The New York Times recently published a piece on the trucking industry and the inordinate amount of traffic fatalities that have occurred in recent times.
Howard Abramson wrote, "more people will be killed in traffic accidents involving large trucks this year than have died in all of the domestic commercial airline crashes over the past 45 years, if past trends hold true."
Abramson goes on to mention the steps that Congress has pursued in order to increase safety but mentions that despite the changes, the industry continues to observe increasing amounts of fatal accidents.
"The trucking industry is vital to the nation's economic well-being," Abramson writes.
"But congress must make it clear to all parties that safety has to be a higher priority than penny-pinching."
Naturally, Gary's Job Board took to the Reddit sub-group 'r/Trucking' to take note of the reaction. Among the most popular responses include:
Make a regular driver's license more expensive and harder to get, and more easy to lose. Driving is not a fundamental right. Driver training needs to me more intensive and testing needs to be more thorough.
I'd like to know where they got their data. Because the NTSB, FMCSA and FHSA are all in agreement that truck related crashes are down.
Comparing the numbers from two different industries planes vs trucks.
Cherry picking what years to use to show increase of fatalities.
Omitting the conditions and situations of the accidents involving CMVs.
Not accounting for increase of traffic of roadways over the timelines he uses.
It's magic math. He uses it to make the numbers say what he wants instead of what the numbers say.