ARLINGTON, Va. — Truck drivers with prior crashes, violations and convictions are more susceptible to being involved in a future truck crash those with clean driving records, according to a recently released report from the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI).

The analyses in the report, which draw on data from more than half a million US truck drivers over a two-year timeframe, focus on a dozen driver behaviours that raise a driver’s risk of being involved in a truck crash by more than 50%.
 
“This research represents a major step forward in helping carriers sift through and prioritize the vast amount of information associated with driver MVRs or the new PSP system,” said Transport America executive vice-president and COO, Keith Klein.  “By understanding how driver histories relate to future crash probability, carriers can develop targeted solutions for minimizing future safety risks.  It is no coincidence that safety tends to improve as the prevalence of these problem behaviours decline.”
 
ATRI has compared these new findings to a series of parallel analyses the organization conducted in 2005, demonstrating the stability of numerous behaviour-based crash indicators. 

ATRI noted that the industry has seen dramatic safety improvements since the group conducted a similar study in 2005, including record low 2009 truck-involved crash rates and overall reductions in roadside violations.
 
The report includes a list of enforcement and industry best practices to combat the problem behaviours mentioned in the study, and also highlights top-performing US states – those which have maximized enforcement resources while minimizing truck crashes.
 
“The enforcement community is increasingly being asked to do more with less.  Research such as ATRI’s ‘crash predictor model’ can assist roadside inspectors and law enforcement officers in targeting specific driver behaviours that are more closely associated with increased likelihood of a future crash. This can help improve efficiency and ultimately save more lives,” said Steve Keppler, executive director of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance. “It is clear this research continues to demonstrate that a strong roadside inspection and traffic enforcement program is a vital tool in our safety toolbox.”
 
A copy of the report is available from ATRI at www.atri-online.org.