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I finally ran across that study about car and truck crashes again. Released by the Federal Highway Administration, conducted with the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. Based on police reports and survivor testimony the study found that concerning FATAL crashes:
· In 89% of HEAD-ON collisions the car crossed into the truck’s lane.
· In 80% of REAR-END crashes the car was the striking vehicle.
· In 88% of opposite direction SIDESWIPE the car was at fault.
· In 72% of same direction SIDESWIPE the car was at fault.
· In 71% of the crashes the police assigned one or more crash factors to the passenger vehicle driver and none to the truck driver.

The information for the study was gathered from about 400,000 police-reported crashes involving one truck weighing more than 10,000 pounds and one passenger vehicle. The information was contained in the Trucks Involved in Fatal Accidents file of 1994-1996.

Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways (CRASH) said, “the study is hard to believe in terms of truck-crash causation” because the small sampling is not truly representative of real world conditions. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is conducting a new study with NHTSA on truck-crash causation “that will be a lot more accurate than what we’ve seen in the past”.
Okay, editorial time: CRASH is upset because it blows their whole big bad dangerous killer truck driver image they want to convey. Instead of the reality of the real problem is the uneducated and uninformed (okay, just plain stupid) passenger car drivers. 400,000 in wrecks in two years is not a real world representation? 400,000? Please. If you don’t like the study, have another one done.
It’s just easier to blame, ticket, inspect and regulate truckers than it is the general public. And of course Joe Schmo behind the wheel of his SUV while on his cell phone and reading the paper can’t be to blame! God forbid anyone taking responsibility for their actions. What would society think? Take the responsibility for their actions instead of blaming someone else? What is this world coming to?