However, he decided his speed was too great to permit the right angle turn. Headed east in the left lane of Piedmont Avenue, Hites entered the intersection and made the 450 left turn, toward the northeast, into Superior Street. There, the truck collided with four automobiles which in turn collided with three others, and four buildings were damaged. The collisions were in the following order:

1. An automobile driven by Laurin McChesney headed southwest on Superior, making a left turn into Garfield; this vehicle was thrust backward a considerable distance.

2. Automobile driven by Mrs. Edwin Erickson, following the McChesney auto; this vehicle was shoved into path of a pick-up truck going in the opposite direction.

3. Automobile headed southwest driven by Jame s Melin; vehicle forced backward, causing rear-end collisions with two other vehicles.

4. Auto driven by James Tarnowski, going northeast; this car crashed into a building.

5.

McChesney auto was hit by truck a second time.

6. Tractor and semitrailer became separated. The semitrailer collided with one building and ran partially through another. The tractor struck and came to rest against an adjoining building.

A six-year-old girl, a passenger in the Erickson automobile, was killed. Fifteen other persons, including the truck driver, were injured. Property damages were estimated at $46,600.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

This accident and its tragic consequences resulted directly from utter disregard of reasonable safety regulations and commonly accepted safe practices by a motor carrier engaged in commercial transportation upon public highways.

The commodity transported was an agricultural product, the transportation of which may be performed without operating autority and with no notice to this Commission. However, such transportation is subject to the Commission's motor carrier safety jurisdiction.

The truck was poorly maintained and the brakes were totally inadequate. The driver was only 18 years old, and inexperienced. Both the father and son had driven 1250 miles in an elapsed time of 56 hours, which included time spent in loading the vehicles and detecting and correcting mechanical difficulties. At no time had either driver obtained the minimum eight hours rest required by our regulations.

These violations are indefensible. While the carrier's explanation of its maintenance procedures relating to the tractor is not valid, we do note he had delegated this responsibility to the dealership from whom it was purchased. This was done with the alleged understanding the guarantee might be terminated if these services were performed by anyone else.

We emphasize that no motor carrier may transfer to others his obligation to comply fully with our Motor Carrier Safety Regulations.

This case is another in a series of serious accidents in which inadequate maintenance of brake systems was a major contributing cause. We again stress that motor carriers and their drivers must be better informed and must take more adequate measures to be certain that braking systems are constantly inspected and maintained.

As a result of this investigation, we have submitted information to the Department of Justice, which has resulted in filing a criminal action against the carrier.

Dated at Washington, D. C. this sixteenth day of

April, 1964.

By the Commission, Motor Carrier Board No. 2.

(SEAL)

HAROLD D. McCOY
Secretary

Copies of this report may be had without charge while the supply is available by addressing a request to the Bureau of Motor Carriers, Interstate Commerce Commission, Washington, D. C. 20423.

TRUCK AND BUS TIRE STUDY

Senator RIBICOFF. No mention was made in your statement of a truck and bus tire study that I understand is nearing completion by your Commission. Are you conducting such a study?

Mr. WEBB. We will ask Mr. Cox to explain that.

Mr. Cox. We have been energetically and seriously studving this problem. But may I say, sir, it is not nearing completion. We do not yet have a reasonable basis to assume that we know enough about the causes to warrant a response to your question the way you phrased it. We have looked carefully at every phase we can run down with respect to the front tire blowout cases of the last 2 years. We have looked most carefully into the question of tire fires.

Senator RIBICOFF. Have there been many of these blowouts or tire fires?

Mr. Cox. As to the front tire blowouts which resulted in accidents of a very serious nature, we have 206 recorded for 1964. With respect to tire fires, over a 4-year period we found a total of 506, I believe.

I think it is important for us to point out that we do not receive reports directly from this vast number of private and exempt carriers, but those carriers that we have looked into are extremely serious as to consequences. So it is not only the question of numbers as such, but the results of them that is so important.

RESULT OF EXERCISE OF REGULATORY POWER AS A CONTINUING PROCESS

Senator RIBICOFF. You are satisfied, then, that the fact of your having regulatory power for safety of buses and trucks in interstate commerce has resulted in a saving of life and health and a substantial amount of property and money in the United States?

Mr. Cox. Beyond any question I am convinced that is the fact, but I should not like to be understood as implying we are satisfied in

anv sense.

Senator RIBICOFF. In other words, as far as you are concerned, this is a continuing process with your agency, to do everything that you can as events come to your knowledge to increase the safety factors of whatever motor vehicles are within your jurisdiction?

Mr. Cox. Yes, sir, and it is my judgment that there are very many more problems ahead of us to be tackled than have been cured in the past.

Senator RIBICOFF. You have 99 inspectors. How many people work in your department directly involved in traffic safety?

Mr. WEBB. I will ask General Qualls to give the total.

Mr. QUALLS. We have a staff in Washington of about 44 people in this section of motor carrier safety, and we have 80 field offices throughout the United States. In those field offices there are 99 safety inspectors who spend practically their full time on safety work. We have 126 other people, field people, who spend part of their time on safety work.

Senator RIBICOFF. You don't have grants to give for research and things like that?

Mr. QUALLS. No, sir.

Senator RIBICOFF. But you are out in the field seeing what is taking place and coming up with safety suggestions and putting them into effect?

SAFETY MEETINGS WITH CARRIERS

Mr. QUALLS. We have safety meetings with carriers, and our people talk to their drivers and explain our regulations and promote safety. We urge the carriers to put in a safety program if they don't have one, and we help them develop one, the smaller carriers, if they don't have one. We actually inspect vehicles on the highways to see whether they are in compliance with our regulations as to operating safety. We put a lot of vehicles out of service which are eminently hazardous to operate, and we put some drivers out of service who have been driving too long. We do not have the traffic control on the highways-that is up to the States, the highway patrols. We work very closely with the highway departments, the motor vehicle safety departments, and the highway patrols of the various States.

COOPERATION FROM TRUCK AND BUS FLEET OWNERS

Senator RIBICOFF. Do you find that you have good cooperation from the owners of truck fleets and bus fleets under your jurisdiction?

Mr. QUALLS. Yes, sir; we think we have overall very fine cooperation from them. Most of them are interested in safety, because in addition to saving lives and injuries, it also is worth something to them in their insurance premiums. A lot of them tell us how they reduced their cost of insurance when their safety program has been improved. Senator RIBICOFF. So safety becomes not only a question of health but a question of dollars and cents?

Mr. QUALLS. That is right, both; yes.

Senator RIBICOFF. I want to thank you, Chairman Webb, and your associates for coming here. As the days go by we may be calling on you for some advice and guidance to try to bring something constructive into this field. Thank you very much for coming. Mr. WEBB. We would be glad to help all we can.

Senator RIBICOFF. We will adjourn until 10 o'clock tomorrow morning.

(Whereupon, at 11:45 a.m. the subcommittee recessed, to reconvene at 10 a.m., Friday, March 26, 1965.)