Report: Public Agencies Should Buy Smaller, Safer Trucks

Public service and safety vehicles are involved in a larger accident rate per capita than any other vehicle. One thing that might help this is designing a better vehicle to accommodate the job it does. This is a complex matter , as first response vehicles typically carry large of heavy amounts of cargo, such as fire and waste management trucks, or must carry a wide variety of equipment and supplies, such as an ambulance and have room to work.

Key Takeaways:

• A new report has outlined the need for public agencies to concentrate not on buying large vehicles but on buying vehicles with improved design to reduce fatalities.
• Over the past year, overall traffic fatalities declined slightly but fatalities from large trucks increased by 9 percent.
• Larger vehicles and trucks make it difficult for street designers to improve safety for everyone because large vehicles need wider lanes, larger turning radii, and considerable space to park.

“Large vehicles — including fire trucks, waste management vehicles, and freight trucks — count for a disproportionate, and growing, number of fatalities on U.S. streets.”

Read more: https://www.government-fleet.com/321071/report-public-agencies-should-buy-smaller-safer-trucks