The Conference on Truck Safety: Perceptions and Reality was convened to identify the key issues affecting truck safety and to lay the basis for a workable plan of action that reflects the views and interest of the various stakeholders, including carriers, shippers, inspectors, law enforcement officials, insurers, regulators, manufacturers, researchers and the public. The Conference adopted a consensus-based, multi-stakeholder approach to ensure that all these views were expressed openly and objectively. A surprising degree of consensus emerged concerning the key issues affecting truck safety. The following issues were identified as critical to improving safety: 1. Driver training and empowerment; 2. Driver fatigue; 3. Data needs; 4. Vehicle standards (with emphasis on brakes); 5. Harmonisation of regulations between jurisdictions. These issues should guide future efforts to improve truck safety by highlighting priority areas for action in different jurisdictions. The material has been organised into six chapters, reflecting the key truck safety issues that emerged from the conference deliberations: (1) Overview; (2), Perspectives on truck safety; (3), Harmonisation; (4), Driver fatigue and truck accident risk; (5), Profitability and safety; (6), Causes and consequences of truck accidents.
Abstract