ATA Urges NHTSA to Focus on Driver Behavior

The American Trucking Associations told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to focus on driver behavior in its 2010-2015 Strategic Plan.

This includes distracted driving, speeding and aggressive driving, which the ATA says are dangerous behaviors as highway congestion worsens.

According to the ATA, congestion is a major factor in highway safety because it is particularly difficult for onboard safety systems to function properly at low speeds and in close-following conditions.

The ATA suggested more consistent and uniform requirements from state to state on driver licensing and graduated driver licensing for non-commercial teen drivers, as recommended in ATA's 18-point safety agenda. ATA supports education and enforcement programs, such as Ticketing Aggressive Cars and Trucks (TACT) that targets the problem behaviors of both passenger and commercial motor vehicle drivers.

ATA also voiced its support for legislation to improve traffic safety through safer driving speeds. The ATA believes one way to do this would be reinstating a national maximum speed limit of 65 mph for all vehicles and electronically governing the speed of all Class 7 and 8 trucks manufactured after 1992 to 65 mph or less. States should also consider the use of speed limiters on the passenger vehicles of drivers with certain driving convictions, ATA says.

"In the future, NHTSA should ensure that all regulatory activities are harmonized with other government agencies so that they do not combine with other regulatory initiatives to create standards that are technologically infeasible or economically impractical," said Dave Osiecki, ATA senior vice president for policy and regulatory affairs.