_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Estimates of 41,000 to 45,000 traffic deaths occur every year within the U.S.. Walkers and bikers account for 15% of the total traffic deaths each year. Fewer than 9% of those deaths involve commercial vehicles. More than 80% of those accidents are the fault of the non-commercial driver. Of those death related accidents only 4% of trucks are fatigue related. Drinking related accounted for .06% of those accidents. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Commercial trucks are involved in 2.4% of all car accidents. Trucks are 3 times less likely to be in a accident than a regular motor vehicle. 1 person is injured or killed in a truck accident every 16 minutes.
The average operating ratio for trucking companies. Estimates are the operating ratio is 95.2. This means for every dollar in revenue the trucking company has a cost of 95.2 cents. Leaving them with a profit of 4.8 cents of every dollar.
Estimates of 15.5 million trucks operate in the U.S.. Of this figure 2 million are tractor trailers. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Estimates of 21.4 billions dollars is produced annually and paid by the trucking industry to pay for the use of roads in America.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________ The percentage of problems that occur on the road:
Tires 51.3% Jump or Pull start 7.6% Air Line or hose 4.7% Alternator 4.1% Wiring 3.9% Fuel Filter R/R 3.7% Fuel 3.5% Brake 2.4%
All Others are less than1% ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The average cost of a commercial truck accident is about $59,150 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Over 75 % of truck related accidents are at fault of the drivers of passenger vehicles. 16 % of truck related accidents are at fault of the truck driver. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ The Nation's freight system moves 48.3 million tons of goods worth $46 billion each day. This amounts to 57 tons of freight per year for every man, woman, and child in the United States
In 2013 the trucking industry produced revenues of 610 billion dollars and is expected to double by 2015.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________ The U.S. transportation system is the largest in the world in several key respects. It has more airports and more miles of road and rail than any other country and is fourth in miles of navigable waterways [USCIA 2012]. An interconnected network of highways, railroads, airports, public transit systems, waterways, and pipelines makes possible high levels of personal mobility and freight movement and links the country to the rest of the world for trade, travel, and tourism. The system serves nearly 312 million Americans and about 7.4 million business establishments spread across the world's third largest nation by area.
More than 95 percent of the 9.6 million vehicles involved in motor vehicle crashes in 2010 were passenger cars or light trucks.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security is a subcommittee for the U.S.Senate committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. It oversee's the Federal Motor Commercial Safety Administration (FMCSA). Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Ct) is it's chairman. Senator Roy Blunt (R-Mo) is the Ranking Member. There are 11 Democrats and 10 Republican Senators on this subcommittee. You may like to click on the link below to become better acquainted with all they are about. http://www.commerce.senate.gov/public/
On February 28, Senator John D. Rockefeller IV (D-WV) , Chairman of the Science, Transportation and Commerce Committee announced Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Ct) as the new chairman for the Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security subcommittee.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Truck Parking FacilitiesSection 1305 of SAFETEA-LU (PL 109-59) established the Truck Parking Facilities Pilot Program, program designed by Congress to address the shortage of long-term parking for commercial motor vehicles on the National Highway System (NHS). SAFETEA-LU authorized $25M for this new pilot program. In July, 2008, the first two awards were made under the program to two large-scale ITS based projects: one in California on I-5 and on a segment of I-95 including seven states from Connecticut to North Carolina on the East Coast. Another five projects were funded as part of the second round of awards made under the program in FY10: a project on I-15 in Utah, on I-10 in Mississippi, on I-5 in Oregon, a statewide project in Tennessee and on a segment of I-81 in the Harrisburg area in Pennsylvania. A Federal Register Notice soliciting applications was issued in the Fall of 2010 leading to awards for projects on I-94 in Michigan (MI) and on I-94 in Minnesota (MN). A broad FHWA solicitation for Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 Discretionary Programs was conducted in FY 2011 leading to the award of funds to a project in South Florida off I-595, a project on I-70 in Indiana, a project of I-70 in Missouri, a project on I-15 in Utah, a project on I-81 in West Virginia and a project on I-80 in Wyoming.
In November of 2011, FHWA solicited applications for 12 Discretionary Programs including the Truck Parking Facilities Program. In response to this solicitation, 23 applications were received requesting over $47.7 million in funding. The review process has been completed and recommendations for funding awards have been developed and are advancing through FHWA/USDOT approval process. Approximately $5.3 million is available to support awards in support of the solicitation.
The recently enacted Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) PL 112-141 discontinued the Truck Parking Facilities Program as a Discretionary and, rather, included the activities that had been eligible for funding under the Discretionary Program as activities eligible for funding under certain "Core Programs" (for example, Surface Transportation Program and Highway Safety Improvement Program).
Federal regulations require that every commercial vehicle in the U.S. undergo a thorough annual safety inspection conducted by a certified commercial vehicle mechanic. In addition, state and federal inspectors conduct unannounced, random inspections of commercial vehicles at terminals, weigh stations, truck stops along the roadside and at destinations. Vehicles that fail random safety inspections are immediately placed out of service and not allowed to operate until the identified safety problems are addressed. In 2012, approximately 3.5 million random inspections were conducted.
The highest number of truck accidents occur in California, Texas, Florida, Georgia, and Pennsylvania.In 2003, California had 5,725 fatal vehicle accidents and 332 fatal truck accidents.
The United States federal excise tax on gasoline is 18.4 cents per gallon (cpg) and 24.4 cents per gallon (cpg) for diesel fuel. On average, as of April 2012, state and local taxes add 31.1 cents to gasoline and 30.2 cents to diesel for a total US average fuel tax of 49.5 cents (cpg) per gallon for gas and 54.6 cents per gallon (cpg) for diesel.
In 2010, there were 514 fatal motor vehicle crashes in work zones, resulting in 576 fatalities. These 576 fatalities equate to one work zone fatality every 15 hours (1.6 a day)
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) started the 72 hour check 27 years ago in 1988. They operate approximately 10,000 inspectors on the North American continent in early June of every year. They average 17 inspections per minute.