New braking rules will save lives…but when?

For years, truck safety advocates have known that substandard brakes on large trucks have allowed unsafe vehicles to plague our nation's highways. (One real-world test in Arkansas showed that as many as one in three semi-trucks had failing brake systems.)

With fanfare and backslapping, the federal government has announced the adoption of new rules to toughen braking standards for large trucks. These new rules are set to improve stopping distances by as much as 30% and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has said it will save more than 200 lives per year.

But not this year...and not next year...or even the year after.

In fact, this new rule won't fully go into effect until 2012 and only on new trucks. Additionally, the new rule will not apply to single-unit trucks, trailers or buses.

So while the government and the large trucking companies are praising this new rule, let us keep in mind that the watered down version (after much lobbying by the trucking conglomerates) does not take effect for several years, only applies to new vehicles and does not apply to ALL large trucks.

How many people must die each year before new technologies make it onto our roads and trucking corporations are forced to upgrade their braking safety systems?

Why are those in charge always willing to compromise our safety in order to appease these large corporations? These new braking technologies have been on the market for years and the new braking/safety standards could have easily been implemented by now. Upgrading existing trucks will save lives, reduce insurance costs and reduce the danger on our roads.

By NHTSA's own admission, each year these new rules are delayed will cost 200 lives and hundreds of costly accidents.

Trucks already kill more than 4,000 people a year, we have a proven way to reduce those deaths, and the time to enact these changes is NOW!