Accident Control System Developed Protects Trucking Firms From Liability

    BELLINGHAM, Wash.--May 1, 2001--Safe Transportation Systems, Inc. (STS) (OTCBB:SFTS) today released a legal opinion by David Lunny of Devlin, Jensen, Barristers and Solicitors, Vancouver, British Columbia, of the new STS Accident Control and Anti-Jackknife System.
    The opinion states, "...where STS safety system products are in manufacture and readily available to all new truck manufacturers and dealers, it is my considered opinion that failure to install the STS original equipment or any existing equivalent would in itself constitute a ground for liability in an action brought by any person suffering injury or loss arising from an accident that could have been avoided or minimized by its use."
    Mr. Lunny also stated, "Similarly, where sufficient passage of time has taken place to confirm the ready availability of the product, its effectiveness and its ease of retrofit installation, failure to install the after market version of the device on an existing tractor-trailer would in most instances be a valid ground for liability.
    "Further, where the product has attained the status of being relatively inexpensive and readily available, failure to install may be the grounds for an award of punitive and exemplary damages in addition to those awarded to compensate for losses suffered."
    Mr. Lunny is a member of the Bar of British Columbia, the Canadian Bar Association and the British Columbia Trial Lawyers Association. He has practiced exclusively as a trial lawyer for 20 years and has appeared in all trial appellate courts of British Columbia to the Supreme Court of Canada.
    The trucking industry transports about 75 percent of all goods sold in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. A large truck accident occurs roughly every minute somewhere in North America. The National Highway Traffic Administration reported March 29, 2001, that preliminary estimates of fatalities involving large truck crashes equaled 5,307 in 2000. Additionally, big rigs caused 142,000 injuries and 453,000 accidents in 1999.