In the News

Truck-involved Traffic Fatalities Reach Historic Low;

Decline by 20 Percent in 2009

The number of truck-involved traffic fatalities declined 20 percent in 2009, dropping from 4,245 in 2008 to 3,380 in 2009, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said today. The reduction is the lowest level in recorded Department of Transportation history and also shows a 33 percent decrease in fatalities since the improved hours-of-service regulations first became effective in January 2004.

“These latest figures illustrate the trucking industry’s deep commitment to improving highway safety,” American Trucking Associations (ATA) President and CEO Bill Graves said. “ATA will continue to advance its progressive safety agenda in an effort to further this outstanding trend.”

With the assistance of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration through improved hours-of-service regulations that were first implemented in 2004, the trucking industry has seen dramatic drops in crash-related fatalities and injuries, and remarkably improved crash rates. “Greater rest opportunities for drivers under the 2004 hours-of-service rules and a more circadian-friendly approach to a driver’s work-rest cycle have helped truck drivers achieve these exceptional results,” said Graves.

In addition to the 20 percent reduction in crash fatalities involving large trucks, the number of truck occupant deaths decreased 26 percent in 2009, from 682 in 2008 to 503 in 2009. The number of truck occupants injured in truck-related crashes also declined 26 percent. Those are the largest declines among all vehicle categories.

The overall number of people killed in motor vehicle crashes in the United States decreased 9.7 percent from 37,423 in 2008 to 33,808 in 2009, the lowest level since 1950. That record-breaking decline in traffic fatalities is especially remarkable because preliminary estimates show vehicle miles traveled in 2009 increased by 0.2 percent from 2008.

ATA will continue to support the current, improved hours-of service rules, and will remain committed to advancing its highway safety agenda in an effort to further this outstanding trend. ATA’s 18-point safety agenda includes promoting greater safety belt use by commercial drivers, re-instituting a national maximum speed limit, improved truck crashworthiness standards, speed governing of all trucks, tax incentives for safety technologies, and a decade-long initiative to create a national clearinghouse for drug and alcohol test results.

NHTSA’s 2009 traffic safety data can be found at http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811363.pdf.

Truckers’ Input Wanted On Toll Issue

The Transportation Research Board is seeking trucking industry input for a study to gauge truckers’ willingness to pay for tolls.

As state and federal policy makers set more toll funding projects to pay for new highway infrastructure, a significant proportion of truck traffic bypasses toll roads, TRB said.

Through the study, the group is seeking to determine the factors involved in choosing to use or avoid a toll road.

TRB is looking for drivers, dispatchers, shippers, receivers and anyone affiliated with the trucking industry to take its brief online survey, which is anonymous, at www.trucktolling.org.

Study Confirms Fuel And Payload Savings Improve With Aluminum Use

Substituting high strength, low weight aluminum for more traditional materials in Class 8 truck and trailers can eliminate 3,300 pounds from the vehicle weight, according to a new report released today by Ricardo Inc.  Based on these findings, aluminum could yield annual savings of fuel and emissions in Class 8 trucks and trailers as high as 1,612 gallons and 17.9 tons of CO2.  When considering these results for the total United States fleet, approximately two million vehicles, the overall economic and environmental impact of weight savings may be one billion gallons of diesel and 10 million tons of CO2 per year.

Driven largely by payload considerations, aluminum has experienced more than 30 years of continual growth in commercial applications.  Today, the average Class 8 vehicle uses over 1,000 pounds of aluminum; however, this new study confirms that by further reducing overall vehicle weight with aluminum, transporters can load their vehicles with an additional 6.5 percent of payload at gross vehicle weight (GVW).  This equates to fewer trips and an “effective” fuel and emissions savings of 6.5 percent for equivalent average ton-mile freight efficiency.

“With many challenges facing the commercial vehicle industry, including fuel and operating costs, greenhouse gas emissions, and federal mandates that add weight to vehicles, high strength, yet low weight aluminum offers cost-effective, real-world solutions available today,” said Randall Scheps, Chairman of the Aluminum Association’s Aluminum Transportation Group and Alcoa’s Director of Ground Transportation.  
The study conducted by Ricardo Inc. was commissioned by the Aluminum Association Inc.’s Aluminum Transportation Group (ATG) to analyze the fuel efficiency impact of lightweighting Class 8 trucks and trailers.  The study simulated different configurations of vehicles and payload conditions (i.e. unloaded, gross vehicle weight [GVW] and half-GVW load) for the major drive cycles that represent commercial transportation in the United States.

In addition to the impact of weight savings alone, the study analyzed the combination of weight savings and aerodynamic drag reduction.  When combining the weight reduction potential available with an 8 percent improvement in aerodynamic drag, the overall fuel economy improvement for an aluminum intense vehicle relative to the conventional vehicle was as high as 8.2 percent.