United States General Accounting Office

GAO Testimony

Before the Subcommittee on Transportation and Related

Agencies, Committee on Appropriations, House of

Representatives

For Release

on Delivery

Expected at

10 a.m. EST

Tuesday

February 23, 1999

TRUCK SAFETY

Motor Carriers Office’s

Activities to Reduce

Fatalities Are Likely to Have

Little Short-term Effect

Statement of Phyllis F. Scheinberg,

Associate Director, Transportation Issues,

Resources, Community, and Economic

Development Division

GAO/T-RCED-99-89

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee:

I am here today to discuss the safety of large commercial trucks on our

nation’s highways. My testimony presents preliminary information based

on our ongoing work for this Subcommittee on the effectiveness of the

Federal Highway Administration’s Office of Motor Carrier and Highway

Safety (OMCHS) in improving the safety of large trucks (those trucks with a

gross vehicle weight of 10,000 pounds or more). Specifically, I will discuss

(1) trends in crashes involving large trucks, (2) factors that contribute to

such crashes, and (3) OMCHS’ activities to improve the safety of large

trucks.

In summary, of the nearly 42,000 people who died on our nation’s

highways in 1997, about 5,400 died from crashes involving large trucks.

This represents a 20 percent increase from 1992. At the same time, the

annual number of miles traveled by large trucks increased by a similar

proportion. If this trend of increasing truck travel continues, the number

of fatalities could increase to 5,800 in 1999 and to more than 6,000 in 2000.

While trucks are involved in fewer crashes per mile traveled than are cars,

crashes involving trucks are more likely to result in a fatality. In 1997,

98 percent of the fatalities from crashes between trucks and cars were

occupants of the car.

Although no definitive information on the causes of crashes involving

large trucks exists, several factors contribute to these crashes. These

contributing factors include errors on the part of car and truck drivers,

truck driver fatigue, and vehicle defects. Of these factors, errors on the

part of car drivers are cited most frequently as contributing to crashes

involving large trucks. Specifically, errors by car drivers were reported in

80 percent of the crashes, while truck driver errors were reported in

28 percent of the crashes.

While many factors outside OMCHS’ authority—such as the use of safety

belts by car occupants and states’ actions—influence the number of

fatalities that result from crashes involving large trucks, the Federal

Highway Administration has established a goal for 1999 of reducing these

fatalities. Its goal is to reduce the number of fatalities to below the 1996

level of 5,126—substantially less than the projected figure of 5,800. OMCHS

has undertaken a number of activities intended to achieve this goal, such

as identifying high-risk carriers for safety improvements and educating car

drivers about how to share the road with large trucks. However, OMCHS is

unlikely to reach the goal because (1) its initiative to target high-risk

Page 1 GAO/T-RCED-99-89
carriers for safety improvements depends on data that are not complete,

accurate, or timely; (2) several activities will not be completed before the

end of 1999; and (3) the effectiveness of OMCHS’ educational campaign to

improve car drivers’ behavior is unknown.

Fatalities From Large

Truck Crashes Are

Increasing, While

Fatalities Per Mile

Traveled Have

Leveled Off

The annual number of fatalities from crashes involving large trucks

increased 20 percent from 4,462 in 1992 to 5,355 in 1997 (see fig. 1).1

 This

result reversed a trend of decreasing truck fatalities in the previous 5-year

period, 1988-92. Also during the 1992-97 period, the fatality rate—the

number of fatalities per 100 million miles traveled by large trucks—has

remained fairly constant at about 2.9 after decreasing by 27 percent

between 1988 and 1992.

Figure 1: Fatalities From Large Truck

Crashes and Fatality Rate, 1988-1997

Sources: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Federal Highway Administration.

The recent increases in annual fatalities reflect in part increases in truck

travel: the number of miles traveled increased by 25 percent from 1992 to

1

The number of fatalities is from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, which is considered a reliable

data source for all fatal crashes, including fatal truck crashes. The reporting system is maintained by

the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Page 2 GAO/T-RCED-99-89
1997. If truck travel continues to increase at this rate, and nothing is done

to reduce the fatality rate, the annual number of fatalities could increase to

5,800 in 1999 and to more than 6,000 in 2000 (see fig. 2).

Figure 2: Actual and Projected

Fatalities From Large Truck Crashes,

1988-2000

Sources: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Federal Highway Administration for

1988-1997; GAO’s estimate for 1998-2000.

