Large Truck Crash Deaths Are Greater than Acknowledged

It makes perfect sense that large trucks including semis, tractor trailers and eighteen wheelers, would cause more deaths  than far smaller and more maneuverable cars.

Yet in recent congressional testimony the folks at Safe Roads brought home the point that this fact is obscured in data reported by federal agencies.

The testimony before the United States Senate commerce committee, was in support of the Safe Highways and Infrastructure Preservation Act of 2010.   

The act attempts to curtail further expansion of limits on the length of trailers utilized by semi and tractor trailers. Trucking industry executives seek to increase the length of trailers beyond 53 feet thereby increasing the weight of loads as well. They argue that longer trailers would reduce the number of large commercial trucks on our roadways.

Safe Roads counters that empirically this is untrue as length increases in the past have had no effect on overall trucking fleets in use. They point out that definitive federal action is essential as trucking industry lobbyists have been able to pressure state and local lawmakers into accepting trailer lengths of as much as 60 feet.

Increased length means less maneuverability, less control, and longer braking distances because of greater weight capacity.
 http://www.saferoads.org/files/file/FINAL%20Commerce%20Testimony%20Truck%20Safety%20Oversight%204-28-10.pdf