Truck accidents are more likely to happen when trucks are traveling too fast on the roads, especially because trucks have a lot of momentum and long stopping distances due to their size. Truck accidents which occur at high speeds are also more likely to be serious or even fatal because the higher speed means there are greater collision forces.
To try to save lives by preventing truck accidents caused by speeding drivers, the Department of Transportation and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration are making a joint effort to try to mandate speed limiters be installed in commercial trucks. The costs of the use of speed limiters is estimated at around $1.5 billion, in part because speed limiters could necessitate more driver hours.
Despite the costs, several trucking advocacy organizations have come out in favor of implementing a mandate that would require speed limiters. The belief is that fuel could be saved, and lives could be saved through the prevention of high-speed truck accidents.
It remains to be seen if speed limiters will end up being required, but regardless of whether they are or not, truck drivers remain responsible for traveling at safe speeds. If a driver goes too fast and a collision results, victims and their families could be entitled to compensation for damages. New York injury attorneys can provide assistance to victims in pursuing a claim for compensation.
Reducing Truck Accidents by Limiting Speed
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported on the proposal to require speed limiters to be installed in large commercial vehicles weighing 26,000 pounds or more. The speed limiters would cap the maximum speed of trucks so they simply could not go faster than a designated speed. Proposals are currently being weighed to set that maximum speed at 60, 65, or 68 miles per hour.
The Hill reported on the proposal to mandate speed limiters be utilized to lower truck speeds. According to their report, the Transportation Department has estimated anywhere from 162 to 498 truck accident fatalities could be stopped each year if the maximum truck speed was set at 60 miles an hour. If the maximum speed was set at the faster 68 miles per hour limit, there would still be 27 fewer fatalities annually in truck accidents.
Saving lives is an important goal, and if mandating the installation of speed limiters could keep hundreds of people from dying and many more from getting hurt, it is a proposal worthy of serious consideration. Even without technology limiting speeds, however, truck drivers are expected to travel at or below the speed limit and at a speed that is safe for current conditions on the road.
When truck collisions are caused by excessive speed, victims may be able to pursue cases against both truck drivers and the driver’s employer. The injury attorneys at Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff & Wolff can provide assistance to victims in understanding when and how to pursue a case for truck accident compensation if they are hurt or if a loved one is killed in a truck crash.
