Truck Safety: Motor Carriers Office's Activities to Reduce Fatalities Are
Likely to Have Little Short-term Effect (Testimony, 02/23/99,
GAO/T-RCED-99-89).

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the safety of large
commercial trucks on the nation's highways, focusing on: (1) trends in
crashes involving large trucks; (2) factors that contribute to such
crashes; and (3) the Federal Highway Administration's Office of Motor
Carrier and Highway Safety's (OMCHS) activities to improve the safety of
large trucks.

GAO noted that: (1) of the nearly 42,000 people who died on the nation's
highways in 1997, about 5,400 died from crashes involving large trucks;
(2) this represents a 20 percent increase from 1992; (3) at the same
time, the annual number of miles traveled by large trucks increased by a
similar proportion; (4) if this trend of increasing truck travel
continues, the number of fatalities could increase to 5,800 in 1999 and
to more than 6,000 in 2000; (5) while trucks are involved in fewer
crashes per mile traveled than are cars, crashes involving trucks are
more likely to result in a fatality; (6) in 1997, 98 percent of the
fatalities from crashes between trucks and cars were the occupants of
the car; (7) although no definitive information on the causes of crashes
involving large trucks exists, several factors contribute to these
crashes; (8) these contributing factors include errors on the part of
car and truck drivers, truck driver fatigue, and vehicle defects; (9) of
these factors, errors on the part of car drivers are cited most
frequently as contributing to crashes involving large trucks; (10)
specifically, errors by car drivers were reported in 80 percent of the
crashes, while truck drivers errors were reported in 28 percent of the
crashes; (11) while many factors outside OMCHS' authority--such as the
use of safety belts by car occupants and states' actions--influence the
number of fatalities that result from crashes involving large trucks,
the Federal Highway Administration has established a goal for 1999 of
reducing these fatalities; (12) its goal is to reduce the number of
fatalities to below the 1996 level of 5,126--substantially less than the
projected figure of 5,800; (13) OMCHS has undertaken a number of
activities intended to achieve this goal, such as identifying high-risk
carriers for safety improvements and educating car drivers about how to
share the road with large trucks; and (14) however, OMCHS is unlikely to
reach the goal because: (a) its initiative to target high-risk carriers
for safety improvements depends on data that are not complete, accurate,
or timely; (b) several activities will not be completed before the end
of 1999; and (c) the effectiveness of OMCHS' educational campaign to
improve car drivers' behavior is unknown.

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

 REPORTNUM:  T-RCED-99-89
     TITLE:  Truck Safety: Motor Carriers Office's Activities to Reduce 
             Fatalities Are Likely to Have Little Short-term
             Effect
      DATE:  02/23/99
   SUBJECT:  Motor vehicle safety
             Accident prevention
             Traffic accidents
             Safety regulation
             Motor carrier operations
             Safety standards
             Trucking operations
             Public roads or highways
IDENTIFIER:  NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System
             
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Cover
================================================================ COVER


Before the Subcommittee on Transportation and Related Agencies,
Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives

For Release
on Delivery
Expected at
10 a.m.  EST
Tuesday
February 23, 1999

TRUCK SAFETY - MOTOR CARRIERS
OFFICE'S ACTIVITIES TO REDUCE
FATALITIES ARE LIKELY TO HAVE
LITTLE SHORT-TERM EFFECT

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

GAO/T-RCED-99-89

GAO/RCED-99-89T


(348149)


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

  OMCHS -
  MCMIS -

============================================================ 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 for this Subcommittee on 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) trends in crashes involving large
trucks, (2) factors that contribute to such crashes, and (3) OMCHS'
activities to improve the safety of large trucks. 

In summary, of the nearly 42,000 people who died on our nation's
highways in 1997, about 5,400 died from 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 a similar proportion.  If this trend of increasing truck
travel continues, the number of fatalities could increase to 5,800 in
1999 and to more than 6,000 in 2000.  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. 

Although no definitive information on the causes of crashes involving
large trucks exists, several factors contribute to these crashes. 
These contributing factors include errors on the part of car and
truck drivers, truck driver fatigue, and vehicle defects.  Of these
factors, errors on the part of car drivers are cited most frequently
as contributing to crashes involving large trucks.  Specifically,
errors by car drivers were reported in 80 percent of the crashes,
while truck driver errors were reported in 28 percent of the crashes. 

