Truck Safety: Effectiveness of Motor Carriers Office Hampered by Data
Problems and Slow Progress on Implementing Safety Initiatives (Testimony,
03/17/99, GAO/T-RCED-99-122).

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the safety of large
commercial trucks on the nation's highways, focusing on: (1) recent
increases in the number of crashes involving large trucks; (2) the
Federal Highway Administration's Office of Motor Carrier and Highway
Safety's (OMCHS) need to better understand the factors that contribute
to such crashes; and (3) OMCHS' need for better data and quicker action
on implementing improvements to truck safety to be more effective.

GAO noted that: (1) of the nearly 42,000 people who died on the nation's
highways in 1997 (the latest year for which data are available), about
5,400 died in crashes involving large trucks; (2) this represents a
20-percent increase from 1992; (3) at the same time, the annual number
of miles travelled by large trucks increased by 25 percent; (4) if this
trend of increasing truck travel continues, the number of fatalities
could increase to 5,800 in 1999; (5) this figure is substantially more
than the goal that the Federal Highway Administration established for
1999 of reducing fatalities from truck crashes to below the 1996 level
of 5,126; (6) while trucks are involved in fewer crashes per mile
travelled than are cars, crashes involving trucks are more likely to
result in a fatality; (7) in 1997, 98 percent of the fatalities from
crashes between trucks and cars were occupants of the car; (8) while no
reliable nationwide information exists on the causes of crashes
involving large trucks, one existing database does provide some
indication of the extent to which factors such as driver behavior,
vehicle mechanical condition, the roadway, and the environment
contribute to these crashes; (9) however, the existing database includes
data from only fatal truck crashes, and does not rely on a thorough
investigation of the crash scene; (10) to better tailor its activities
to address the factors that are most likely to contribute to truck
crashes, OMCHS plans to design and fund the development of a database
that contains more detailed information on these factors; (11) in
addition, several states plan to collect their own data on contributing
factors based on in-depth crash investigations; (12) while many actions
outside OMCHS' authority influence truck safety, OMCHS had undertaken a
number of activities to improve truck safety, such as identifying
high-risk carriers for safety improvements and educating car drivers
about how to share the road with large trucks; (13) however, the
effectiveness of these activities is limited by: (a) data that are
incomplete, inaccurate, or untimely; (b) the length of time it will take
to complete several activities; and (c) the unknown effect of OMCHS'
campaign to educate car drivers about the limitations of large trucks;
(14) for example, OMCHS' effort to identify high-risk carriers for
safety improvements depends in part on having complete data on the
number of crashes experienced by carriers; and (15) however, OMCHS
estimated that about 38 percent of all crashes and 30 percent of the
fatal crashes involving large trucks were not reported to OMCHS in 1997.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  T-RCED-99-122
     TITLE:  Truck Safety: Effectiveness of Motor Carriers Office 
             Hampered by Data Problems and Slow Progress on
             Implementing Safety Initiatives
      DATE:  03/17/99
   SUBJECT:  Safety regulation
             Public roads or highways
             Motor vehicle safety
             Trucking operations
             Accident prevention
             Safety standards
             Traffic accidents
             Data collection
             Data bases
IDENTIFIER:  NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System
             OMCHS No-Zone Campaign
             OMCHS SafeStat System
             
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Cover
================================================================ COVER


Before the Subcommittee on Ground Transportation,
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,
House of Representatives

For Release
on Delivery
Expected at
10 a.m.  EST
Wednesday
March 17, 1999

TRUCK SAFETY - EFFECTIVENESS OF
MOTOR CARRIERS OFFICE HAMPERED BY
DATA PROBLEMS AND SLOW PROGRESS ON
IMPLEMENTING SAFETY INITIATIVES

Statement of Phyllis F.  Scheinberg,
Associate Director, Transportation Issues,
Resources, Community, and Economic Development
Division

GAO/T-RCED-99-122

GAO/RCED-99-000T


(348160)


Abbreviations
=============================================================== ABBREV

  OMCHS -
  FARS -
  NHTSA -
  AAA -
  MCMIS -
  OMCHS -
  ICC -

============================================================ Chapter 0

Mr.  Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee: 

I am here today to discuss the safety of large commercial trucks on
our nation's highways.  My testimony presents preliminary information
based on our ongoing work to assess the effectiveness of the Federal
Highway Administration's Office of Motor Carrier and Highway Safety
(OMCHS) in improving the safety of large trucks (those trucks with a
gross vehicle weight of 10,000 pounds or more).  Specifically, I will
discuss (1) recent increases in the number of crashes involving large
trucks, (2) OMCHS' need to better understand the factors that
contribute to such crashes, and (3) OMCHS' need for better data and
quicker action on implementing improvements to truck safety in order
to be more effective. 

