Road Safe America: Death of 10 Motorists in Horrific Oklahoma Crash is Tragic Evidence Big Trucks Must Have Speed Governors Activated

RSA fighting to activate big truck speed governors since 2004; Meanwhile, big trucks involved in 400,000 wrecks annually

ATLANTA, July 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Road Safe America, a non-profit dedicated to making America's highways safer, said today the tragic deaths of 10 motorists in an Oklahoma multi-vehicle pileup involving a tractor trailer truck June 26 is clear evidence of the need for a national rule requiring electronic speed governors on heavy commercial vehicles to be set at 65 mph.

According to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, the 76-year-old driver of the tractor trailer truck in Friday's crash was unable to stop the truck when traffic in front of his vehicle stopped. The highway patrol report said he was driving at an unsafe speed for the conditions when he rammed other vehicles in front of him. The posted speed limit at the site is 75 mph.

DRIVER'S AGE AT ISSUE

The Missouri State Department of Revenue (where he was licensed) says the truck driver, Donald Creed, has been certified since 1991, and just renewed his license on April 1. Until last week, Creed had a clean driving record. News Channel 8 in Oklahoma also spoke with an official for a local trucking company who says most drivers retire in their 50s or 60s, so 76 is not a typical age for truck drivers, the official said. But, if a driver passes a yearly physical, they can drive.

"How much longer and how many more deaths is it going to take before the federal government takes action to require activation of on-board electronic speed governors to keep the speed of these enormous vehicles down to a reasonable 65 mph?" asked Stephen C. Owings, co-founder along with his wife, Susan, of Atlanta-based Road Safe America (www.roadsafeamerica.org). "Not another day should pass, not another life should be lost before this national requirement is adopted - for everyone's safety and well-being."

Owings said drivers of heavy commercial vehicles traveling at high speed must react to potentially life-threatening situations in fractions of a second in order to avoid highway tragedies. He expressed concern that the annual physical exam required to maintain a commercial driver's license (CDL) might not identify delayed reaction times due to age.

WE ARE SAFER IN THE AIR

In contrast, air line pilots who are required to retire at 65 are supported by co-pilots, backup crew and ground teams. Statistics show an average of 72 people per year have died in commercial airline crashes since 1990 in the U.S., while almost 5,000 a year lost their lives in highway crashes involving heavy commercial vehicles.

ROAD SAFE AMERICA FOUNDERS

The Owingses founded Road Safe America in 2003 after their son, Cullum, was killed when his car - stopped in an interstate traffic jam - was crushed from behind by a speeding tractor trailer going seven miles per hour above the posted speed limit on cruise control.

Electronic on-board speed governors come as standard equipment on all tractor trailer trucks manufactured since 1992, but not all are activated, allowing drivers of too many heavy commercial trucks to travel at speeds which prevent them from being able to react safely in an emergency.

PETITION HAS BEEN PENDING, BUT NO ACTION

For almost three years, Road Safe America has had a petition pending before the U.S. Department of Transportation calling for a national rule requiring electronic speed governors on Class 7 and 8 trucks (over 13 tons) to be set at 65 mph. The Bush Administration took no action on the measure, and Road Safe America is hopeful the Obama Administration will look more favorably on the adoption of the regulation immediately.

Some in Congress, many national trucking firms, insurance companies, all national safety organizations, private citizens and business executives have joined Road Safe America in its goal to save lives on America's highways by requiring speed governors to be activated on heavy commercial vehicles set at 65 mph.

"It would cost little or nothing to require activation of electronic speed governors on these trucks because they come as standard equipment. But the cost of delaying further will be paid in human lives and suffering," said Owings. "We are not anti-trucker or anti-trucking. We are pro safety for everyone on our highways."

OTHER COUNTRIES AHEAD OF THE U.S.

The European Union, Australia, Japan and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec have regulations requiring speed limiting devices set well below 68 mph on all large trucks. Sadly, instead of showing international leadership, the U.S. is behind the rest of the world on this issue.

The United Kingdom reduced top speeds for trucks to 60 miles per hour in 1992, and to 56 miles per hour in 1994. Since speed governing devices were introduced there, car-truck fatalities have plummeted by almost half.

Australia experienced a reduction of 26.5 percent in heavy truck fatalities between 2002 and 2004 through speed governor requirements, aggressive fatigue management programs, random drug testing and seatbelt promotion among the trucking industry.