Opinion: We Have A Safety Winner

Much of the focus surrounding highway safety of late has been on the effectiveness of regulations designed to improve the performance of drivers and the roadworthiness of vehicles. Lost in the debate has been the role of the highway in preventing or, in too many cases, contributing to crashes.

Efforts to make drivers safer and vehicles more dependable are essential to improved highway safety. However, even if we succeed beyond our wildest imaginations on those fronts, thousands of fatalities will still occur if we do not improve the condition of our highways.

Safety scored a major victory last year when, on June 9, President Clinton signed the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century. A year later, it is worth looking back at what TEA 21 means to the nation and to trucking.

The event set the stage for the most extensive highway construction period since creation of the Interstate Highway System began nearly 50 years ago. This year alone, federal investment in highways will total nearly $30 billion. These investments will bring economic development and create jobs — an estimated 45,000 jobs for every billion dollars spent. Highway spending will also ameliorate traffic congestion that costs our society more than $70 billion per year in lost time and productivity, and causes air quality problems that damage our health and adds to society’s tab.

Most important, however, is that TEA 21 represents a direct and very effective investment in highway safety. Nearly one-third of highway fatalities — approximately 12,000 deaths annually — can be blamed partly on inadequate highways. The simple and inexpensive act of clearing trees and utility poles from the side of the road allows motorists who run off the road to stop safely or regain control. This can reduce the single-vehicle accident rate on two-lane roads by up to 63%. Resurfacing a road improves traction in wet weather, and can reduce crashes by up to 20% over the life of the highway. Other improvements, such as wider lanes, upgraded rail-highway grade crossings and additional capacity, are also effective tools for preventing crashes or reducing their severity.

As we reflect on the success of the act and its many benefits, however, we must remember that highway investment prior to TEA 21’s passage had become a relatively low priority. Over the past 30 years, highway investment as a percentage of public spending dropped 50%. As a result, our nation is today faced with a $300 billion backlog in highway improvements.

TEA 21 represents a rededication of public resources and a new commitment to making our highways safer and more dependable. The legislation’s authors also took steps to ensure that the money allocated will actually be available for investment by building a “firewall” around the Highway Trust Fund, the repository of all federal user fees collected from motorists. The firewall ends the past practice of holding back money, collected through fuel taxes and other fees on truckers, to mask the real size of the federal deficit.

As we celebrate the first anniversary of TEA 21’s enactment, it is appropriate for the trucking industry to reflect on what the added investment means to it: safer and less congested highways and the resultant savings in operational costs. However, we must also be mindful that, as in the past, budget pressures threaten the future of highway spending. We should take care to remind ourselves and others that highways are our nation’s economic lifeline. We must not lose sight of the fact that highway crashes are the leading cause of death for people aged 5 to 32.

While much of the truck safety discussion these days centers on enforcement, we must remember that the success of these efforts is inextricably linked to our nation’s commitment to improving the condition of its highways.

1921