Listen to this articleThe “copious use of cell phones” is resulting in more fatalities than drunk driving and will not be curbed without stiffer penalties, according to trucking industry official Jim Newport.
Forbes has reported that texting while driving is six times more dangerous than driving while intoxicated, said Newport, president and CEO of the Oklahoma Trucking Association.
Texting drivers have a slower response time than impaired drivers and a higher rate of fatality accidents, yet the punishment for “digitally drunk driving” is much more lenient, Newport said.
“The law is on the books. The enforcement is the weak component,” he said. “It will take stiffer penalties on par with drunk driving to change drivers’ behaviors.”
Research shows that texting while driving takes the driver’s eyes and attention away from the road for 4.6 seconds. If the vehicle is going 55 mph, the driver will have traveled the length of a football field including the end zones during that time.
This impediment to highway safety is a major concern of trucking industry officials nationwide, Newport said.
The National Safety Council reports large trucks accounted for 10% of total vehicle miles traveled in 2022 and for 6% of all vehicles involved in fatal crashes.
The states with the highest percentage of large trucks involved in fatal crashes were North Dakota (23%) and Wyoming (21%). States with the lowest percentage were Hawaii and Maine at 4% each.
In Oklahoma, 126 large trucks were involved in fatal crashes in 2022, or 12.5% of all vehicles.
“We all share the road,” Newport said. “For a commercial motor vehicle driver that’s their workspace.”
Another issue impeding highway safety is drivers’ lack of caution in work zones, he said.
The National Safety Council reports 891 people were killed in work zone crashes in 2022. Of the total, 528 were workers in construction zones.
“People don’t pay attention, or they just don’t care,” Newport said, noting the fatalities can be the workers or the drivers.
He thinks “work zone fatigue” often is to blame. Drivers who go through a construction zone with barriers, cones and lane closures day after day but don’t see any workers on the job may decide to “zip through,” he said.
Driver fatigue is another safety issue for all drivers. When it comes to truckers, the federal government requires they be off duty for 8 consecutive hours once every 24 hours.
In June 2009, a seven-vehicle pileup on Will Rogers Turnpike killed 10 people in an accident the Oklahoma Highway Patrol lists as one of the state’s deadliest crashes.
A 77-year-old truck driver had been driving for about 10 hours when he crashed into vehicles that had slowed because of traffic congestion caused by a prior collision, officials said.
The driver was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs, nor was he speeding. He was driving four miles under the turnpike speed limit of 75 mph, officials said.
The National Transportation Safety Board blamed fatigue for the fatal crash along with acute sleep loss, shift work schedule and mild sleep apnea.
Pulling off the road for that 8-hour break generally isn’t an issue in Oklahoma, but it can be a problem in cities like Atlanta or Houston where congestion can make finding a safe parking space difficult, Newport said.
That gives Oklahoma an economic advantage when drivers prefer to stop here instead. They buy 400 or 600 gallons of gas, food and other items, he said.
The industry estimates 80,000 commercial drivers are needed to fill demand today.
“As consumers, we have an insatiable desire for goods,” Newport said. “If you use it, wear it or eat it, more than likely a truck brought it.”
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