THE TRUCK SAFETY COALITION AND OUR VOLUNTEERS RESPOND
TO THE PASSING OF U.S. SENATOR FRANK R. LAUTENBERG
Senator Lautenberg Was a Truck Safety Champion
Arlington, VA (June 3, 2013): On behalf of the Truck Safety Coalition (TSC), Parents Against Tired Truckers (PATT), Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways (CRASH) and our volunteers, we were deeply saddened by the passing of Senator Lautenberg, and would like to express our sympathies to his family, friends, staff members and to the citizens of New Jersey. Senator Lautenberg fought relentlessly for truck safety improvements in order to protect all of our families, as well as truck drivers. Our volunteers have had the honor of meeting and working with Senator Lautenberg on numerous truck safety issues over the course of his long Senate career. The truck safety advances he championed will ensure lifesaving protections for years to follow.
Daphne Izer, founder of PATT after her son Jeff and three of his friends were killed in a truck crash, stated, “To the families who suffered injuries or lost loved ones in a truck crash, today marks the loss of a true hero. Senator Lautenberg understood the dangers of bigger, heavier trucks and sponsored lifesaving legislation including the Safe Highways and Infrastructure Preservation Act. The price paid by our families in injuries, loss and heartache must end. We hope Senator Lautenberg’s tremendous example will inspire Members of Congress to continue his extraordinary work.”
“Senator Lautenberg’s truck safety legacy is beyond measure. We will never know exactly how many lives he saved and how many injuries he prevented through his focus, advocacy and legislative leadership to improve truck safety. The truck safety requirements he helped shepherd in MAP – 21 are but one example of his commitment to protecting our families. I always found him focused on me when I spoke, sincerely concerned about my family, and wanting so urgently to fix the truck safety problems which brought me to his office. I know that I am not alone in saying I will miss him.” Dawn King, Board Member, CRASH, after losing her father Bill Badger in a Georgia truck crash caused when the truck driver fell asleep behind the wheel.
Jane Mathis, Board Member for PATT, after her son David and his wife of five days, Mary Kathryn, were killed by a fatigued truck driver who fell asleep behind the wheel, added, “Senator Lautenberg recognized the dangers to our families and to truck drivers caused by truck driver fatigue, and was an early proponent of electronic logging devices (ELDs) to enforce hours of service rules and to keep people safe. Last year’s requirement for ELDs in MAP-21 was a tremendous victory for safety. My fellow truck safety advocates and I eagerly await FMCSA’s final rule for ELDs, and express our gratitude for Senator Lautenberg’s tremendous contribution to reducing truck driver fatigue.”
The Truck Safety Coalition (www.trucksafety.org), a partnership between the Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways (CRASH) Foundation and Parents Against Tired Truckers (P.A.T.T.), 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, policy-makers and media about truck safety issues.
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