FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 13, 2021
Contact: Zach Cahalan
zcahalan@trucksafety.org
202-921-9526
Washington, DC — The Truck Safety Coalition (TSC) is pleased to announce the release of its fact-based rebuttal to the American Transportation Research Institute’s (ATRI) study Understanding the Impact of Nuclear Verdicts on the Trucking Industry. ATRI is the research arm of the motor carrier industry. Its Board of Directors is comprised primarily of executives of major trucking companies and related trucking associations.
TSC’s Debunking the Myths of ATRI‘s Nuclear Verdict Report, demonstrates that the dramatic conclusions reached by this industry study are clearly unsupported and completely unreliable. A summary of several of the most egregious claims can be viewed in TSC’s Myth & Fact Sheet. TSC’s rebuttal also includes an addendum addressing ATRI’s recent follow-up report entitled The Impact of Small Verdicts and Settlements on the Trucking Industry, revealing it also contains the same pattern of flawed findings and misinformation ATRI established in their nuclear verdict report.
As the leading national victim-centered truck safety nonprofit, TSC is compelled to issue this comprehensive rebuttal to safeguard the rights of truck crash victims and expose these distortions and falsehoods. The right of truck crash victims to hold negligent motor carriers accountable by recovering their full crash-caused damages is essential and must be preserved, contrary to ATRI’s suggestions. Violent truck crashes resulting in death and severe injuries cause irreparable harm and destruction to individuals and families with lifelong and costly economic consequences.
According to data from the U.S. Department of Transportation, in 2019, nearly 5,000 people were killed in crashes involving a large truck, representing an unacceptable increase of 45% since 2009. An additional 159,000 people were injured. In fatal crashes between a commercial motor vehicle and a car, 97% of the deaths are the occupants of the passenger vehicle. This public health crisis indicates drastic and overdue improvements in government oversight and industry practices are urgently needed to protect the life and safety of the motoring public. TSC remains committed to commonsense and cost-effective safety reforms to ensure everyone, motorists, and truck drivers, arrive home safely.
The Truck Safety Coalition’s mission is to provide compassionate outreach to truck crash victims and to educate the public and policymakers on solutions to drive down truck crash deaths and injuries. Despite the well documented surge in truck crash incidents, deaths, and injuries, ATRI’s “Nuclear Verdict Report,” offers solutions to better protect the financial interests of the trucking industry at the expense of truck crash victims. Consistent with our mission, TSC issues this rebuttal after careful review and analysis to ensure all stakeholders have the information necessary to understand why ATRI’s claims severely lack the rigor necessary to responsibly inform lawmakers and regulators and influence public policy decisions.
To learn more about the Truck Safety Coalition and data-driven solutions to make our roads safer, visit www.trucksafety.org.
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The Truck Safety Coalition (TSC) is a partnership between Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways (CRASH), also known as The CRASH Foundation, and Parents Against Tired Truckers (P.A.T.T.). The Truck Safety Coalition is dedicated to reducing the number of deaths and injuries caused by truck-related crashes, providing compassionate support to truck crash survivors and families of truck crash victims, and educating the public, policymakers, and the media about truck safety issues. Visit our website at https://trucksafety.org.