In summary, of the nearly 42,000 people who died on our nation's
highways in 1997 (the latest year for which data are available),
about 5,400 died in crashes involving large trucks.  This represents
a 20-percent increase from 1992.  At the same time, the annual number
of miles traveled by large trucks increased by 25 percent.  If this
trend of increasing truck travel continues, the number of fatalities
could increase to 5,800 in 1999.  This figure is substantially more
than the goal that the Federal Highway Administration established for
1999 of reducing fatalities from truck crashes to below the 1996
level of 5,126.  While trucks are involved in fewer crashes per mile
traveled than are cars, crashes involving trucks are more likely to
result in a fatality.  In 1997, 98 percent of the fatalities from
crashes between trucks and cars were occupants of the car. 

While no reliable nationwide information exists on the causes of
crashes involving large trucks, one existing data base does provide
some indication of the extent to which factors such as driver
behavior, vehicle mechanical condition, the roadway, and the
environment contribute to these crashes.  However, the existing data
base includes data from only fatal truck crashes, and does not rely
on a thorough investigation of the crash scene.  To better tailor its
activities to address the factors that are most likely to contribute
to truck crashes, OMCHS plans to design and fund the development of a
data base that contains more detailed information on these factors. 
In addition, several states plan to collect their own data on
contributing factors based on in-depth crash investigations. 

While many actions outside OMCHS' authority influence truck safety,
OMCHS has undertaken a number of activities to improve truck safety,
such as identifying high-risk carriers for safety improvements and
educating car drivers about how to share the road with large trucks. 
However, the effectiveness of these activities is limited by (1) data
that are incomplete, inaccurate, or untimely; (2) the length of time
it will take to complete several activities; and (3) the unknown
effect of OMCHS' campaign to educate car drivers about the
limitations of large trucks.  For example, OMCHS' effort to identify
high-risk carriers for safety improvements depends in part on having
complete data on the number of crashes experienced by carriers. 
However, OMCHS estimated that about 38 percent of all crashes and 30
percent of the fatal crashes involving large trucks were not reported
to OMCHS in 1997. 


   FATALITIES FROM LARGE TRUCK
   CRASHES ARE INCREASING, WHILE
   FATALITIES PER MILE TRAVELED
   HAVE LEVELED OFF
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:1

The annual number of fatalities from crashes involving large trucks
increased by 20 percent from 4,462 in 1992 to 5,355 in 1997 (see fig. 
1).\1 This result reversed a trend of decreasing truck fatalities in
the previous 5-year period, 1988 through 1992.  Also from 1992
through 1997, the fatality rateï¿½the number of fatalities per 100
million miles traveled by large trucksï¿½has remained fairly constant
at about 2.9 deaths per 100 million miles traveled after decreasing
by 27 percent between 1988 and 1992. 

   Figure 1:  Fatalities From
   Large Truck Crashes and
   Fatality Rate, 1988-1997

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

Source:  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Federal
Highway Administration. 

The recent increases in annual fatalities reflect, in part, increases
in truck travel:  the number of miles traveled increased by 25
percent from 1992 through 1997.  If truck travel continues to
increase at this rate, and nothing is done to reduce the fatality
rate, the annual number of fatalities could increase to 5,800 in 1999
and to more than 6,000 in 2000 (see fig.  2).  The Federal Highway
Administration has established a goal for OMCHS for 1999 to reduce
the number of fatalities from truck crashes to fewer than 5,126ï¿½the
number of fatalities in 1996.  This goal is substantially below our
projected figure of 5,800 for 1999. 

   Figure 2:  Actual and Projected
   Fatalities From Large Truck
   Crashes, 1988-2000

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

Source:  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Federal
Highway Administration for 1988 through 1997; GAO's estimate for 1998
through 2000. 

