Industry Insights
American Trucking Associations Advance New Safety Agenda
By ATA President and CEO Bill Graves
The trucking industry is now the safest it has been since the U.S. Department of Transportation began keeping crash statistics in 1975, but we must continue to further the trend. Earlier this month, the American Trucking Associations (ATA) unveiled a bold new highway safety agenda. Our 18 progressive safety policies will advance highway safety for all highway users by improving driver performance, creating safer vehicles and improving motor carrier performance.
These policies include graduated licensing for young drivers, primary safety belt enforcement laws, speed enforcement, red light running cameras, tough anti-drunk driving laws, safer vehicle designs and effective driver licensing and supervision. ATA also supports electronic speed governing of all large trucks manufactured since 1992; and a national clearinghouse for positive drug and alcohol tests. If enacted, we strongly feel that these measures will reduce fatalities, injuries and economic costs for everyone sharing our highways.
With more than 37,000 members, ATA is the voice of the trucking industry. America relies on trucks to deliver nearly 100 percent of all consumer goods and 70 percent of our nation's freight tonnage. We work every day to safely ensure that people in every city and the farthest corners of the country have the food, medicine, clothing and fuel that they need to live, and the consumer goods that make their lives comfortable. Trucking is essential for supporting the quality of life we enjoy in the United States.
Through technological and operational advances, the industry has experienced a 58 percent reduction in fatal crashes over the past 33 years. ATA's 18-point safety agenda will help reduce this figure even further. As an industry, we'll continue pushing for continued improvements in highway safety, but regulations can only go so far. We need a commitment from all motorists because safety begins in the driver's seat.
For ATA's entire safety report with detailed explanations of the 18 initiatives, click here.