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IN THE NEWS: IRE and NICAR offer data, stories and tipsheets to help cover the latest
Other resources for covering the news
Tanker Truck Accident and Fire
(Jan. 13, 2003)
A tanker truck carrying flammable materials and a tractor-trailer involved in a fatal accident on Interstate 95 near Baltimore, creating a possibly hazardous chemical spill and fire. IRE and NICAR have resources that will help reporters understand the effects of such an accident.
Databases
Some databases, maintained by the IRE and NICAR Database Library, could be helpful.
The Fatality Analysis Reporting System contains information on fatal accidents -- including those involving tanker trucks -- on public U.S. roads that resulted in the death of one or more people within 30 days of the accident. The data offers details on the accident, vehicles and drivers, and passengers.
The truck accidents database consists of accidents that involve commercial vehicles that weigh more than 10,000 pounds, as reported by state DOT agencies. It includes details on location and details of the accident, plus information about the carrier involved.
The U.S. Department of Transportation's truck census database contains records on each company that has commercial interstate vehicles weighing more than 10,000 pounds. This group includes buses, semis and shippers of hazardous materials. The data does not give specific details about individual trucks.
The HazMat database contains the incident reports of unintentional releases of hazardous materials for all modes of transportation (air, highway, railway and water). The Hazardous Materials Incident Report Subsystem is maintained by the Department of Transportation.
To order the data, call the Database Library at 573-884-7711 or download an order form.
Stories
To order stories from the IRE Resource Center, send e-mail to rescntr@ire.org or call us at 573-882-3364.
Story #19831
In an eight-month investigation in 2002, The Detroit News examined the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and found "the federal
agency created 35 years ago to make vehicles safer is failing consumers,
leading to at least 3,100 deaths and 18,000 injuries each year."
Story #8795
The Los Angeles Times analyzed 68,000 hazardous materials incidents from around the United States and found the number had risen 37 percent from 1982 to 1991. Injuries to people as a result of truck spills rose 374 percent, and almost all of the deaths -- 106 out of 108 -- involved tanker trucks. Gasoline, ammonia and sulfuric acid are the most dangerous liquids transported. The story also gives account of the death of a whole family as a result of a gasoline truck accident. Published: Sept. 1992.
Story #20113
The Columbia Daily Tribune reports that "big trucks have fallen short of paying their fair share of highway expenses over the years -- cruising below the radar of policymakers all the while." Published: 2000.
Story #18512
A Los Angeles Times investigation finds that truckers are at fault in about half of all California large-truck crashes. In the first of three parts reporters reveal that on a single day in August 1998 there were 139 truck accidents on California roads. The Long Beach Freeway is the highway portion with the greatest concentration of truck accidents along any highway mile in the state, the report reveals. Heavy traffic and the illogical way that fast and slow lanes are located along the highway make "a recipe for wrecks." A major finding is that new technology could make trucks safer, but at a price. Published: 1991.
Story #18724
The News-Journal in Daytona Beach investigates increasing truck fatalities in Florida. The investigation found that average truck weights are increasing, Florida's weight limits are some of the most lenient in the country and the Florida Trucking Association gave $163,200 to legislative candidates between 1996 and 2000, lobbying vigorously against strengthening weight and safety laws. Published: 2001.
Story #12584
This computer-assisted investigation by the Press Herald in Portland, Maine, examines car accidents involving commercial trucks after a series of Maine accidents in 1993 and 1994 killed five people and injured 13 others. Findings showed that 60 percent of fatal collisions on the interstate highway system in Maine involved trucks. Also, Maine's truck safety laws were found to be weak and federal enforcement efforts have been cut. Published: 1995.
Search for more stories in IRE's Resource Center.
Tipsheets
To order tipsheets from the IRE Resource Center, send e-mail to rescntr@ire.org or call us at 573-882-3364.
Tipsheet #1290
Dawn Fallik, a panelist for the computer-assisted reporting conference in 2000, lists Web sites for researching transportation including crash and accident data, trucking, hazardous materials, airlines, railroads, school bus safety and FAA.
Tipsheet #1537
Jennifer LaFleur of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch offers tips for covering transportation, including tips on where to find good data and good Web sites.
Tipsheet #1903
Steve Power of The Wall Street Journal offers a guide to opening up the Department of Transportation, as well as other ways to make the most out of transportation news.
Tipsheet #244
"Covering the Aftermath of a Disaster" makes suggestions for disaster-coverage, particularly focusing on preparedness. From the San Francisco Chronicle.
Tipsheet #776
Ideas for covering traffic safety issues, using state and local data available in most jurisdictions. From a panel given by Andrew Lehren, Rick Linsk, Bob Warner and David Milliron at the 1998 CAR Conference.
Search for more tipsheets in IRE's Resource Center.
IRE Publications
The Investigative Reporter's Handbook, Brant Houston's Computer-Assisted Reporting book and other helpful publications are available from IRE and NICAR.
The Investigative Reporter's Handbook discusses investigating trucking and truck accidents on pages 461-62, transportation safety issues on pages 449-51 and the transportation of hazardous waste on pages 464-65. Chapter 18 has a list of transportation-related Web sites.
IRE members can search the indexes of The IRE
Journal and Uplink. Back issues of The IRE Journal and Uplink may be purchased for $10 each. There is
an additional $10 user fee for nonmembers. Check with the Resource Center at 573-882-3364 or
rescntr@ire.org for availability.
Web Links
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Jeff Porter
Database Library Director
IRE and NICAR
E-mail: jeff@ire.org
Voice: 573-882-1982
Fax: 573-882-5431
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Beth Kopine
Research Director
IRE Resource Center
E-mail: beth@ire.org
Voice: 573-882-6668
Fax: 573-884-8151
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