AN ANALYSIS OF COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS IN COMMERCIAL ZONES

Motor vehicle carriers engaged in the transport of interstate goods within Commercial Zones (CZs) are exempt from the Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (MCSR) of the U.S. Department of Transportation (Parts 390-397). There has been concern that disqualified drivers and poorly maintained vehicles may be contributing excessively to motor vehicle accidents in CZs. It was the objective of the study to (1) collect accident data from CZs and identify accidents attributed to disqualified drivers; (2) compare the accident rates of qualified and disqualified drivers; (3) identify CZ accidents caused by vehicle defects; (4) determine how much vehicle mechanical condition non-compliance limits vehicle use to CZ operations; (5) determine the extent that CZ vehicles are subject to state vehicle inspection laws; (6) determine exposure of CZ drivers to various types of highways; (7) determine the number of interstate carriers operating under the CZ exemption; and (8) determine the cost to carriers, using the CZ exemption, of implementing the MCSR in all CZs. To answer these questions, six Commercial Zones were surveyed: Atlanta, Philadelphia, Louisville, Kansas City, Houston, and Los Angeles. Forty-nine motor carriers provided 1974 data on 1460 drivers, who had 387 traffic accidents. These data are used as a basis for extrapolations to the national level.

• Corporate Authors:

  Center for the Environment and Man, Incorporated

  275 Windsor Street
  Hartford, CT  United States  06120

  Bureau of Motor Carrier Safety

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Northrop, G M
  • Reidy, J C
  • Costenoble, K C
• Publication Date: 1976-4

Media Info

• Pagination: 207 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Commercial transportation; Common carriers; Crash injury research; Crashes; Drivers; Maintenance; Metropolitan areas; Research; Safety; Statistical analysis; Traffic crashes; Trucks
• Uncontrolled Terms: Motor vehicle accidents
• Geographic Terms: California; Georgia; Kansas; Kentucky; Pennsylvania; Texas
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Maintenance and Preservation; Motor Carriers; Research; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00147362
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: CEM-4176-546, FHWA-BMCS-76-1
• Contract Numbers: DOT-FH-11-8560
• Files: NTIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Mar 15 2002 12:00AM