The CEO of the National Safety Council has stated a commitment to the newly created Road to Zero Coalition, whose goal it is to reduce the number of traffic deaths to zero by the year 2050. Drivers, pedestrians and passengers on North Carolina roadways may notice the impact of the RSC on regulations and policies going forward. The RSC is made up of 675 members and recently released a Rand Corp. report outlining methods that might be used to reduce the number of traffic accident fatalities.
According to the CEO of the National Safety Council, the RSC has trucking company members as well as members who are trucking company associations or suppliers. She was previously a 10-year member of the National Transportation Safety Board. She served as NTSB chairman for a period of five years. The focus on reducing traffic fatalities comes as the number of fatal accidents is increasing.
Statistics published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicate that the number of motor vehicle crash fatalities rose by 5.6 percent to 37,461 for the year 2016. The NHTSA reports that 4,317 of those deaths occurred in crashes that involved large trucks; that’s a 5.4 percent increase in the number of large truck crash deaths over 2015.
The RSC report makes suggestions to reduce traffic fatalities. Among them are to increase seat belt usage to 100 percent from 90 percent, where it currently sits. According to the report, 50 percent of the people who die in car accidents are part of the 10 percent not wearing their seatbelts.
When a person dies in a semi truck accident, his or her family may have claims for wrongful death. An attorney with experience handling cases involving commercial truck accidents might be able to help by gathering evidence and building a case for trial. An attorney may be able to negotiate a settlement with at-fault parties or their insurers.