North Carolina residents in the trucking industry may be interested to hear that a bill was introduced in the House of Representatives on July 16 that would require automatic emergency braking on all new CMVs. The bill is likely to create controversy among truck fleet owners, especially those who may not be able to pay $500 for every AEB system they need.
One of the three congresspeople who introduced the bill proposed a similar bill back in 2015, but it failed. This new bill comes just as members of the Truck Safety Coalition, a non-profit organization, were arriving in the nation’s capital to push for improved truck safety regulations. Besides mandatory AEB use, the coalition advocates the use of speed limiters and the installation of front and side guards to protect ride-under accidents.
At the behest of the Truck Safety Coalition, two of the three congresspeople have proposed a bill called the INSURANCE Act, which calls for recurrent adjustments of minimum insurance requirements for motor carriers. These adjustments would be based on the Bureau of Labor Statistic’s inflation rate of medical costs.
Automatic emergency brakes, which can prevent rear-end collisions, among other things, are proven to save lives. It should be known that many members of the Truck Safety Coalition have lost loved ones to truck accidents.
Those who survive a truck collision may be left with catastrophic injuries, which can require long-term medical care and possibly keep victims from ever finding employment again. By pursuing a personal injury case, victims may be reimbursed for their losses. North Carolina follows the strict rule of contributory negligence, which means that plaintiffs can only recover damages if the defendant was 100% at fault. To ensure as strong a case as possible, victims may want to hire an attorney.
