Nationwide, United States
Analysis of Benefits and Costs of Roll Stability Control Systems for the Trucking Industry
Summary Information
The goal of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is to reduce the number and severity of commercial motor vehicle (CMV) crashes. Over the last several years, FMCSA has collaborated with the trucking industry to test, evaluate, and encourage the deployment of several onboard safety systems (OSS) for CMVs in an effort to enhance the safety of all roadway users. As part of an ongoing FMCSA effort to encourage voluntary adoption of onboard safety systems, this analysis builds on previous field operational testing by refocusing benefit-cost assessments from more general societal impacts to targeted motor-carrier-industry outcomes, since motor carriers are the end-users responsible for investment and deployment of OSS.
FINDINGS
According to the crash data for 2001–2005 provided by the General Estimates System (GES), an average of 2,079 injury and 1,626 PDO rollovers occurred involving combination trucks with a pre-crash movement of negotiating a curve. Additionally, an average of 137 fatal rollover crashes occurred. Rates of effectiveness or crash prevention rates represent the percentage of crashes that RSC systems would have a high probability of preventing. Using information from simulations and motor carrier feedback, a range of efficacy rates was determined, 53% and 37% respectively, and used to estimate the portion of these types of crashes that could be preventable by RSC systems. Table 1 provides the estimated numeric range of crashes preventable by RSC systems which is obtained by multiplying the number of crashes by the rates of effectiveness.
RSC Efficiency Rates | PDO (Property Damage Only) Rollovers | Injury Rollovers | Fatal Rollovers | Total |
37% | 602 | 769 | 51 | 1,422 |
53% | 862 | 1,102 | 73 | 2,037 |