While we are concerned that the number of fatalities from crashes
involving large trucks could increase in the next few years, only
about 1 percent of all truck crashes reported to police in 1997
resulted in a fatality.  About 99 percent resulted in injuries or
property-damage-only.  From 1988 through 1997, the number of people
injured each year increased overall from 130,000 to 133,000.  During
the same period, the number of injuries per 100 million miles
traveled fell from 92 to 69.  In addition, the annual number of
crashes involving large trucks that resulted in property-damage-only
increased from 291,000 to 329,000 while the number of these crashes
per 100 million miles traveled decreased from 206 to 172. 

For each mile that they traveled from 1988 through 1997, large trucks
were involved in fewer total crashes than cars were.\2 However, large
trucks were involved in a greater number of fatal crashes per mile
traveled (see fig.  3).  The higher fatal crash rate for large trucks
is not surprising, considering the difference in weight between cars
and large trucks.  When there is such a mismatch in weight between
the vehicles involved in a crash, the lighter one and its occupants
tend to suffer more damage.  In fatal crashes between cars and large
trucks in 1997, 98 percent of the fatalities were occupants of the
car. 

   Figure 3:  Comparison of Fatal
   Crash Rates for Large Trucks
   and for Cars, 1988-1997

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

Note:  Rates for both categories include crashes between trucks and
cars.  Source:  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and
Federal Highway Administration. 


--------------------
\1 The number of fatalities is from the Fatality Analysis Reporting
System, which is considered a reliable data source for all fatal
crashes, including fatal truck crashes.  The reporting system is
maintained by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 

\2 For this testimony, car is defined as all passenger
vehicles--including cars, pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles, and
vans--under 10,001 pounds gross vehicle weight rating. 


   OMCHS NEEDS BETTER INFORMATION
   ON FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO
   LARGE TRUCK CRASHES
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:2

While no reliable information exists on the causes of crashes
involving large trucks nationwide, some information exists on factors
that may contribute to these crashes.\3 These factors include (1)
driver-related factors such as excessive speed, fatigue,
inattentiveness, and reckless driving; (2) vehicle-related factors
such as worn brakes, bald tires, and improperly secured loads; (3)
road-related factors such as the type of road and how it is designed;
and (4) environmental factors, such as such as bad weather and
darkness.  However, OMCHS does not know how many crashes are related
to each of these factors because existing data bases do not contain
sufficiently complete information on contributing factors.  Without
this information, OMCHS cannot effectively tailor its activities to
address the factors that are most likely to contribute to truck
crashes. 

One national data base contains information on factors that
contribute to truck crashes.  This data base is the Fatality Analysis
Reporting System (FARS), maintained by the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA).  However, FARS includes only fatal
crashes, which represent only 1 percent of all truck crashes. 
Furthermore, it does not include a comprehensive list of factors nor
does it rely on a thorough investigation of the crash scene to
pinpoint factors that contributed most heavily to the crash. 

Despite its limitations, FARS has been used to estimate the number of
crashes related to certain factors.  Data from FARS indicate that car
driver errors contribute to more fatal crashes between cars and
trucks than do truck driver errors.  In 1997, errors by car drivers
were reported in 80 percent of the crashes, while errors by truck
drivers were reported in 28 percent of the crashes.  Safety groups
have questioned the validity of these data because truck drivers, who
are more likely to survive the crash than car drivers, have more
opportunities to tell the officer at the crash scene their version of
how the crash occurred.  However, a recent study found that in fatal
crashes in 1994 and 1995 in which both the truck driver and the car
driver survived, car driver errors were cited in 74 percent of the
crashes compared with 35 percent for truck driver errors.\4 This
finding provides some support for the hypothesis that, compared with
truck drivers, car drivers contribute more to fatal crashes between
large trucks and cars. 

On the basis of data from FARS and several studies involving in-depth
crash investigations, OMCHS estimates that truck driver fatigue
contributes to 15 to 33 percent of crashes that are fatal to the
truck occupant(s) only.  OMCHS estimates that truck driver fatigue
contributes to a much lower percentageï¿½from 1 to 2 percentï¿½of crashes
that are fatal to people other than truck occupants, such as car
occupants or pedestrians.  The imprecision of these estimates partly
reflects the difficulty of detecting driver fatigue after crashes
occur.  Nevertheless, these data indicate that when truck driver
fatigue contributes to crashes, truck drivers are killed more often
than someone outside the truck. 

