an awfull lot of inexperianced truckers out there who need more training.
SSgt Ryan E. Roberts, USMC
I hope that your opinion of the law does not become a false rationalization for you to break it. I will defend your right to say anything and try to change it within the system, but I will be the first to applaud the cop that pulls over the driver that breaks the law just because he thinks it's stupid, no matter the vehicle or the broken law. Even myself, when I'm tempted to speed. I know I earned it, which makes it a little easier to pay the fine. (Which, by the way, hasn't happened in a number of years now.)
- Life NRA Member
"If cowardly & dishonorable men shoot unarmed men with army guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary...and not by general deprivation of constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
I have seen the damage a wreck can cause..It don't take a trucker to mangle,kill,destory a car)
Yes i have seen cars do stupid things just like i said in the other post..But does it really make a diff. If your running behind to do 85 up to 90 MPH that is not safe i don't care what you say
Harleeman1030@aol.com
Be quiet honey i know what i am doing ...
!!!!!KaBOOM!!!!!
You just reminded me of a stupid driver I saw today. We were driving down 70, me and my family, and my wife says you need to get over, Mr. Uhaul is taking up half of the right lane, which we were in, and half of the shoulder. Turns out this guy is driving a car hauling a Uhaul trailer which is over loading his hitch, and his front tires are barely touching. I'd love to have had him weigh in, and see if either the trailer or the car were hauling weight that either were designed for. What an idiot.
SSgt Ryan E. Roberts, USMC
Pack slow, fall stable, pull high, hit dead center.
I sold my bike several years ago because it's just to easy to get hit on one. Too many people, in cars, just plain don't watch for one or figure you're gonna get out of THEIR WAY. Actually had a guy tell that.
Anyway, truckers are the one of the backbones of this country and have NO PROBLEM sharing the road. If I did, there are always other roads leading to the same place. KEEP ON TRUCKIN'
chuck
If man thinks for one minute he understands women, he's timed it about right
But 7mm & the rest of you guys - I don't know how you do it. It would put me in the damn loony bin within a month. And even if there are 'holes out there, I'm the guy flashing his lights so you can pull out or back in.
SUBMARINE SAILOR,TRUCK DRIVER,RUSTY WALLACE FAN AND AS EVERYONE SO OFTEN POINTS OUT PISS POOR TYPIST e-mail:WNUNLEY@USIT.NET
Here in Michigan that number is questionable. I've loaded many a gravel train to 140,000 gross and have seen several that leagly gross out at 150k (more axils) thats 70-75 tons of rolling mass.
Some guys like a mag full of lead, I still prefer one round to the head.
As for penalizing the late arrivals, though, that's a private, not a government matter. Domino's gave up the half-hour delivery thing years ago because they found it was too dangerous and could become a customer relations liability when people got hurt.
- Life NRA Member
"If cowardly & dishonorable men shoot unarmed men with army guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary...and not by general deprivation of constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
1. Share the road or get hurt.
2. Trucks are bigger.
3. I'll stay off the hiway - unless I need to go to one of my favorite gun shops.
IF YOU DON'T LIKE MY RIGHTS - GET OUT OF MY COUNTRY (this includes politicians)
A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand
What's the difference between a BMW and a Porcupine?
On a Porcupine, the pricks are on the outside.
I'm on the road everyday here in Texas and though the speed limit is 60 mph for trucks- only about 10% of them are going 55-58 mph, the rest are doing mosty 65- 75 mph. The good ole' CB radio helps them look like angels when the Hwy Patrol is near. Speeding and tailgating are the two main problems and if they can't stop on a dime- why are they doing this?
The 4 wheelers are no better in respect to speed, cutting in front of you to hit the brakes to make the exit ramp, changing lanes so fast the vehicle sways,and not paying attention or giving the right away.
If everyone would travel about the same speed and pay attention- I would guess the accident rate would plunge. When an accident occurs- sometimes both drivers were at fault, and if one or the other would have been doing the right thing, the accident may not have happened.
No matter what anyone says, to some drivers trucks will always be the enemy, one truck screws up and all trucks are damned as a group. It's like this, how many car wrecks do you want to hear about? How many? There may be far more cars on the roads than trucks but the accident per mile ratio is well in our favor, not yours.
I'm going to start a new thread when I get back next weekend, it will contain nothing but pictures of EVERY wreck I see in one week, guess how many will be trucks? I will include truck wrecks, if I see any. 1 week, from the east coast to Memphis and back, it will amaze you.
If the speed limit is the same in Texas for all, that means 85-90 is okay for these courteous, law-abiding truckers? I don't get the logic (but suspect I get the underlying rationalization).
If truckers are defying the law in some hoo-ra civil disobedience thing, I hope you'll be as forthcoming a whistle-blower when the time comes for the investigation.
- Life NRA Member
"If cowardly & dishonorable men shoot unarmed men with army guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary...and not by general deprivation of constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Now, have you ever driven a truck, do you know how hard it is to maintian speed on big hills with a grossed out truck? If yuo spend a little bit of time in the saddle soemtimes you will understand "survival" over ingnorance. We have unwritten rules of the road, certain ways we act on the road, and most of it is choreographed(sp?) and scripted, you in the cars only see chaos. Some things people will never understand and they think some of the things we do is done just to pi$$ you off, you are far from the truth.
Log books???? Here is another "feel good" law designed to make you feel safe when all it does is created danger, I will not try to explain becuase you have not a clue, it's like trying to tell Sarah Brady why we carry guns, in this case you are the Sarah Brady to truckers.
Imagine this, if we all run "legal" it will be affective as a full blown strike, running legal will kill the economy, those rules are over 50 years old and was not made for JIT service wich is what this country runs on, make 'em run legal and you will go hungry. But then again, like Sarah Bradys group, you see one or two bad instances and watch they news and that makes you an expert on truck safety. There is a world you cannot imagine happening in those trucks, you will never understand unless you live it.
I will say this again, I fight VERY hard fro truckers rights, I stir up trouble everywhere, I got a big mouth and I use it. I want to change the world, may not do it but I will try.
TRUCKERS ARE PEOPLE WITH RIGHTS TOO! NOT ANIMALS WHO NEED STRICT CONTROLLING!