Semi crashes can be reduced

TTHE KANSAS CITY STAR he number of fatalities involving semis and other large trucks is spiking, making our highways increasingly perilous for drivers. And both federal regulators and the trucking industry have refused to take relatively simple steps to mandate the installation of new technology that could prevent rear-end collisions — a fact that should spark outrage and action.

With deadly accidents involving semis on the rise, heavy truck manufacturers should commit to installing automatic emergency braking, forward collision warning systems and other high-tech safety features in new rigs. Congress should require all semis on the road to be equipped with collision avoidance technology regardless of model, make or year.

Each year, at least 300 people are killed and another 15,000 are injured in wrecks involving a semi that runs into the back of another vehicle, a study found. Since the summer of 2017, at least eight people involved in rear-end truck crashes in the Kansas City area have died. Nationwide, more than 4,300 people were killed in accidents involving big rigs in 2016.

Those numbers should spur demands for long overdue regulations that would improve safety in the industry. It’s bewildering and indefensible that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has failed to mandate needed changes during the past two decades.

Requiring forward collision avoidance systems is a simple fix that could prevent more than seven out of 10 rearend truck collisions, according to companies that have installed the equipment.