Not too long ago, Toyota had to recall a large number of their cars when numerous vehicle accidents, some fatal, started to occur due to mechanical failure. This story dominated the news for quite a while, but like a lot of big stories, it eventually went away.

Toyota, of course, isn’t the only auto company to recall their products, but sometimes these recalls don’t get the same level of coverage as Toyota. Often this occurs when a company catches a problem before incidents involving drivers occur. Regardless of the reason, it’s still important to stay up on the latest auto recalls. Many companies do a good job of informing potential car owners, but it’s still a good idea to keep up on the news on your own.

Chrysler isn’t the only company to have truck recalls this year. Many of the major auto makers including Ford, Ram, Nissan, and Toyota have recalled trucks for one reason or another in 2012. Motor Trend has done a good job of keeping track and providing information on the latest truck and car recalls. They provide a brief overview, which offers the year, make, model, and reason for the recall, and they offer a quick link where you can get more details on the recall.

Truck recalls aren’t always big news. Often times the only recalls that do become news are those that do not result in fatalities or serious injuries.  This does not mean you that one should not try to keep up on the info and the numerous recalls- doing so now may save you from injury later.  With a just a few minutes of research, you can do a lot to make sure your current truck or car isn’t on the list, and you can get a good idea of things you should look out for if you’re in the market for a new car or truck.

Approximately 5,000 people are killed every year in crashes that involve commercial trucks. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently reported that speed is a factor in approximately one-third of trucking accidents.

It is important for truck drivers to maintain safe speeds and maintain a safe distance from other vehicles. Large commercial vehicles cause significant damage to other vehicles when involved in an accident and contribute to a disproportionate number of fatalities. Trucks that are driving at higher speeds require significantly more braking distance than smaller vehicles travelling at the same speed. Accidents involving speeding trucks tend to cause more significant injuries than accidents involving trucks traveling at the speed limit.

Truck accidents often involve significant legal actions; those involved should seek appropriate legal counsel, such as a truck accident attorney in Atlanta at the firm of Stokes and Kopinsky, P.A.

Speed Limiters Enforce Trucking Safety

An electric control module, also known as a speed limiter, is a device created to limit the maximum speed that a truck can travel. Two trucking interest groups, Road Safe America (RSA) and the American Trucking Association (ATA), petitioned the NHTSA to require speed limiters in heavy trucks. They requested that the devices limit a truck’s speed to 68 miles per hour. These groups believe that enforcing a maximum speed will increase safety on the nation’s highways. Recently, the NHTSA granted the petitions and announced that it will begin the rulemaking process.

Schneider National, a trucking carrier that supports the speed-limiter rule, claims that, in the company’s experience, truck drivers who drove trucks that were not equipped with speed limiters were responsible for 40 percent of serious accidents despite only making up 17 percent of the total driving time.

Several other countries have already introduced devices to limit the speed of commercial vehicles. These countries include Australia, Europe, Japan and parts of Canada. Australia and the United Kingdom have observed a significant decrease in fatalities involving commercial trucks since the devices were introduced.

Although installing speed limiters in large commercial vehicles will not put an end to all traffic fatalities, they will help reduce the number of speed-related injuries on America’s highways.