What to do if you’re involved in a crash

An unfortunate reality of life on the road are crashes, and even the most cautious of drivers can’t always avoid them.

So what should you do in the event of a crash?

“Live From Exit 24” host Mike Matousek and OOIDA Executive Vice President Lewie Pugh will be joined by Jennifer Harris and Margo Fries from OOIDA’s Claims Department on this week’s show to offer guidance on how drivers should best handle a crash.

Learn how to protect yourself, the appropriate steps to take, what to ask your insurance company, and more.

Share your thoughts by calling 317-67-OOIDA (317-676-6432) at 7 p.m. Central time on Dec. 1, to be a part of the next “Live From Exit 24.”

Every other Wednesday, OOIDA’s live, hourlong internet talk show brings insightful discussions on the regulatory and legislative issues that matter to truckers.

Listeners can tune in to the show on the “Live From Exit 24” website, OOIDA Facebook page, OOIDA’s YouTube channel, iHeartRadio and Apple Podcasts.

Past episodes are archived on the show’s website.

On the Nov. 17 “Live From Exit 24,” the infrastructure bill was the focus with Matousek, Pugh, OOIDA President Todd Spencer and OOIDA Director of Government Affairs Collin Long proving their insight.

“It was supposed to be done a year ago,” Long said. “By and large, the biggest positive thing for truckers is that robust investment in infrastructure over the next five years from the highway bill and over the next 10 years from the bipartisan infrastructure package. You’ll certainly see a lot of projects advance and roads and bridges being brought up to a state of good repair.”

“It’s about time. This is something that’s been sorely needed for a long time,” Spencer said. “It’s not fun when you hear about a major bridge over a large body of water that’s been shut down because it’s got big cracks in it. That’s not good news and can really change your route plans. I’m happy that Congress finally got off the dime and did something.”

The funding component is also viewed as a win, Long said.

“This doesn’t reach directly into the pockets of truckers to take money out to pay for this,” Long said. “From where we were standing a year ago, that’s certainly a success for us.”

Underride guards are a hot topic among the numerous issues related to this legislation.

“There are interest groups where people have been involved in crashes where they run into the side of trailers,” Spencer said. “Those kind of crashes don’t happen often, but they do happen. For a lot longer, there’s been crashes where people run into the backs of trailers, and those happen with a lot greater frequency. There are lots of factors that go into that. Oftentimes, speed variants and things like speed limiters play a role in that. We’ve always been proponents of doing everything you can to make the end of a trailer more forgiving. When it comes to the side stuff, it’s a little different deal with all the places trucks have to go.”

As for the question of why no parking was included in the bill.

“The Senate probably wanted to push through a bill that there was virtually no opposition to any provisions,” Spencer said. “There are opponents of the kind of parking we have been pushing for. The biggest one is Natso, which represents truck stop operators. They don’t want any public parking for trucks. They want parking at truck stops. They have a voice in Washington, D.C., and there’s probably a truck stop in every congressional district in the country.”

Bringing the National Consumer Complaint Database up to speed is another emphasis in the bill.

“FMCSA and the Department of Transportation finally realized it isn’t functioning in the manner it’s supposed to,” Long said. “There’s a lack of attention and a lack of resources for it. The bill requires there to be an analysis of it … and take steps to address it.”

Spencer drew a comparison to the Truck Safety Hotline, but he hopes they “do it right this time.”

There’s some good and some bad in the bill, but getting something done was seen as a positive.

“I’m glad it finally got done,” Spencer said. “There’s lots of stuff in there we’re not so keen on, but we need roads, we need bridges – Congress do something.”

‘Live From Exit 24’ survey

“Live From Exit 24” launched as a way to expand OOIDA’s communication with members and to hear directly from drivers across the industry.

OOIDA wants truck drivers to fill out a survey to let the Association know how they are liking the show so far. The survey can be found here. LL