Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety (Advocates) sent the message below to Congress on July 26, 2021:
Please take 2 minutes to read this message from Eileen Kosc (Delaware), Truck Safety Coalition Volunteer: “I was driving home from the beach with my sons, Brandon and Bryan, when a box truck struck our car. Bryan, who was only seven years old, did not survive. Bryan was such a lovable, caring child – friended the shy children in his class and brought so much laughter to everyone who met him – loved to dance, sing songs in the car, played soccer and baseball making the all star team the spring before he died. He did not deserve to die so young. Now is the time to mandate automatic emergency braking (AEB) for ALL trucks. No exceptions and no excuses. I call on President Biden to support this crucial upgrade. We both are Delawareans and we both know the pain and suffering of losing precious family members in a preventable truck crash. Please do this for Bryan and for other families like ours. It should not be a difficult decision.”
What Eileen 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.
In honor and memory of the tens of thousands of families like Eileen’s who lose loved ones each year in preventable crashes, safety improvements must be made in this bill. A drive home after a day at the beach should involve happy memories of sand and waves, not a deadly crash that could have been prevented.