| What
are the Most Frequent Unsafe Acts of Motorists?
In
February 1999, a study conducted for the U.S. Department of
Transportation Federal Highway Administration reviewed the unsafe
driving acts of motorists in the vicinity of large trucks. This
study was developed not only to identify such unsafe driving
acts, but also to develop recommendations for training and changes
to existing vehicle codes.
Unsafe driving acts were determined by interviewing experts,
truck drivers and review of collision investigation reports.
According to the study, unsafe driving acts were classified
under two separate categories: unsafe acts determined by rating
of danger or death and unsafe acts determined by frequency
of act.
The top five unsafe acts according to danger or risk of death
were:
- Driving
left of center into opposing traffic
- Unsafe
passing, primarily with insufficient road space
- Driving
while impaired with alcohol
- Failure
to stop for a stop sign or light
- Failure
to discern that the trailer is blocking the roadway
The top five unsafe acts according to frequency were:
- Following
too closely
- Unsafe
speed
- Driving
inattentively
- Driving
in the "no zones"
- Merging
improperly into traffic
Although trucks compose approximately 8% of all vehicles
involved in fatal crashes, truck accidents accounted for 12%
of the total number of lives lost on the nation's highways.
This disparity can be explained by the fact that truck weigh
20 to 30 times more than passenger vehicles. When that large
of a mass hits a vehicle with speed, the occupants of the
passenger vehicles are at a considerable disadvantage.
Many motorists have the misperception that truck drivers
are more at fault in accidents since they are involved in
more deadly wrecks. These statistics demonstrate that often,
it is the passenger vehicles that are ignorant of the performance
limitations of large trucks. |
