The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) release of the 2018 Fatality Analysis Reporting System data shows that crashes involving at least one large truck claimed 4,951 lives in 2018.

First and foremost, we extend our deepest condolences to all of the families whose lost loved ones are so much more than a statistic. They were parents, they were children, they were loved ones, and they should still be with us today.

Unfortunately, this increase in truck crash fatalities continues a trend that has persisted for nine years. Since 2009, fatalities from crashes involving at least one large truck have gone up 46.5 percent.

To make matters worse, the Administration has advanced unstudied proposals that seek to remove a 30-minute break for truck drivers after eight hours of work and make it easier for truck drivers to be coerced into a 17 hour day. Neither of these actions will reverse these devastating trends. All the while, the Department of Transportation has done nothing to finalize safety rules, like requiring automatic emergency braking and speed limiters set at 65 mph for large trucks, that would actually save lives, prevent injuries, and reduce the unconscionably high number of truck crashes in the United States.

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