Truck Safety

An average of 102 Americans die each week in accidents involving large trucks -- the equivalent of a major airplane crash every two weeks. Consumer and highway-safety activists claim truckers often drive on too little sleep, in unsafe rigs and in violation of federal “hours-of-service” regulations. But industry groups say truckers are the safest drivers on the road and that they need longer, heavier trucks and more driving hours, not less, to supply the booming economy. With more trucks on the road than ever, Congress is being asked to get into the truck-safety battle. Among the questions it must decide -- whether enforcement should be shifted out of the federal agency now in charge, which safety advocates say is too cozy with the trucking industry.