Because of the lack of complete and precise information on factors
that contribute to crashes, OMCHS recently began to design a data
base that contains more detailed information on these factors.  OMCHS
will provide funding to NHTSA to collect data on a national sample of
large truck crashes, including fatal, injury, and serious
property-damage-only crashes.  OMCHS estimates that the data base
would take 2 to 3 years to complete, at a cost of $2 million to $3
million.  The American Automobile Association (AAA) recently proposed
a similar study, except that AAA's proposal calls for the
Transportation Research Board to design the study.  AAA believes that
this approach allows the widest possible input from the traffic
safety and trucking communities, while providing scientific
objectivity and technical expertise.  An OMCHS official agreed that
the study would have more credibility if it were designed by the
Transportation Research Board.  As in OMCHS' study, AAA's proposal
calls for NHTSA to conduct the crash investigations and data
collection.  AAA estimates that the study would take from 3 to 5
years, at a cost of about $5 million. 

Beginning in fiscal year 1998, all states submitted annual commercial
vehicle safety plans to OMCHS that included the state's goals for
improving truck safety and the activities the state will use to meet
those goals.  Following OMCHS' encouragement, several states will
attempt to identify roadways with a greater incidence of crashes or
fatalities and design activities targeted at those roadways.  Several
states' plans also include in-depth crash investigations to determine
the prevalence of different contributing factors.  OMCHS is
encouraging the states to use a common format when conducting their
crash investigations so that the data collected by various states
will be compatible.  Michigan is currently implementing this format. 


--------------------
\3 A contributing factor does not necessarily identify fault or the
cause of a crash; rather, the presence of a contributing factor
increases the likelihood of a crash. 

\4 Daniel Blower, The Relative Contribution of Truck Drivers and
Passenger Vehicle Drivers to Truck-Passenger Vehicle Traffic Crashes,
The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, Ann
Arbor, Mich.  (1998). 


   OMCHS' EFFECTIVENESS IS
   HAMPERED BY DATA PROBLEMS AND
   SLOW ACTION
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:3

OMCHS has undertaken a number of activities that are intended to
improve truck safety.  While these activities could have a positive
effect on truck safety issues over the long term, their effectiveness
is limited because (1) OMCHS' initiative to target high-risk carriers
for safety improvements depends on data that are not complete,
accurate, or timely; (2) major components of several of its
activities will not be completed within the next several years; and
(3) OMCHS cannot tell whether its campaign to educate car drivers
about the limitations of large trucks is working.  In addition,
representatives from trucking associations and safety groups agree
that the effectiveness of OMCHS' activities is hampered by its
slowness in implementing measures to improve truck safety. 

OMCHS' activities are just one of many factors that affect the level
of truck safety.  OMCHS' activitiesï¿½either directly or through grants
provided to statesï¿½are intended to improve truck safety largely by
influencing the safety practices of trucking companies and the
behavior of truck drivers.  There are other factors that affect truck
safety that OMCHS does not directly influence, such as the use of
safety belts by car occupants, highway design standards, trucks' and
cars' handling and crashworthiness characteristics, traffic
congestion, local traffic laws and enforcement, and state
initiatives. 


      INSUFFICIENT DATA LIMIT
      OMCHS' ABILITY TO TARGET
      HIGH-RISK CARRIERS AND
      STATES' ABILITY TO DEVELOP
      AND IMPLEMENT SAFETY PLANS
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:3.1

Each year, OMCHS and state inspectors conduct thousands of on-site
reviews of motor carriers' compliance with federal safety
regulations, known as compliance reviews.  To identify high-risk
carriers for these reviews, OMCHS uses a safety status measurement
system known as SafeStat.  SafeStat relies heavily on data from
OMCHS' motor carrier management information system (MCMIS) to rank
motor carriers on the basis of four factors:  (1) crashes, (2) driver
performance, (3) vehicle mechanical condition, and (4) safety
management.  The crash factor is given twice the weight of the other
factors because carriers that have been in crashes are considered
more likely to be involved in crashes in the future.  Carriers that
are ranked in the worst 25 percent of all carriers for three or more
factors or for the accident factor plus one other factor are targeted
for a compliance review. 

