In 2016, the government proposed safety regulations that would require large transport vehicles, like new heavy trucks, to have speed limiting software. As CNBC explains, this came after yet another tragic accident involving a transport vehicle and many dead people.
On a clear, dry June evening in 2015, cars and trucks rolled slowly in a herky-jerky backup ahead of an Interstate 75 construction zone in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Barreling toward them: an 18-ton tractor-trailer going about 80 mph.
Despite multiple signs warning of slow traffic, the driver, with little or no braking, bashed into eight vehicles before coming to a stop about 1½ football fields away. Six people died in the mangled wreck and four more were hurt. The driver was convicted of vehicular homicide and other charges last month.
Like any regulations, safety regulations have had opposition from the big businesses that they directly affect. No one wants to pay up to create safer conditions when the “collateral damage” is a touch cheaper, and usually not paid for by the company employing the service. Since that time, the Trump administration has stalled out rules that would have required the most basic and sensible of steps to be required in the transport industry.
The sidelined rules would have, among other things, required states to conduct annual inspections of commercial bus operators, railroads to operate trains with at least two crew members and automakers to equip future cars and light trucks with vehicle-to-vehicle communications to prevent collisions. Many of the rules were prompted by tragic events.
Here’s the quote that cannot be under-reported:
"These rules have been written in blood," said John Risch, the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers' legislative director. "But we're in a new era now of little-to-no new regulations no matter how beneficial they might be."
These regulations are not simply about big tractor trailers: the rules apply to pipelines, to airplanes, to drivers’ health and welfare, and to cars. The fact of the matter is that buying lawyers and lobbyists to protect your company from liability seems to be cheaper than paying the costs that would ensure you didn’t need so much liability insurance in the first place. You can see a rundown of the many “sidelined” regulations and rules below.
Below is simply a small sample. You can see the whole list at WSBTV Atlanta.
Cars
A rule adopted in 2016 in response to a congressional directive requires that new hybrid and electric vehicles emit sounds when traveling at low speeds to alert pedestrians and cyclists to their approach. The government estimates the rule would prevent 2,800 injuries over the life of each model year of the vehicles.
Trucks
The White House moved a 2016 proposal to require software in new heavy trucks be set to limit speeds from its list of active rulemakings to its long-term agenda. DOT studied maximum speeds of 60, 65 and 68 mph. About 1,100 people are killed annually in crashes involving heavy trucks on roads with speed limits exceeding 55 mph.
Pipelines
A rule proposed in 2015 would expand safety requirements for oil and natural gas pipelines, including greater reporting, inspections of pipelines within 72 hours of an extreme weather event or natural disaster, more frequent inspections using tools that can look inside pipes, and greater use of leak detection systems.
Planes
An interim final rule banning shipments of rechargeable lithium batteries on passenger planes was one step away from becoming law when Trump took office. Three days later, the rule was returned to PHMSA.
Trains
A final rule requiring all trains have at least two crew members was sent to the White House for approval in December 2016. The rule was sent back to the Federal Railroad Administration six days after Trump's inauguration. It has since been moved from the White House list of active rulemakings to the long-term agenda.
There was also a rule requiring sleep apnea screenings for drivers. The National Transportation Safety Board suggested it after reviewing crashes blamed on untreated sleep apnea.