Petitioners demand stronger trucking safety regs

The Truck Safety Coalition and the family of two teenage girls who were killed in a semi-truck crash last year are calling on the Department of Transportation to reform the nation’s truck safety laws.

Jerry and Marianne Karth of North Carolina raised more than 11,000 signatures in a petition they delivered to Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx on Monday to improve road safety, after their daughters, AnnaLeah and Mary, died when two semi-trucks collided one year ago this week.

The petition calls for the Transportation Department to raise the required minimum level of insurance that truck drivers must obtain to $3.2 million. This insurance policy protects the families of people who were injured by a truck driver, but it has not been raised in three decades.

They also call for the Transportation Department to move forward with an electronic logging device rule that would allow the agency to monitor drivers’ hours to help prevent against fatigue.

The petition also calls for the Transportation Department to improve the safety standards for rear underride guards, a meal barrier on the back of semi-trucks to prevent cars from sliding under the vehicle.

The petition can be viewed here.