TEXAS LEGISLATURE VOTES TO KILL TEXANS WITH TRUCKS - Raises Speed Limits At Night for Tractor Trailers
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Home > Safety > TEXAS LEGISLATURE VOTES TO KILL TEXANS WITH TRUCKS - Raises Speed Limits At Night for Tractor TrailersPosted on June 9, 2011 by Morgan Adams
The Texas legislature, in a fit of sheer stupidity (not a word my kids are allowed to say in my house so you know I feel strongly about the issue!) has raised the speed limits at night for tractor trailers in Texas. (The Texas state senate passed this May 23, 2011 and it is now on its way to the Governor's desk. You can pray the Governor has the common sense to veto this! (See Transportation Topics, May 30, 2011 p25)) Texas already has one of the highest body counts in the nation for tractor trailer wrecks. According to the DOT, on average over the last 4 years, 410 Texans die each year in heavy truck crashes (stats can be found here).
I have to assume the Texas legislature had this pointed out to them. So what do they do with this knowledge? They raise the speed limit at night. Something that the Texas' own Commercial Driver's License Manual makes clear will kill YOU! Specifically the 2008 Texas CDL manual states (and it said this in the 2004 CDL manual as well, the oldest Texas CDL manual I have):
Driving too fast is a major cause of fatal crashes. You must adjust your speed depending on driving conditions. These include traction, curves, visibility, traffic, and hills. (2008 Texas CDL Manual Chapter 2.6)
You should always be able to stop within the distance you can see ahead... At night, you can’t see as far with low beams as you can with high beams. When you must use low beams, slowdown. (2008 Texas CDL Manual Chapter 2.6) Whenever you double your speed, it takes about four times as much distance to stop and your vehicle will have four times the destructive power if it crashes. High speeds increase stopping distances greatly. By slowing down a little, you can gain a lot in reduced braking distance. (2008 Texas CDL Manual Chapter 2.6)Total Stopping Distance. At 55 mph it will take about six seconds to stop and your vehicle will travel about the distance of a football field. (60 + 60 + 170 = 290 feet). (2008 Texas CDL Manual Chapter 2.6)
At night your headlights will usually be the main source of light for you to see and for others to see you. You can’t see nearly as much with your headlights as you can see in the daytime. With low beams you can see ahead about 250 feet and with high beams about 350-500 feet. You must adjust your speed to keep your stopping distance within your sight distance. This means going slow enough to be able to stop within the range of your headlights. Otherwise, by the time you see a hazard, you will not have time to stop. (2008 Texas CDL Manual Chapter 2.8)
Knowing this, KNOWING THIS, the Texas legislature goes and RAISES the nightime speed limit to 75MPH for tractor trailers! This means even if the truck driver is attentive and has his high beams on he cant stop in time.
Now I may not be bright compared to folks in the Texas legislature, but if my own book tells me at 55 MPH it takes a tractor trailer 290 feet to stop, and a tractor trailer driver can only see 250 feet at night with his low beams on, we have a problem. By the time a driver can see Something in the road IT IS TOO LATE TO STOP AT 55 MPH, much less 75 MPH. This problem even has a name, it is called "over driving" your headlights. Safety instructors, trucking companies, and truck drivers have known about this for decades. It is so well known it is even in the 2004 Texas CDL Manual!
If you, your children, or your parents have an engine problem or a flat tire at night, and cant get off the road, you are dead in Texas if a truck is behind you.
I have to think the Texas legislature loves truck companies lots more than us little folks in little cars.
Understand that the truck driver's are the fall guys here. If they are properly trained they will drive slower than the speed limit, within the distance they can see at night with their headlights. Truck companies generally don't train truck drivers that way because the faster the loads get delivered the more money a truck company makes. The victims are really you, me, and the truck drivers. I believe most truck drivers would follow the safety rules if they were properly trained.
The vehicle death rate in Texas from heavy trucks, which has been falling in recent years, is about to explode! Keep in mind that NAFTA is about to put Mexican trucks, which I don't believe are nearly as safe (see my prior blogs) as US licensed drivers and trucks, all over Texas as well! The next time you pass a graveyard in Texas make sure you take a moment to thank your Texas Legislators!
