IRU awards American scientist, Dr Ronald R. Knipling the IRU Order of Merit.

Brussels - The International Road Transport Union (IRU) is pleased to announce that it has awarded the IRU Order of Merit to US Scientist, Ronald R. Knipling, Ph.D. in recognition of his outstanding scientific work on the main causes of accidents involving heavy good vehicles.

Presenting the IRU Order of Merit at the 1st IRU/EU Presidency Road Transport Conference and Ministerial Meeting in Brussels, Belgium, IRU President, Janusz Lacny, said: “This is the very first time that a scientist has been awarded with the IRU Order of Merit. In the past, only 2 Prime Ministers, 8 Ministers and 2 Secretaries General of International Organisations have been awarded with this prestigious award.  The IRU today honours Dr Knipling’s impressive road safety work, which helps address the main causes of accidents involving heavy commercial vehicles and confirms, in a scientific and comprehensive way, the findings of the previous EU road safety studies, such as the EU-funded European Truck Accident Causation Study (ETAC). He added “Indeed, as Dr Knipling’s work clearly demonstrates that human behaviour is the main cause of accidents involving heavy commercial vehicles and that professional training, as provided through the IRU Academy, is the best means to effectively improve road safety.” 

Dr Knipling thanked the IRU and its American Member Association, the American Trucking Associations (ATA) for the award and continuous support. He then highlighted the importance of crash risk factors - conditions which make crashes more or less likely to occur and regulatory compliance in truck safety.  He concluded by saying, “The safest and most successful transport companies are those that comply with all regulations but also take initiatives beyond compliance.  They field the best drivers, equip their vehicles for safety, and plan their operations from a safety perspective.”

Ronald R. Knipling, Ph.D. has more than 30 years experience in truck and traffic safety with emphasis on driver human factors research and training, including driver risk, crash causation, driver fatigue and carrier safety management.  He is the author of the first and only comprehensive textbook on Large Truck Safety, Safety for the Long Haul; Large Truck Crash Risk, Causation, & Prevention.

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Read the executive summary of the European Truck Accident Causation Study (ETAC)

See the highlights of the 1st IRU/EU Presidency Road Transport Conference and Ministerial Meeting 

Press contact: Juliette Ebélé, +41 22 918 27 07, Press@iru.org