While we are concerned that the number of fatalities from crashes

involving large trucks could increase in the next few years, only about 1

percent of all truck crashes reported to police in 1997 resulted in a fatality.

About 99 percent resulted in injuries or property damage only. From 1988

through 1997, the number of people injured each year increased overall

from 130,000 to 133,000. During the same period, the number of injuries

per 100 million miles traveled fell from 92 to 69. In addition, the annual

number of crashes involving large trucks that resulted in property damage

only increased from 291,000 to 329,000 while the number of these crashes

per 100 million miles traveled decreased from 206 to 172.

Page 3 GAO/T-RCED-99-89
For each mile that they traveled between 1988-97, large trucks were

involved in fewer total crashes than cars were.2

 However, large trucks

were involved in a greater number of fatal crashes per mile traveled (see

fig. 3). The higher fatal crash rate for large trucks is not surprising,

considering the difference in weight between large trucks and cars. When

there is such a mismatch in weight between the vehicles involved in a

crash, the lighter one and its occupants tend to suffer more damage. In

fatal crashes between large trucks and cars in 1997, 98 percent of the

fatalities were occupants of the car.

Figure 3: Comparison of Fatal Crash

Rates for Large Trucks and for Cars,

1988-1997

Note: Rates for both categories include crashes between trucks and cars.

Sources: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Federal Highway Administration.

2

For the purpose of this testimony, car is defined as all passenger vehicles, including cars, pickup

trucks, sport utility vehicles, and vans under 10,001 pounds gross vehicle weight rating.

Page 4 GAO/T-RCED-99-89
Drivers and

Mechanical Failures

Are Contributing

Factors to Fatal Truck

Crashes

While no definitive information on the causes of fatal crashes exists, there

is information on factors that may contribute to these crashes.3

 Data from

the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis

Reporting System show that errors on the part of car drivers have been

cited more frequently as contributing factors to crashes between large

trucks and cars. In fatal crashes, police report driver errors or other

factors related to a driver’s behavior that contributed to the crash. In

98 percent of the fatal crashes between large trucks and cars in 1997,

driver factors were recorded for one or both drivers. Errors by car drivers

were reported in 80 percent of the crashes, while errors by truck drivers

were reported in 28 percent of the crashes. The inference that car drivers

were more often “at fault” than truck drivers has been disputed by safety

groups. These groups maintain that because far more truck drivers than

car drivers survive fatal crashes between large trucks and cars, more truck

drivers have the opportunity to tell the officer at the crash scene their

version of how the crash occurred. However, a recent study found that in

fatal crashes in 1994 and 1995 in which both the truck driver and the car

driver survived, car driver errors were cited in 74 percent of the crashes

compared to 35 percent for truck driver errors.4

 This finding lends some

support to the hypothesis that, compared to truck drivers, car drivers

contribute more to fatal crashes between large trucks and cars.

One driver factor—truck driver fatigue—was identified as the number one

issue affecting the safety of motor carriers during a 1995 safety meeting of

representatives from government, trucking associations, and safety

interest groups. When truck driver fatigue contributes to truck crashes,

truck drivers are killed more often than someone outside the truck. From

1992 through 1997, fatigue was cited by police officers for 11 percent of

truck drivers in crashes that were fatal to the truck occupant(s) only.5

 In

contrast, fatigue was cited for less than 1 percent of truck drivers in

crashes that were fatal to people besides truck occupants, such as car

occupants or pedestrians.

However, these figures may significantly underestimate the actual

proportion of fatal truck crashes attributable to fatigue because of the

3

A contributing factor does not necessarily identify fault or the cause of a crash; rather, these factors

reflect the judgment of the officer at the scene and are not based on a thorough evaluation of the crash

in an attempt to determine the cause of the crash.

4

Daniel Blower, The Relative Contribution of Truck Drivers and Passenger Vehicle Drivers to

Truck-Passenger Vehicle Traffic Crashes, The University of Michigan Transportation Research

Institute (Ann Arbor, Mich.: 1998).

5

Truck occupants killed in crashes are almost always the truck driver.

