Heard the good news?

According to truck Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) figures just released by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and previously released National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) data on crashes, the trucking industry is safer than ever.

The truck-involved fatality rate in 2008 declined 12.3 percent to 1.86 per 100 million miles from 2.12 per 100 million miles in 2007.

This decline marks the largest year-to-year drop ever and the fifth consecutive year the fatality rate has improved.

Since new Hours-of-Service regulations took effect in 2005, the truck-involved fatality rate has come down more than 20 percent and is at its lowest since the U.S. Department of Transportation began keeping those records in 1975.

The fatality rate has declined more than 66 percent since 1975.

Persons injured in large truck crashes went from 44.4 per 100 million miles to 39.6, an 11 percent reduction.

The decline can, obviously, be attributed to trucking’s commitment to safety.

However, I also attribute trucking’s safety improvement to better preventive maintenance and repair. After all, no matter how well a trucker drives, he isn’t safe unless his equipment is in good operating condition.

To those of you involved in vehicle maintenance and repair I say: Great job! Keep it up.

Throughout each year, motor carrier safety officials carry out inspections on interstate trucks and drivers.

Vehicles can be placed “out of service” when, by reason of its mechanical condition or loading, they would likely cause an accident or breakdown.

Drivers can be placed out of service for violating the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Hours-Of-Service regulations. These place specific limits on the amount of time a driver can drive a commercial motor vehicle, and how many total hours a driver can work each day and each week.

The top 10 states with the highest out-of-service rates for interstate trucks last year were, in order:

- Nebraska

- Connecticut

- Utah

- Colorado

- Missouri

- Arizona

- Idaho

- Delaware

- Louisiana

- Wyoming

The top 10 states with the highest out-of-service rates for drivers, in order, were:

- Oregon

- Connecticut

- Arizona

- Wyoming

- Utah

- Minnesota

- Idaho

- Georgia

- Maine

- Arkansas

What I’m curious about is: Are these states more aggressive in their inspection of vehicles and drivers, or are fleets that operate and through these states paying less attention to vehicle maintenance?

I welcome your thoughts and comments.