GAO: Truck Safety Plan Not Working

The Federal Highway Administration’s efforts to crack down on the motor carriers with the worst safety records are not working, according to federal auditors.

The officials, in a report for Congress, cited decreased enforcement efforts by the agency, poor data collection and a greater emphasis on working with trucking to reduce accidents.

According to the General Accounting Office, which prepared the report, FHWA’s approach to trucking safety is a contributing factor in a 20% increase in truck-related deaths over the past five years.

he independent watchdog agency said that federal efforts are among the factors, including driver behavior and traffic patterns, that affect truck safety.

The report comes in the midst of an ongoing debate in Washington over whether to move responsibility for trucking safety out of FHWA to another agency. Currently, that responsibility rests with the agency’s Motor Carrier and Highway Safety business unit, formerly known as the Office of Motor Carriers.

Truck-related deaths have risen 20%, from 4,462 in 1992 to 5,355 in 1997, the latest year for which figures are available from the Department of Transportation. Despite the increase, the fatality rate for each 100 million miles of truck travel has fluctuated between 3.0 and 2.8 during those years.

“The Office of Motor Carriers has decreased its emphasis on enforcement in favor of other initiatives such as education and partnering,” DOT Inspector General Kenneth Mead said at a Feb. 23 congressional hearing.

“OMC is not aggressively using the tools it has available, such as progressive fines, sanctions and total carrier shutdowns to deal with the truly bad companies,” he told the House Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee.

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