For the second time in less than one month, five innocent lives were lost on Georgia's Interstate 16 near Savannah when the driver of a tractor-trailer failed to stop—or even apply the brakes—before slamming into helpless drivers trapped in standstill traffic in front of them.

These two tragic crashes occurred just miles apart and have eerie similarities that highlight one very stark reality: lives are being lost at an alarming rate due to the recklessness, carelessness or otherwise lack of awareness by tractor-trailer drivers in Georgia and across the nation, and we as a country are not doing enough to change that.

For years now, highway safety advocates have called on Congress, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to address the disturbing number of commercial motor vehicle-related fatalities and injuries across the country. And, while incremental progress has been made in certain areas, there are still many options readily available that would immediately and significantly make our highways safer for everyone.