Underride guards that are supposed to prevent cars from sliding under large trucks are failing at relatively low speeds, according to a new study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The organization is urging the federal government to order stronger guards on the backs of 18 wheelers to protect passengers in cars that rear-end big rigs.

While passenger cars are better designed these days to withstand collisions with other cars, they are not built to hold up when the top of the car hits the back of a truck and slides under it. Typically, the upper part of the car is crushed or sliced off in such a collision. These accidents are frequently fatal for the car’s passengers even at low rates of speed.

According to the IIHS, the fronts of cars can absorb a tremendous amount of “crash energy” these days due to better designs. But that’s only true when a car hits another car. The IIHS says hitting the back of a truck is a “game changer” for a car. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that about 423 people die every year in passenger vehicles that hit trucks with underride guards that break, allowing the car to slide under them.

The IIHS wants tougher standards for underride guards but doesn’t see much hope for a change without a federal mandate. Otherwise, manufacturers will have little incentive to strengthen the guards.

This domestic war could be tough.
But it has an important mission for Americans. to save lives, prevent injuries and reduce economic costs due to road traffic crashes.

To win that war, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is targeting a deadly enemy: distracted driving. Wiping it out won’t be easy. Americans love to talk and text behind the wheel and do other things that take their attention off the road while driving.  Studies show distracted drivers are four times more likely to cause a traffic accident than drivers who are paying attention behind the wheel. So far, Americans don’t seem to take this seriously. NHTSA believes making them understand the danger is the key to winning the war. Read the rest of this entry

Car drivers aren’t the only ones who need to change to make roads safer. For years, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has tried to make sure that trucking companies don’t use unqualified truck drivers or trucks with known mechanical problems.

The NTSB says that Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) rules governing the fitness of drivers and trucks are too lax. It wants drivers and trucks found   deficient in any way to be taken off the road even if they have satisfactory ratings in all other categories. If the problem is not corrected in a matter of days, the NTSB wants the trucking company’s license yanked.

It also wants tighter control over the hours that truckers can drive without resting.  According to the federal agency, fatigue is a major factor in 30 to 40 percent of all truck accidents. It cites research that shows accident rates rise sharply after eight hours behind the wheel.

Under current regulations, truckers can drive for 11 hours before they have to take a 10 hour break. But many cheat about the hours they have driven when they fill out logs by hand. (Truckers call the logs “comic books.”)

To stop truckers from hiding how long they’ve been behind the wheel, the NTSB wants tamper-proof electronic recording devices installed on all trucks.

No doubt about it, these drivers might as well be drunk. And the holidays can make drowsy driving worse according to safety experts. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that drowsy drivers cause 1,550 deaths, 71,000 injuries and 100,000 accidents each year.

While other drivers may encounter a drowsy driver at night, experts say that afternoon is dangerous, too. Fatigue in the afternoon overtakes one in four drivers involved in these collisions, according to NHTSA. Many of the drivers who admitted falling asleep at the wheel told NHTSA investigators that they had no idea they were tired when they got in the car.

Experts say after just four hours of sleep, one bottle of beer has the same effect as a six-pack. Just two hours of missed sleep adversely affects reaction time and alertness. Several nights of missed sleep can cause episodes of micro sleep when the brain in entirely unaware of outside activity. Episodes can last from several seconds to several minutes. During a micro sleep drivers can miss stop signs and not know it, and pilots can miss flashing alarm lights in the cockpit and not know it.

The National Sleep Foundation says that teen drivers are more than four times as likely to “have sleep related crashes” than drivers over the age of 30 since teens are notoriously sleep deprived. Law enforcement officials estimate that 250,000 people doze off at the wheel every day.

A paralyzed Chicago firefighter is now in settlement talks with Harley-Davidson. The motorcycle company opted for the talks rather than face a second trial. The first trial ended in a hung jury. The firefighter claimed his Harley began wobbling and shaking just before the crash on an Arizona Interstate in 2004.

The attorney for the victim said that bolts on the motorcycle were not properly secured. The motorcycle was new at the time of the crash with less than 900 miles on its odometer. Other lawsuits with similar claims have been filed, according to the victim’s attorney, who will be bringing them to court as well. The attorney for Harley-Davidson denies the charges. At the first trial, both attorneys used data from the motorcycle company in their arguments.

The GMAC Insurance driving test is fun, fast and informative.  Take it on the computer at home. It brushes up driving skills and – best of all – it really helps behind the wheel. Find it here. Once you take it, challenge your friends and family to beat your score! Everyone you know will be a better driver for it.

As baby boomers age, America will see a huge increase in senior drivers. Should they be behind the wheel? States and government agencies are taking a hard look at that question.  The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says trends are down for fatal crashes involving older drivers

AAA Foundation for Safety has a new screening device to assess key physical, mental and visual skills. It takes less than 30 minutes and recommends ways to help seniors keep driving safely so they can keep driving longer.  It’s called Roadwise Review.