Currently the United States department of Transportation does not require commercial medium and heavy duty trucks to have airbags, a standard safety item required on all other passenger vehicles. The understanding that law makers have to support the lack of an airbag law for commercial trucks and semis is that the size of the trucks will protect the driver in the event of an accident. While this may hold some merit in accidents that involve big rigs and passenger vehicles, in accidents that are semi verses semi the size of the trucks does nothing but cause more damage and personal injury. While air bags will probably not avoid injury to the truck drivers it may lessen the servery of their injuries. Regardless the size of a vehicle should we take all precautionary measures that are available to help protect all drivers? Think about it without truck drivers the country would stop moving, lets keep they safe.

In November 2017 my Fiancee was involved in a trucking accident, his 24ft box truck verses a full size semi. He rear ended an illegally parked semi on the shoulder of the Indiana Toll Road. The force of the impact threw him over his steering wheel then slammed him back into his seat. Among other injuries the most devastating and life changing injury he received was a spinal cord injury. His T5 spinal cord injury means that he is paralyzed from his upper chest down and is now wheelchair bound. Spinal cord injuries are not like broken bones where they just heal within a few weeks and you are back to your normal day to day life. Spinal cord injuries are life long injuries even if you regain the ability to walk, not only are the life changing for the person with the injury it also greatly impacts the family of the person with the injury. Because of current United States Department of Transportation regulations his truck was not required to have an airbag. Although he would still have injuries if there was an airbag it is very likely that his injuries would be much less severe and it is possible he would not have injured his spinal cord. With all that we have been through with his spinal cord injury I do not want any other family to have to experience this. Airbags are such a simple thing, they are required in all passenger vehicles why not in bigger trucks? Shouldn't we be taking all measures possible to protect all drivers on the road? Think about it, if there are no truck drivers the country would stop moving.