New California Child Seat Safety Law Raises Age Requirement
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Posted on Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011 
A couple weeks after National Child Passenger Safety Week, California passed an important child seat law that will make children across the state safer by raising the age and size required for a child to ride without a booster seat. The law, which was sponsored by state senator Noreen Evans and passed into law by Governor Brown on October 4th, will require all children under eight years old or shorter than 4’9’’ (whichever comes first) to use a safety chair.
The intent of the law is to ensure that safety belts will fit across children’s chests, rather than higher and closer to the neck. Federal groups like the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, National Transportation Safety Board and the American Academy of Pediatrics have been advocating for such regulations for years.
In fact, thirty states already have similar requirements.
California was once the leader in child seat safety laws. Back in 2000, the state passed the strictest child passenger safety laws in the country. But under Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, education on proper safety seat use became the focus rather than passing more and tougher laws.
Perhaps governor Schwarzenegger was overcome by the ever-powerful first grader lobby. Children look forward to getting into adult seats, and likely would oppose any regulation that keeps them strapped into a special seat any longer than absolutely necessary.
Hopefully, with this law in hand, parents can avoid an argument or fuss.
While this adjustment will probably be fairly seamless for families with kids currently under six years old, it seems unlikely that the new regulations will cause all parents of seven year olds to go out and buy car seats for the year. Of course, the cost of picking up a new car seat is well worth dramatically improving a child’s safety.
This law will certainly do some good, but regulation alone is not enough. Even though previous California administrations failed to keep up with the best child safety seat laws, the message that it’s nearly as important for parents to keep up with best practices for using the seats remains spot on.
A study by Safe Kids USA showed that although almost all parents used child safety seats, only 28 percent of parents were properly using them. So although the news here is that kids need to stay in safety seats until their a bit older, it’s a good opportunity to remind everyone that there are free resources out there to help you make sure you are fastening your child into his or her seat properly.
Just click over to the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration for a list of locations near you. Here is a map the California locations where you can get a brief tutorial on child seat safety best practices.
Photo Credit: Culpepper County Sherriff’s Office
Illinois Birth Injury Raises Concerns with Hospital Staff and Procedures
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A family in St. Louis, Ill. is dealing with a traumatic birth injury that they blame on Memorial Hospital medical professionals. Mistakes made during the pregnancy caused their daughter to have cerebral palsy. During the baby’s delivery, the parents allege that the doctor ruptured membranes, failed to perform in utero resuscitation, and failed to deliver the baby by C-section. This allegedly deprived the baby of sufficient oxygen during delivery, which resulted in a hypoxic brain injury.
Oxygen deprivation is the primary injury that starts a downward spiral, says the nonprofit group Birth Injury, which educates and increases awareness for individuals and families affected by birth injuries. Inappropriate use of medications, force, and medical instrumentation during a delivery can cause brain damage. Compression of the brain, cerebral contusions or bleeding, and tearing of brain tissue or blood vessels can lead to lifelong injuries. Prolonged contractions and pushing can also cause harm.
The extent of the cerebral palsy may vary depending upon the extent of the child’s oxygen deprivation. Low oxygen during delivery can also cause other injuries, sometimes even more significant than cerebral palsy. Speech and communication impairments, learning and behavioral disorders, as well as hearing and vision problems can occur. Damage to the heart, liver, kidney, and gastrointestinal tract caused by oxygen deprivation can be fatal.
Birth injuries can place a huge burden on families and escalate medical costs depending on how much around-the-clock care is needed. Individuals with more severe cases of cerebral palsy need physical, speech, and occupational therapy in addition to medications and devices to control muscle spasticity and pain. Sometimes surgery is needed to repair joints and muscles.
The Chicago birth injury lawyer Robert I. Briskman vigorously defends an individual and family’s right to hold the doctor or facility accountable for their child’s birth injury. The law firm of Briskman Briskman & Greenberg recommends getting legal counsel early on and works for your cause on a contingency basis, so there are no fees unless the case is successful. To learn more, visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com or call 877-595-HURT (4878).
Briskman Briskman & Greenberg
351 West Hubbard Street, Ste 810
Chicago, IL 60654
Robert Briskman is a Chicago birth injury lawyer and Chicago birth injury attorney with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.
