NTSB pushes for trucking safety improvements in 2015

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During a recent news conference, a spokesperson for the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board stated that trucking safety should be a higher priority in the U.S. Last June, comedian Tracy Morgan was injured in a trucking accident on a New Jersey turnpike, and in September, four members of a college softball team were killed in a similar accident. With these high-profile accidents and a 17 percent increase of deaths resulting from trucking accidents since 2009, the NTSB is urging that changes be made.

The NTSB, which is tasked with investigating transportation and pipeline accidents but has no legal authority to enforce changes, made over 100 recommendations for safety improvements in 2014, but none were followed by highway regulators. These recommendations range from imposing tighter restrictions on companies with high accidents rates to requiring the use of technology that can help truckers be more aware of their surroundings.

Despite the more than 4,000 trucking-related fatalities in 2014, transportation has become less hazardous over time. Regardless, there is still much room for improvement. If highway regulators were to put the NTSB’s recommendations into action, transportation could become safer than ever before.

There are approximately 2 million truckers in the United States, and every year, more than 100,000 people are injured and another 4,000 are killed in trucking accidents. If an individual is injured in a semi truck accident, he or she has the right to file a claim in order to receive compensation for medical expenses, lost wages and other damages. Personal injury claims can involve a large amount of evidence and can be complicated in general, so many individuals choose to have a lawyer help them receive the compensation they believe they deserve.