Redesigning larger vehicles can reduce traffic fatalities and improve street safety, according to a pair of in-depth reports entitled Optimizing Large Vehicles for Urban Environments.
The document was written by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Volpe Center and the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO), a group representing 11 transit agencies and 63 cities in North America.
Public agencies are the largest consumers of large vehicles, especially freight and waste management vehicles, and fire trucks.
“The U.S. has the highest traffic fatality rate in the developed world, and large vehicles make up a disproportionate and growing number of those fatalities,” Linda Bailey, NACTO executive director, said. “Choosing vehicles with safer designs is a simple and proven step that any city can take to help stem the rising epidemic of traffic deaths on our streets.”
Large vehicles account for 12 percent of car and light-truck, 11 percent of bicyclist and 7 percent of pedestrian fatalities but comprise 4 percent of the U.S. vehicle fleet.
Fatalities involving large trucks have increased 9 percent over the past 12 months.
Safer roads involve advanced technologies, enforcing traffic laws and improving vehicle and road designs, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said, commenting on the reports.