Over the last few years, fatal truck accidents have been on an uptick in Pennsylvania and around the country. However, a coalition of truck safety advocates believes that passing regulations mandating the use of speed limiters and automatic emergency braking, or AEB, systems could help reverse the troubling trend.

Road Safe America, the Truck Safety Coalition, and other truck safety groups have been trying to get the U.S. government to pass rules requiring the use of speed limiters and AEB systems since 2006. However, neither Republican nor Democratic presidential administrations have been able to get the job done. As a result, the groups are pushing President Trump to step up and tell the U.S. Department of Transportation to adopt the rules.

Speed limiters are already installed in most commercial large trucks, but not all drivers turn the devices on. According to the coalition, a study by the Federal Motor Carrier Administration found that trucks that don’t use speed limiters were 200 percent more likely to get into a highway-speed truck crash than trucks that use the devices. Meanwhile, other research shows that AEB systems could prevent an estimated 2,500 truck crashes each year. However, not everyone is on board with the proposed rules. Trucking industry groups say that speed limiters are useless unless passenger vehicles are also required to slow down. They argue that it is unsafe to have vehicles moving at vastly different speeds on highways.

Victims of accidents caused by truck driver negligence could be owed financial compensation for a variety of damages, including medical expenses, lost wages and property loss. A personal injury attorney could gather evidence supporting a victim’s claim and help prepare a lawsuit. In some cases, the attorney could negotiate settlement with the at-fault party’s insurance company.