Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety (Advocates) sent the email below to Capitol Hill on July 24, 2021:
Tammy Huffman (Michigan), Truck Safety Coalition Volunteer: “On May 6, 2013, my husband’s twin brother, Tim Huffman, was killed by a distracted semitruck driver. Tim was a decorated war veteran with 3 tours in Iraq and had served as a military police officer. The semitruck driver was on Facebook at the time of the wreck. The crash into Tim’s police cruiser and subsequent collisions created a wreckage of vehicles that stretched about a mile long – all of which could have been prevented if the truck was equipped with automatic emergency braking (AEB). I am here today to speak for Tim, for my family and for all roadway users. We must have safety provisions like universal AEB in place to avoid these preventable tragedies.”
What Tammy Asks You To Do:
Congress must take action now in the infrastructure/transportation bill to prevent crashes, deaths & injuries.
- Require AEB on all new cars and trucks. AEB can prevent or mitigate crashes caused by speeding, distracted, drunk, drugged, and drowsy driving.
- The AEB requirement must:
- Include Class 3-6 trucks which are currently omitted in both the Senate bill (S. 2016) and the House bill (H.R. 3684).
- Ensure the systems detect and respond to vulnerable road users.
- Include a deadline for the final rule and compliance.
- Dangerous truck safety rollbacks must be stricken, including provisions to allow “teen truckers” in interstate commerce and exemptions from hours of service (HOS) rules intended to prevent truck driver fatigue.
For many first responders like Tim, the roadways are their offices. In his honor and memory and tens of thousands of families like Tammy’s whose loved ones are killed each year, safety advances must be made in this bill.