However, SafeStat's ability to accurately target high-risk carriers
is limited because state officials do not report a large percentage
of crashes involving large trucks to MCMIS.  For 1997, OMCHS
estimated that about 38 percent of all reportable crashes and 30
percent of the fatal crashes involving large trucks were not reported
to MCMIS.\5 Furthermore, 10 states reported fewer than 50 percent of
the fatal crashesoccurring within their borders, including 4 states
that reported fewer than 10 percent.  Because MCMIS does not contain
a record of a large percentage of crashes, a carrier that has been
involved in a substantial number of crashes might go undetected by
SafeStat.  According to OMCHS officials, states do not report all
crashes for several reasons.  In particular, (1) states do not
understand that complete reporting would enable OMCHS to more
accurately target high-risk carriers, (2) state employees who submit
crash data to MCMIS may not have sufficient training or incentives,
or (3) there may be errors in some states' data bases that are
preventing the transmittal of the data.  According to OMCHS
officials, an initiative to encourage states to report data for all
crashes in a consistent manner is being developed; however, no
implementation date has been set. 

SafeStat's ability to target high-risk carriers is also limited by
out-of-date data in MCMIS.  SafeStat uses the census dataï¿½such as the
number of trucks operated by each carrierï¿½to normalize safety data. 
For example, SafeStat checks the number of crashes reported for a
carrier against the number of trucks operated by the carrier to
determine if the number of crashes is disproportionate.  However,
interstate carriers are required to file census data with OMCHS only
onceï¿½when they initially go into business.  After that, the census
data are updated generally only when OMCHS or states conduct
compliance reviews at the carriers' facilities.  Each year from 1993
through 1997, these reviews were conducted for fewer than 4 percent
of the carriers listed in MCMIS, whose number increased from 275,000
to more than 415,000 over the period. 

As we reported in 1997, states have improved the timeliness of
reporting the results of the roadside inspections, compliance
reviews, and crashes that are used by SafeStat.\6 However, the states
are still not meeting OMCHS' reporting deadlines.  OMCHS' December
1996 guidance to states requires that states report the results of
roadside inspections and compliance reviews within 21 days and
crashes within 90 days.  As shown in table 1, states improved the
timeliness of reporting data to MCMIS from fiscal year 1997 to 1998
but were missing OMCHS' deadlines by an average of 8 to 16 days. 



                                Table 1
                
                Average Number of Days to Report Results
                  of Roadside Inspections, Compliance
                 Reviews, and Crashes to MCMIS, Fiscal
                             Years 1996-98

                       Average number of days to
                            report to MCMIS
                      ----------------------------
                                                              Differen
                                                                 ce in
                                                              1998 and
                                                    Reportin  reportin
                                                           g         g
                          1996      1997      1998  deadline  deadline
--------------------  --------  --------  --------  --------  --------
Roadside inspections        49        47        37        21        16
Compliance reviews          35        41        29        21         8
Crashes                    195       120       102        90        12
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Note:  The reporting deadline was established during fiscal year
1997. 

Source:  GAO's analysis of OMCHS' data. 

Data problems also exist at the state level.  In fiscal year 1998,
all states submitted performance-based safety plans to OMCHS for the
first time.  Under these plans, states must identify areas that need
improvement, such as sections of highways where a disproportionate
number of crashes involving large trucks have occurred, and develop a
plan for improving those areas.  In a pilot program to implement
performance-based plans, 5 of 13 pilot states reported that they
lacked sufficient or timely data to accurately identify areas that
need improvement.  OMCHS officials said that insufficient dataï¿½such
as information on the number of trucks a carrier operates to help
states focus their safety education programs for carriersï¿½have also
been a problem for some states once they have identified problem
areas and are developing improvement plans. 


--------------------
\5 For OMCHS' purposes, a reportable crash must result in a fatality,
an injury where the person injured is taken to a medical facility, or
one vehicle having been towed from the scene. 

\6 Commercial Motor Carriers:  DOT Is Shifting to Performance-Based
Standards to Assess Whether Carriers Operate Safely (GAO/RCED-98-8,
Nov.  3, 1997). 


      SEVERAL OMCHS ACTIVITIES TO
      IMPROVE LARGE TRUCK SAFETY
      ARE YEARS FROM COMPLETION
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:3.2

Several of OMCHS' activities that have the potential to improve large
truck safetyï¿½including revising the rule governing the number of
hours that truck drivers can drive and targeting high-risk carriers
through the number of citations drivers receiveï¿½will not be completed
for several years.  The ICC Termination Act of 1995 directed the
Federal Highway Administration to modify the existing hours of
service rule for commercial motor vehicles to incorporate
countermeasures for reducing fatigue-related incidents, such as
crashes.  The act required the Federal Highway Administration to
issue an advance notice of proposed rulemaking by March 1, 1996; this
notice was issued on November 5, 1996.  The act also required a
proposed rule within 1 year after the advance notice, and a final
rule within 2 years after that 1-year deadline.  The Federal Highway
Administration has not issued a proposed rule.  OMCHS officials
explained that revising the rule is a difficult and very contentious
issue and the final rule will not be issued until 2000 or later. 

