NEW BRAKING STANDARDS FOR LARGE TRUCKS AIMS TO SAVE LIVES
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently issued stringent new braking standards that will save lives by improving large truck stopping distance by 30 percent. Ray LaHood, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transporation, said of the new standards, "Motorists deserve to know they are sharing the road with large trucks that are up tot he safest possible standards, so they can get home alive to their families."
The NHTSA estimates that the new braking requiement will save 227 lives annually as well as prevent 300 serious injuries and reduce property damage by more than $169 million.
The new standard requires that a tractor-trailer traveling at 60 miles per hour come to a complete stop in 250 feet. By contrast, the old standard required a complete stop within 355 feet. The new regulation will be phased in over four years beginning with 2012 models.
In 2008, 4,229 people were killed in crashes involving large trucks. This represents a 12 percent decline in the number of fatalities recorded in 2007.
