A 70 year old truck driver, was traveling west on I-196 near Grandville, MI, driving a semi-truck carrying the cakes when his truck crossed the center line and collided with a Chevy Tahoe 078. the truck careened over the edge of an overpass and both vehicles caught fire.
The motorists who stopped on the spot and the police officers Grandville helped pull Robert Gortner, 82, from Tahoe. But his wife, a passenger, was trapped in the vehicle and Robert Osborne, 70, was trapped in his truck. Edna Gortner, 83, of Grand Rapids, and Osborn Macelona both were killed. An elderly passenger in the Tahoe was killed along with the driver of the truck. It was September 09.
About a year before in July 08 a 71 year old truck driver, on I-75 in Michigan slammed into vehicles in the southbound lanes, causing the death of 19-year-old Kara Joan Larivee of Rochester Hills. The 71-year-old driver, already driving at a high rate of speed, failed to react quickly enough to the fact that the traffic had come to a standstill because of the merging traffic.
The common denominators of the two tragedies is that neither incident should have occurred, no one should be killed, and both drivers were 70 or older.
As a personal liability lawyer who grieved with customers for the unnecessary death resulting from car-truck accidents, I have argued in the past that truck-related deaths can be reduced to pay more attention to road safety and fatigue of the driver. In recent months I am convinced the effort must now lead to a three-prong approach - safer roads, less driver fatigue, and mandatory retirement age for truckers.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration reports that up to 4,000 Americans each year are killed in clashes with trucks that have incurred thousands of violations safety, as the defective brakes, defective tires or loads dangerously beyond weight limits. Many of the truckers involved had little or no training, many were 65 or older, and many others had a history of alcohol and drug abuse.
Because of Michigan does not allow punitive damages against truck drivers in all truckers effects have immunity against being held accountable. For this reason, the truck drivers that cause tragic accidents will continue to drive even though untrained, continue driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and continue driving when age slows the reflexes and judgment.
truck accidents occur due to fatigue, highway design errors, faulty equipment, and driver error. Some causes are predictable; others are not. The result is predictable, though - the shear volume of a truck traveling 40 mph or faster will always create chaos.
The leading cause of death on our roads is fatigue. Federal transportation officials must come with strict guidelines to ensure that logbooks are maintained and that commercial carriers provide their pilots get the rest they need between trips.
State highway departments throughout the United States must take an aggressive program to expand two-lane highways in all areas to make safer driving at high speed for everyone. The police should monitor our highways to enforce speed limits, rather than drivers who travel tolerate 80 mph or higher.
I became a supporter of reforms to reduce the number of car-truck collisions after representing the family of a 5 year old who was killed when a semi-tractor truck hit from behind a vehicle being driven by his mother.
The minimum reforms I then argued were: paving construction to expand our highways with two lanes or at least provide more than the left-turn lanes flare increased speed control on highways with two lanes more rigorous compliance with the limits the driving time of the driver of the truck can prevent deaths.
I now add to my call for reform of the need to lower the age of maximum driving for all drivers to 65. Because we can not predict with certainty the age when physical and mental reactions of a driver begins to slow down, then 65 becomes the best standard, because at that age the driver can draw Social Security and Medicare in addition to any retirement benefits or 401k investments.
Age 65 is the compulsory retirement age for airline pilots thanks to a bill signed in February 07, the mandatory retirement age to 65. Back in 1960 the airline pilots were forced to retire at age 60 by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
think. A pilot flies his plane in the open air, with no other plans within visible sight, is aided by a co-pilot of a seat away and a ground controller, and often flies on auto-pilot. Yet, even with this redundancy and the FAA backup aid for more than half a decade he said that it was dangerous for a driver over 60 to continue the work place. It is now considered insecure at age 65
So why in the world we allow truck drivers to continue driving at the age of 65, 70, 75, even 80? The high-speed truck drivers every day have to make decisions in a split second that require extraordinary reaction times fast. Common sense, if not physical examinations, eye and hearing tests, and stress tests, tells us that a driver aged 65-70 is not physically and mentally equipped for this challenge.
If a truck driver makes a mistake is very difficult to correct because of the mass and the size of a truck. Most truck drivers are good drivers who drive defensively and are qualified and trained to be good drivers. But only a single error driver a driving life can have tragic results. And as the driver approaches the end of a career to drive the odds increase dramatically that a fatal error.
I can not rest in peace, because I know for sure that before the end of someone else needlessly dying somewhere on a road. I am sure of this because federal officials, state and county governments, and law enforcement will not have any action beyond the civil and criminal judgments recorded. None of us should be in peace until certain actions are taken. And these actions are: expanding our highways with two lanes; adding left-turn lanes flare, if necessary; stricter enforcement to ensure logbooks reflect the actual driving time and rest periods; and establishing mandatory retirement for truckers at 65
Join me in this campaign, writing letters to the Federal Transportation Agency, the governor of your state, and directors of newspapers and television. Greater public awareness will result in changes that are needed to save thousands of lives. What we say that counts and will count for change.
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