In addition, OMCHS has concluded that high-risk carriers can be more
accurately targeted by tracking the number of citations issued to
each carrier's drivers.  A 1997 report prepared for the Federal
Highway Administration found that trucking companies with higher
rates of citationsï¿½for such things as overweight vehicles or moving
violationsï¿½are also more likely to have higher accident rates.\7
OMCHS officials have said that they plan to develop software that
will track the number of citations drivers for each carrier receive. 
However, states must first agree on a standard format for collecting
and reporting citations, and OMCHS does not yet have an estimated
date for implementing its plan to use driver citations as a targeting
mechanism. 

Representatives from both trucking associations and safety groups
agree that OMCHS is too slow in implementing measures to improve
truck safety.  For example, following a rulemaking by NHTSA requiring
that trailers be manufactured with reflective markings to make them
more visible to drivers of other vehicles, OMCHS decided to consider
requiring that older trailers without such marking be retrofitted. 
OMCHS issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking in January 1994
and, in August 1996, announced that it would propose a rule
establishing requirements for these markings.  OMCHS issued a notice
of proposed rulemaking in June 1998 and expects to issue a final rule
within the next 2 monthsï¿½almost 3 years after it decided to issue a
rule in this area and more than 5 years after the advance notice of
proposed rulemaking.  According to an OMCHS official, this rule was
delayed in part because of a difference of opinion within the
Department of Transportation over which trailers the rulemaking
should apply to and whether the rulemaking would be too costly to the
trucking industry. 

In addition, the ICC Termination Act of 1995 required the Secretary
of Transportation to create an information system to consolidate
motor carrier information, such as census data and insurance and tax
information.  Carriers will be required to update this information
every year.  The act required the Secretary to issue a final rule on
this information system by January 1, 1998.  OMCHS issued an advance
notice of proposed rulemaking in August 1996 and expects to issue a
notice of proposed rulemaking within the next 6 months, about 3 years
after the advance notice was issued.  According to an OMCHS official,
the rule has been delayed because of insufficient resources and the
act's provision that states not lose revenue compared to 1995 as a
result of the new system. 


--------------------
\7 Driver/Carrier Data Relationship Project, Phase II Report,
Prepared by AAMVAnet, Inc., and Keane Federal Systems for the Federal
Highway Administration, (Feb.  1997). 


      EFFECTIVENESS OF OMCHS'
      CAMPAIGN TO EDUCATE CAR
      DRIVERS ABOUT THE
      LIMITATIONS OF LARGE TRUCKS
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:3.3

Because of the large contribution of car driver errors to fatal
crashes between large trucks and cars, OMCHS launched the ï¿½No-Zoneï¿½
campaign in 1994.  (No-Zone is a term used to describe the areas
around a truck where the truck driver's visibility is limited.) This
campaign is intended to reduce crashes between large trucks and cars
by educating car drivers about how to safely share the road with
large trucks and about trucks' limitations, such as reduced
maneuverability, longer stopping distances, and blind spots.  The
campaign's public education efforts include public service
announcements via radio, television, and print; brochures; posters;
and decals on large trucks.  Because car drivers between 15 and 20
years old were found to be involved in a relatively high percentage
of fatal crashes, the No-Zone campaign focused a large part of its
public outreach on this age group. 

The campaign has a goal of reducing fatal crashes involving large
trucks and cars by 10 percent over a 5-year period.  However, as
evidenced by the overall increase in the number of fatalities since
1994, the campaign apparently did not make any progress toward
achieving its goal of reducing fatalities overall through 1997, the
last year for which data are available.  OMCHS has not determined to
what extent, if any, the No-Zone campaign has contributed to changing
car drivers' behavior and reducing crashes between large trucks and
cars.  While OMCHS plans to conduct a national telephone survey
within the next year to determine the level of public recognition of
the No-Zone campaign, the survey will not measure whether car
drivers' behavior has changed. 


-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:3.4

Mr.  Chairman, this concludes my statement.  I will be pleased to
answer any questions that you or Members of the Subcommittee may
have. 


*** End of document. ***