Page 5 GAO/T-RCED-99-89
difficulty of determining the pre-crash condition of the driver after a crash

occurs. OMCHS estimates that truck driver fatigue is the primary factor in 15

to 33 percent of the crashes that are fatal to the truck occupant(s) only,

and 1 to 2 percent of crashes that are fatal to people besides the truck

occupant(s). Furthermore, the National Transportation Safety Board

estimates that truck driver fatigue is the probable cause of 31 percent of

crashes involving trucks over 26,000 pounds that are fatal to the driver.6

Mechanical defects, such as worn brakes or a bald tire, have also been

cited as a contributing factor to crashes involving large trucks. According

to estimates in several studies, the percentage of such crashes that are

attributed to mechanical failure ranges from 5 to 13 percent.7

 In addition,

in a 1996 study, OMCHS estimated that 29 percent of all large trucks had

mechanical defects severe enough to warrant placing the vehicles out of

service.8

 While we do not know whether any of these large trucks had

crashes as a result of their defects, they probably presented a higher crash

risk than large trucks without defects.

Other factors that may contribute to crashes or that may affect whether a

fatality occurs in a crash include drivers’ blood alcohol concentration and

use of safety belts. These measures suggest that truck drivers who are

involved in fatal crashes might be more safety conscious than car drivers

involved in such crashes. For example, in fatal crashes between large

trucks and cars in 1997, about 1 percent of truck drivers had blood alcohol

concentrations of 0.10 or above, compared to 15 percent of car drivers. In

addition, 75 percent of truck drivers were wearing their safety belt in fatal

crashes between a large truck and a car in 1997, compared to 47 percent of

car drivers.

OMCHS Is Not Likely

to Meet the 1999 Goal

of Reducing Fatalities

The Federal Highway Administration has established a goal for 1999 of

reducing the number of fatalities from crashes involving large trucks to

fewer than 5,126—the number of fatalities that occurred in 1996. This goal

is substantially below the projected figure of 5,800 for 1999 if recent trends

continue. OMCHS has undertaken a number of activities that it believes will

6

Fatigue, Alcohol, Other Drugs, and Medical Factors In Fatal-to-the-Driver Heavy Truck Crashes,

(Safety Study NTSB/SS-90/01, 1990).

7

OMC Safety Program Performance Measures, Office of Motor Carriers, Federal Highway

Administration, draft report (Jul. 1998). T.D. Gillespie and L.P. Kostyniuk, A Rationale For Establishing

the Period of Validity For CVSA Truck Inspection Decals. University of Michigan Transportation

Research Institute, (Ann Arbor, Mich.: Apr. 1991).

8

National Fleet Safety Survey, 1996, prepared for the Office of Motor Carriers by Star Mountain, Inc.

(Mar. 1997).

Page 6 GAO/T-RCED-99-89
accomplish this short-term goal.9

 While these activities could have a

positive effect on truck safety issues over the long term if effectively

implemented, OMCHS is not likely to reach its goal for 1999. This is because

(1) its initiative to target high-risk carriers for safety improvements

depends on data that are not complete, accurate, or timely, (2) major

components of several activities will not be completed before the end of

1999, and (3) the effectiveness of OMCHS’ educational campaign to improve

car driver behavior is unknown.

OMCHS’ activities are just one of many factors that affect the level of truck

safety. OMCHS’ activities—either directly or through grants provided to

states—are intended to improve truck safety largely by influencing the

safety practices of trucking companies and the behavior of truck drivers.

There are other factors that affect truck safety that OMCHS does not directly

influence, such as the use of safety belts by car occupants, highway design

standards, trucks’ and cars’ handling and crashworthiness characteristics,

traffic congestion, local traffic laws and enforcement, and state initiatives.

Insufficient Data Limit

OMCHS’ Ability to Target

High-Risk Carriers and

States’ Ability to Develop

and Implement Safety

Plans

Each year, OMCHS and state inspectors conduct thousands of on-site

reviews of motor carriers’ compliance with federal safety regulations,

known as compliance reviews. To identify high-risk carriers for these

reviews, OMCHS uses a safety status measurement system known as

SafeStat. SafeStat relies heavily on data from OMCHS’ motor carrier

management information system (MCMIS) to rank motor carriers on the

basis of four factors: (1) crashes, (2) driver factors, (3) vehicle factors, and

(4) safety management. The crash factor is given twice the weight of the

other factors because carriers that have been in crashes are considered

more likely to be involved in crashes in the future. Carriers that are ranked

in the worst 25 percent of all carriers for three or more factors or for the

accident factor plus one other factor are targeted for a compliance review.

