PENNSYLVANIA Report links rise in fiery crashes to increased truck traffic

The death of a prominent lobbyist spurred the Legislature to conduct the study.
HARRISBURG (AP) -- As drivers hit the highways for the travel-heavy Fourth of July weekend, a new study says a decade-long increase in truck traffic on Pennsylvania roads has also led to a 31 percent rise in the number of fiery crashes involving large trucks.
The Legislative Budget and Finance Committee studied 1,045 large-truck crashes involving fire over the 10-year period ending in 2000, accidents that resulted in 195 deaths. The committee's findings were released earlier this week.
During the same period, there were 15,000 deaths in 1.4 million vehicle crashes of all types, and 85 percent had nothing to do with trucks.
"The actual proportion of [fiery crashes that involve trucks] is small, but unfortunately, when a fire occurs, it has such a potential for having some sort of catastrophic or tragic results," said Sgt. Vincent Babich, motor carrier safety coordinator for the state police.
It was just such a catastrophe that led lawmakers to mandate the fiery-crash study last year. Prominent lobbyist Thomas J. McCormac III was killed and his business partner, Rocco Pugliese, badly burned in July 2001 when their car was struck from behind by a poultry truck in a highway-construction work zone on Interstate 81 in Lackawanna County.
John H. Rowe, the committee's chief analyst and author of the 66-page report, said while there was a suspicion that the McCormac fatality was not an isolated event, such accidents are rare.
Findings
The study concluded that 70 percent of all big-rig fires were caused by mechanical failure such overheated brakes, and most do not involve a collision even though they are reported as crashes.
Injuries occurred 17 percent of the time, resulting in 424 victims over 10 years.
Among the report's recommendations are speeding up implementation of vehicle-safety measures in the state's "unified truck safety strategy;" asking the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to add tractor-trailer fires to its annual crash statistics; and giving drivers tips about how to prevent such accidents.
Improvements to fuel-system safety technology and onboard fire-suppression systems may help lower truck-crash fires in the future, according to the report.
Babich said a state police crackdown on commercial vehicles that began seven years ago is one reason overall truck-crash fatalities have fallen by 31 percent since peaking at 227 deaths in 1999.
Police have targeted problem areas and imposed a zero-tolerance policy for equipment and moving violations.
The numbers of trucks on Pennsylvania roads is expected to continue to rise if the economy improves, said Jim Runk, president of the Camp Hill-based Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association, which represents 2,300 member companies.
"I think what people need to do is ... learn to have a little bit more patience on the highway," Runk said.