DOT to Hold Campaign Promoting Teen Driver Safety

Jupiterimages/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) -- Teenage drivers are disproportionately involved in fatal crashes with large trucks, according to the Department of Transportation.

Although the inexperienced drivers make up just six percent of motorists, they account for 19 percent of fatalities.  That's why the transportation agency will hold a "Teens and Trucks" campaign Thursday to educate young drivers about the hazards of the road and how to steer clear of a truck's "No Zones."

"It's about teaching our least experienced and already our highest risk drivers the importance of steering clear of truck's 'No Zones,'" DOT's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator Anne Ferro says.

"The 'No Zone' are the blind spots around a truck, and steering clear of a truck's 'No Zones,' making sure that the truck driver has you in his sites is a sure way to avoid any sort of crash," she explains.

During the demonstration, teens will be staged around a truck's "No Zones" and will be seated in the truck's driver's seat "so that they can see just what those blind spots really are, how extensive they are, and generally, its a sobering message for teens who participate in these events," says Ferro.

The campaign comes just as summer is approaching, a time when it is especially deadly for this age group on the road.

"Between graduation season, start of the summer, this is among the most deadly period for teens on our nation's highways.  In fact, in the summer months, teens are at double the risk for crashes on our roadways," Ferro says.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Truck Underride Accidents: Drivers Endangered When Cars Slide Under Trailers

Photo Courtesy - Getty Images(ARLINGTON, Va.) -- More than 350 people a year are killed when a car strikes the back of a big truck and slides underneath. There are safety standards to prevent these so-called truck underride accidents, but a new study shows the protections aren't working.

Rear impact guards, fastened to the backs of big rigs, are designed to stop cars and prevent them from sliding underneath. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) put them to the test. The Institute crashed a 2010 Chevy Malibu, traveling 35 miles an hour, into the back of parked trailers. The rear guard that meets the U.S. standard gave way, and the car slid right under the trailer, crushing the vehicle. If there had been real occupants instead of crash dummies in the front seat, the IIHS said they would not have survived.

"Our tests show how easily some of these guards are failing at relatively moderate speeds," said institute president Adrian Lund. "The standards need to be stronger. These crashes don't have to be deaths or serious injuries."

Canada requires rear-impact barriers that are 75-percent stronger than those in the U.S. In the IIHS crash tests, the Canadian-style guard held up properly when the car hit it.

For Nancy Meuleners, a rear under-ride crash has meant 40 surgeries and a changed life -- she lost her jaw and parts of her tongue.

"Speaking can be an issue. Eating. I can't eat normal foods," Meulener said.

Meuleners, of Bloomington Minnesota, has lobbied to get stronger rear guards, "We need lower, safer, more energy-absorbing guards," she said. She is understandably nervous when driving near a big rig. "They are a danger to me and to the American public, I feel, without proper underride bars on them."

"It doesn't provide the kind of underguard protection that clearly is called for," said Bill Graves, president of the American Trucking Associations, after being shown the test video.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

IIHS Study: Many Tractor-Trailers Unsafe

Photo Courtesy - Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- More than 350 people are killed each year when their car strikes the back of a tractor-trailer and -- because of the height difference -- the car slides underneath, literally crushing the vehicle and often the passengers inside. There are safety standards in place to prevent these accidents -- many trucks have been equipped with impact guards designed to prevent such accidents -- but new tests by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety find those barriers often give way.

"Our tests show how easily some of these guards are failing at relatively moderate speeds," said Adrian Lund with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. He says the group wants the government to require tougher standards.

"You're buying a new car which has really state of the art frontal crash protection, but when you hit a truck, all those goes by the wayside," Lund said.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is calling on the government and the trucking industry to beef up the barriers.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

RSA Commends DOT Action on Limiting Speed of Commercial Vehicles

Photo Courtesy - Getty Images(WASHINGTON) – Road Safe America is commending a U.S. Department of Transportation decision to limit the speed of heavy commercial vehicles to 68 mph.

Based on a petition filed by RSA along with the American Trucking Association in 2006, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration filed a Grant Decision on the recommendation.

"Although it has taken a long time, and this action does not end the discussion, a key rule that safety advocates believe will save hundreds – maybe thousands - of American lives annually is closer to reality," said Steve Owings, co-founder and president of RSA.  “Based on what we have seen, we anticipate quick action in moving on to a rule.”

The decision will require that speed-limiting devices be set at 68 mph on all heavy commercial vehicles.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

EPA and Transportation Department Propose New Fuel Standards for Trucks and Buses

Photo Courtesy - Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation are proposing new national standards to improve fuel efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from heavy trucks and buses.

"These new standards are another step in our work to develop a new generation of clean, fuel-efficient American vehicles that will improve our environment and strengthen our economy,"  EPA administrator Lisa P. Jackson said.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood calls the proposals a "win-win-win for the environment, businesses and the American consumer" due to a reduction in transportation's environmental impact as well as a reduction in the cost of transporting freight.

These proposals, the firsts of their kind, will be phased in starting in 2014 if approved. 

The government says the new standards will reduce GHG emissions by nearly 250 million metric tons and save 500 million barrels of oil within the first five years.

Copyright 2010 ABC News Radio