While many factors outside OMCHS' authorityï¿½such as the use of safety
belts by car occupants and states' actionsï¿½influence the number of
fatalities that result from crashes involving large trucks, the
Federal Highway Administration has established a goal for 1999 of
reducing these fatalities.  Its goal is to reduce the number of
fatalities to below the 1996 level of 5,126ï¿½substantially less than
the projected figure of 5,800.  OMCHS has undertaken a number of
activities intended to achieve this goal, such as identifying
high-risk carriers for safety improvements and educating car drivers
about how to share the road with large trucks.  However, OMCHS is
unlikely to reach the goal because (1) its initiative to target
high-risk carriers for safety improvements depends on data that are
not complete, accurate, or timely; (2) several activities will not be
completed before the end of 1999; and (3) the effectiveness of OMCHS'
educational campaign to improve car drivers' behavior is unknown. 


   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 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, 1988-92.  Also during the 1992-97 period,
the fatality rateï¿½the number of fatalities per 100 million miles
traveled by large trucksï¿½has remained fairly constant at about 2.9
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.)

Sources:  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 to 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). 

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

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

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

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 between 1988-97, 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 large
trucks and cars.  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 large trucks and
cars 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. 

Sources:  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 the purpose of 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. 


   DRIVERS AND MECHANICAL FAILURES
   ARE CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO
   FATAL TRUCK CRASHES
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:2

While no definitive information on the causes of fatal crashes
exists, there is information on factors that may contribute to these
crashes.\3 Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration's Fatality Analysis Reporting System show that errors
on the part of car drivers have been cited more frequently as
contributing factors to crashes between large trucks and cars.  In
fatal crashes, police report driver errors or other factors related
to a driver's behavior that contributed to the crash.  In 98 percent
of the fatal crashes between large trucks and cars in 1997, driver
factors were recorded for one or both drivers.  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.  The inference
that car drivers were more often ï¿½at faultï¿½ than truck drivers has
been disputed by safety groups.  These groups maintain that because
far more truck drivers than car drivers survive fatal crashes between
large trucks and cars, more truck drivers have the opportunity 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 to 35 percent for truck driver errors.\4 This finding lends
some support to the hypothesis that, compared to truck drivers, car
drivers contribute more to fatal crashes between large trucks and
cars. 

One driver factorï¿½truck driver fatigueï¿½was identified as the number
one issue affecting the safety of motor carriers during a 1995 safety
meeting of representatives from government, trucking associations,
and safety interest groups.  When truck driver fatigue contributes to
truck crashes, truck drivers are killed more often than someone
outside the truck.  From 1992 through 1997, fatigue was cited by
police officers for 11 percent of truck drivers in crashes that were
fatal to the truck occupant(s) only.\5 In contrast, fatigue was cited
for less than 1 percent of truck drivers in crashes that were fatal
to people besides truck occupants, such as car occupants or
pedestrians. 

However, these figures may significantly underestimate the actual
proportion of fatal truck crashes attributable to fatigue because of
the difficulty of determining the pre-crash condition of the driver
after a crash occurs.  OMCHS estimates that truck driver fatigue is
the primary factor in 15 to 33 percent of the crashes that are fatal
to the truck occupant(s) only, and 1 to 2 percent of crashes that are
fatal to people besides the truck occupant(s).  Furthermore, the
National Transportation Safety Board estimates that truck driver
fatigue is the probable cause of 31 percent of crashes involving
trucks over 26,000 pounds that are fatal to the driver.\6

Mechanical defects, such as worn brakes or a bald tire, have also
been cited as a contributing factor to crashes involving large
trucks.  According to estimates in several studies, the percentage of
such crashes that are attributed to mechanical failure ranges from 5
to 13 percent.\7 In addition, in a 1996 study, OMCHS estimated that
29 percent of all large trucks had mechanical defects severe enough
to warrant placing the vehicles out of service.\8 While we do not
know whether any of these large trucks had crashes as a result of
their defects, they probably presented a higher crash risk than large
trucks without defects. 

Other factors that may contribute to crashes or that may affect
whether a fatality occurs in a crash include drivers' blood alcohol
concentration and use of safety belts.  These measures suggest that
truck drivers who are involved in fatal crashes might be more safety
conscious than car drivers involved in such crashes.  For example, in
fatal crashes between large trucks and cars in 1997, about 1 percent
of truck drivers had blood alcohol concentrations of 0.10 or above,
compared to 15 percent of car drivers.  In addition, 75 percent of
truck drivers were wearing their safety belt in fatal crashes between
a large truck and a car in 1997, compared to 47 percent of car
drivers. 


