Citation

Patten M, Carroll J, Thomchick E. J. Transp. Res. Forum 1989; 29(2): 269-276.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1989, Transportation Research Forum)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Motor carrier safety has recently received considerable attention for two reasons: the growing number and size of heavy trucks on our nation's highways, and the frequent severity of the accidents in which trucks are involved. One recent federal initiative is the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program. The cornerstone of this program is a system of random roadside inspections of large trucks (greater than 10,000 lbs. gross vehicle weight) and their drivers. These inspections are expected to result in a reduction in the number and severity of heavy truck accidents. A comparison of the factors involved in truck accidents with the truck deficiencies most often uncovered by these inspections indicates that the inspection design does not address factors most often noted as causes of truck accidents. This study concludes that, to improve safety, more emphasis must be placed on driver-related violations--those most often cited as accident causes--as opposed to vehicle deficiencies which constitute the majority of defects revealed by roadside inspections.