However, SafeStat’s ability to accurately target high-risk carriers is limited

because state officials do not report a large percentage of crashes

involving large trucks to MCMIS. For 1997, OMCHS estimated that about

38 percent of all reportable crashes and 30 percent of the fatal crashes

involving large trucks were not reported to MCMIS.

10 Furthermore, 10 states

reported fewer than 50 percent of the fatal crashes occurring within their

9

Truck fatality data for each calendar year are typically not available until 6 months after the end of the

year. Therefore, OMCHS will not know if it has achieved its goal for 1999 before July 2000.

10For OMCHS purposes, a reportable crash must result in a fatality, an injury where the person injured

is taken to a medical facility, or one vehicle having been towed from the scene.

Page 7 GAO/T-RCED-99-89
borders, including four states that reported fewer than 10 percent.

Because MCMIS does not contain a record of all crashes, a carrier that has

been involved in a substantial number of crashes might go undetected by

SafeStat. According to OMCHS officials, states do not report all crashes for

several reasons. In particular, (1) states do not understand that complete

reporting would enable OMCHS to more accurately target high-risk carriers,

(2) state employees who submit crash data to MCMIS may not have

sufficient training or incentives, or (3) there may be errors in some states’

databases that are preventing the transmittal of the data. According to

OMCHS officials, an initiative to encourage states to report data for all

crashes in a consistent manner is being developed; no implementation

date has been set.

SafeStat’s ability to target high-risk carriers is also limited by out-of-date

census data in MCMIS. SafeStat uses the census data—such as the number of

trucks operated by each carrier—to normalize safety data. For example,

SafeStat checks the number of crashes reported for a carrier against the

number of trucks operated by the carrier to determine if the number of

crashes is disproportionate. However, interstate carriers are required to

file census data with OMCHS only once—when they initially go into

business. After that, the census data are updated generally only when

OMCHS or states conduct compliance reviews at the carriers’ facilities. Each

year from 1993 through 1997, these reviews were conducted for fewer than

4 percent of these carriers listed in MCMIS, whose number increased from

275,000 to more than 415,000 over the period. According to OMCHS officials,

a system to update census data annually will not be implemented for at

least 2 years.

As we reported in 1997, states have improved the timeliness of reporting

the results of the roadside inspections, compliance reviews, and crashes

that are used by SafeStat.11 However, they are still not meeting OMCHS’

reporting deadlines. OMCHS’ December 1996 guidance to states includes

deadlines to report the results of roadside inspections and compliance

reviews within 21 days, and crashes within 90 days. As shown in table 1,

states improved the timeliness of reporting data to MCMIS from fiscal year

1997 to 1998 but were missing OMCHS’ deadlines by an average of 8 to 16

days.

11Commercial Motor Carriers: DOT Is Shifting to Performance-Based Standards to Assess Whether

Carriers Operate Safely (GAO/RCED-98-8, Nov. 3, 1997).

Page 8 GAO/T-RCED-99-89
Table 1: Average Number of Days to

Report Results of Roadside

Inspections, Compliance Reviews, and

Crashes to MCMIS, Fiscal Years

1996-1998 Average number of days to report to

MCMIS

FY 1996 FY 1997 FY 1998

Reporting

deadline

Difference

in

FY 1998

and

reporting

deadline

Roadside inspections 49 47 37 21 16

Compliance reviews 35 41 29 21 8

Crashes 195 120 102 90 12

Note: The reporting deadline was established during fiscal year 1997.

Source: GAO’s analysis of OMCHS’ data.

Data problems also exist at the state level. In fiscal year 1998, all states

submitted performance-based safety plans to OMCHS for the first time.

Under these plans, states must identify areas that need improvement, such

as sections of highways where a disproportionate number of crashes

involving large trucks have occurred, and develop a plan for improving

those areas. In a pilot program to implement performance-based plans, 5

of the 13 pilot states reported that they lacked sufficient or timely data to

accurately identify areas that need improvement. OMCHS officials said that

insufficient data—such as carrier size information that is used to help

states focus their safety education programs for carriers—have also been a

problem for some states once they have identified problem areas and are

developing improvement plans.

Several OMCHS Activities

to Improve Large Truck

Safety Are Not Complete

Several of OMCHS’ activities that could improve large truck

safety—including revising the rule governing the number of hours that

truck drivers can drive and targeting high-risk carriers through the number

of citations drivers receive—will not be completed before the end of 1999.

