The trucking industry has made big strides in safety but the trends have been moving in the wrong direction as of late.
Large truck and buses were involved in 4,317 fatalities in 2016. This was a 5.4 percent increase from 2015, which in turn was up 4.8 percent from 2014, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatal Motor Vehicle Crashes report.
Last year’s total was the highest since 2007.
By comparison, the commercial airline industry had a record safety year in 2016 with 19 fatal accidents worldwide resulting in 325 deaths — down from 560 in 2015. The last fatal crash in the United States was in Feb., 2009.
The aviation mindset towards compliance and safety is markedly different than in trucking where being “roadworthy” leaves room for interpretation.
To be “airworthy” an aircraft has to meet or exceed very strict Federal Aviation Administration regulations and extensive pre-flight checklists of airline mechanics and pilots.
“There’s a thing called an airworthiness directive — an AD,” explains Rob Getz, a former commercial pilot who has a degree in aerospace engineering. Whenever the FAA issues an AD for an aircraft, the owners and operators take the potential safety issue very seriously.
