Truck safety advocates renew calls for rules after Collins probe

A ProPublica investigation into U.S. Rep. Mike Collins’ trucking business safety record sparked a renewal of safety advocates calling for stronger trucking regulations.

The investigation found that crashes involving truckers that worked for the company have killed five people and injured more than 50 others over the past 25 years. It also found that the company has a higher rate of unsafe driving and speeding violations per mile than the majority of trucking companies with substantial miles.

While Collins, a candidate for U.S. Senate, has focused on revoking commercial driver’s licenses for people who are not citizens, Zach Cahalan, the executive director of the Truck Safety Coalition, said the focus should be on proven safety technology.

“One being speed kills. We know 20% of fatal crashes occur at speeds 70-plus miles an hour,” he said. “The technology to limit the maximum speed of large trucks has been available for 20-plus years, off the lot and not required to be used.”

Speed-limiting technology has long been required in Europe, Cahalan said, but Collins has opposed federal rules requiring speed limiters on trucks.

Cahalan said automatic emergency braking would be another proven technology to help limit fatalities.

“That technology is a game changer. It is poised to do the greatest good, to cut in half, roughly, the number of fatalities that occur when a large truck strikes the rear of a passenger vehicle,” he said.

However, Collins has claimed that the technology is expensive and doesn’t work very well. A proposed mandate for the technology has been delayed by the Trump administration.