The ICC Termination Act of 1995 directed the Federal Highway

Administration to modify the existing hours of service rule for commercial

motor vehicles to incorporate countermeasures for reducing

fatigue-related incidents, such as crashes. The act required the

Administration to issue an advance notice of proposed rulemaking by

March 1, 1996; this notice was issued on November 5, 1996. The act also

required a proposed rule within one year after the advance notice, and a

final rule within two years after that one year deadline. The Administration

has not issued a proposed rule. OMCHS officials explained that revising the

rule is a difficult and very contentious issue and the final rule will not be

issued until 2000 or later.

Page 9 GAO/T-RCED-99-89
In addition, OMCHS has concluded that high-risk carriers can be more

accurately targeted by tracking the number of citations issued to each

carrier’s drivers. A 1997 report prepared for the Federal Highway

Administration found that trucking companies with higher rates of

citations—for such things as overweight vehicles or moving violations—are

also more likely to have higher accident rates.12 OMCHS officials have stated

that they plan to develop software that will track the number of citations

drivers for each carrier receive. However, states must first agree on a

standard format for collecting and reporting citations, and OMCHS does not

yet have an estimated date for implementing its plan to use driver citations

as a targeting mechanism.

Effectiveness of OMCHS’

Activity to Improve Car

Driver Behavior Is

Unknown

Because of the large contribution of car driver errors to fatal crashes

between large trucks and cars, OMCHS launched the “No-Zone” campaign

in 1994. (“No-Zone” is a term used to describe the areas around a truck

where the truck driver’s visibility is limited.) This campaign is intended to

reduce crashes between large trucks and cars by educating car drivers

about how to safely share the road with large trucks and about trucks’

limitations, such as reduced maneuverability, longer stopping distances,

and blind spots. The campaign’s public education efforts include public

service announcements via radio, television, and print; brochures; posters;

and decals on large trucks. Because car drivers between 15 and 20 years

old were found to be involved in a relatively high percentage of fatal

crashes, the “No-Zone” campaign focused a large part of its public

outreach on this age group.

The campaign has a goal of reducing fatal crashes involving large trucks

and cars by 10 percent over a 5-year period. However, as evidenced by the

overall increase in the number of fatalities since 1994, the campaign

apparently did not make any progress toward achieving its goal through

1997, the last year for which data are available. OMCHS has not determined

to what extent, if any, the “No-Zone” campaign has contributed to

changing car drivers’ behavior and reducing crashes between large trucks

and cars. While OMCHS plans to conduct a national telephone survey within

the next year to determine the level of public recognition of the

“No-Zone” campaign, the survey will not measure whether car drivers’

behavior has changed.

12Driver/Carrier Data Relationship Project, Phase II Report, Prepared by AAMVAnet, Inc. and Keane

Federal Systems for the Federal Highway Administration, February 1997.

Page 10 GAO/T-RCED-99-89
These findings summarize our work to date. We are continuing our review

of the effectiveness of OMCHS for this Subcommittee. Mr. Chairman, this

concludes my statement. I will be pleased to answer any questions that

you or Members of the Subcommittee may have.

(348149) Page 11 GAO/T-RCED-99-89
Ordering Information

The first copy of each GAO report and testimony is free.

Additional copies are $2 each. Orders should be sent to the

following address, accompanied by a check or money order

made out to the Superintendent of Documents, when

necessary. VISA and MasterCard credit cards are accepted, also.

Orders for 100 or more copies to be mailed to a single address

are discounted 25 percent.

Orders by mail:

U.S. General Accounting Office

P.O. Box 37050

Washington, DC 20013

or visit:

Room 1100

700 4th St. NW (corner of 4th and G Sts. NW)

U.S. General Accounting Office

Washington, DC

Orders may also be placed by calling (202) 512-6000 

or by using fax number (202) 512-6061, or TDD (202) 512-2537.

Each day, GAO issues a list of newly available reports and

testimony. To receive facsimile copies of the daily list or any

list from the past 30 days, please call (202) 512-6000 using a

touchtone phone. A recorded menu will provide information on

how to obtain these lists.

For information on how to access GAO reports on the INTERNET,

send an e-mail message with "info" in the body to:

info@www.gao.gov

or visit GAO’s World Wide Web Home Page at:

http://www.gao.gov

PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER
United States

General Accounting Office

Washington, D.C. 20548-0001

Official Business

Penalty for Private Use $300

Address Correction Requested

Bulk Rate

Postage & Fees Paid

GAO

Permit No. G100