With so many trucks on roads throughout Pennsylvania and our nation it is inevitable that some will be involved in accidents at some point. There are a wide variety of reasons that a truck accident could occur including:

• Tire blowouts
• Overloaded trucks
• Driver fatigue
• Equipment failure

Whatever the cause of the accident, they are dangerous for all vehicles around, particularly if the truck rolls over. In an effort to prevent this from happening, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently proposed that electronic stability control be required in trucks considered to be heavy-duty within the next two to four years.

Despite the expectation that the addition of the anti-rollover system would prevent 700 deaths due to this type of truck accident each year, manufacturers of trucks in the United States are requesting that the proposal be scaled back.

There are several reasons the truck makers are seeking to have the proposed rule changed. One reason proffered is the expense that would go into even testing the system. In addition, the director of government affairs for International trucks indicates that the type of accidents the required use of the equipment do not often occur on the road. Also the various truck designs would potentially make it difficult to make the technology easily work for all of the different designs.

The proposed rule is in its comment period so there is likely more to come regarding the matter. What do you think about this proposed requirement? Does it make sense or is there a better way to address the issue of truck accidents?

Source: Bloomberg News, "Truck makers push back on U.S. rollover-technology rule," Jeff Plungis, July 26, 2012