--------------------
\3 A contributing factor does not necessarily identify fault or the
cause of a crash; rather, these factors reflect the judgment of the
officer at the scene and are not based on a thorough evaluation of
the crash in an attempt to determine the cause of the 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). 

\5 Truck occupants killed in crashes are almost always the truck
driver. 

\6 Fatigue, Alcohol, Other Drugs, and Medical Factors In
Fatal-to-the-Driver Heavy Truck Crashes, (Safety Study NTSB/SS-90/01,
1990). 

\7 OMC Safety Program Performance Measures, Office of Motor Carriers,
Federal Highway Administration, draft report (Jul.  1998).  T.D. 
Gillespie and L.P.  Kostyniuk, A Rationale For Establishing the
Period of Validity For CVSA Truck Inspection Decals.  University of
Michigan Transportation Research Institute, (Ann Arbor, Mich.:  Apr. 
1991). 

\8 National Fleet Safety Survey, 1996, prepared for the Office of
Motor Carriers by Star Mountain, Inc.  (Mar.  1997). 


   OMCHS IS NOT LIKELY TO MEET THE
   1999 GOAL OF REDUCING
   FATALITIES
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:3

The Federal Highway Administration has established a goal for 1999 of
reducing the number of fatalities from crashes involving large trucks
to fewer than 5,126ï¿½the number of fatalities that occurred in 1996. 
This goal is substantially below the projected figure of 5,800 for
1999 if recent trends continue.  OMCHS has undertaken a number of
activities that it believes will accomplish this short-term goal.\9
While these activities could have a positive effect on truck safety
issues over the long term if effectively implemented, OMCHS is not
likely to reach its goal for 1999.  This is because (1) its
initiative to target high-risk carriers for safety improvements
depends on data that are not complete, accurate, or timely, (2) major
components of several activities will not be completed before the end
of 1999, and (3) the effectiveness of OMCHS' educational campaign to
improve car driver behavior is unknown. 

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. 


--------------------
\9 Truck fatality data for each calendar year are typically not
available until 6 months after the end of the year.  Therefore, OMCHS
will not know if it has achieved its goal for 1999 before July 2000. 


      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
factors, (3) vehicle factors, 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.\10 Furthermore, 10 states reported fewer than 50 percent of
the fatal crashes occurring within their borders, including four
states that reported fewer than 10 percent.  Because MCMIS does not
contain a record of all 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' databases 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; no implementation date has been set. 

SafeStat's ability to target high-risk carriers is also limited by
out-of-date census 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 these carriers listed in MCMIS, whose number increased from
275,000 to more than 415,000 over the period.  According to OMCHS
officials, a system to update census data annually will not be
implemented for at least 2 years. 

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.\11 However, they are
still not meeting OMCHS' reporting deadlines.  OMCHS' December 1996
guidance to states includes deadlines to 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 1996-1998

                                Average number of days
                                  to report to MCMIS
                                ----------------------
                                                                Differ
                                                                  ence
                                                                    in
                                                                    FY
                                                                  1998
                                                                   and
                                                        Report  report
                                                           ing     ing
                                    FY      FY      FY  deadli  deadli
                                  1996    1997    1998      ne      ne
------------------------------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------
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 the 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 carrier size information that is used 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. 


--------------------
\10 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. 

\11 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 NOT COMPLETE
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:3.2

Several of OMCHS' activities that could 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 before the
end of 1999.  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 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 one year after
the advance notice, and a final rule within two years after that one
year deadline.  The 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.\12
OMCHS officials have stated 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. 


--------------------
\12 Driver/Carrier Data Relationship Project, Phase II Report,
Prepared by AAMVAnet, Inc.  and Keane Federal Systems for the Federal
Highway Administration, February 1997. 


      EFFECTIVENESS OF OMCHS'
      ACTIVITY TO IMPROVE CAR
      DRIVER BEHAVIOR IS UNKNOWN
-------------------------------------------------------- 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.  (ï¿½No-Zoneï¿½ 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 ï¿½No-Zoneï¿½ 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 through 1997, the last year for which data are
available.  OMCHS has not determined to what extent, if any, the
ï¿½No-Zoneï¿½ 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 ï¿½No-Zoneï¿½ campaign,
the survey will not measure whether car drivers' behavior has
changed. 


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

These findings summarize our work to date.  We are continuing our
review of the effectiveness of OMCHS for this Subcommittee.  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. ***