Driving while fatigued is a major problem for commercial truck drivers. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, truck drivers who are behind the wheel for more than eight hours are twice as likely to crash as other drivers.
In order to prevent such truck accidents, the federal government enforces rules about how many hours commercial truck drivers are allowed to drive. Under federal law, beginning in 2004, truck drivers were not allowed to drive more than 11 hours since beginning a shift, unless they take a 10 hour break. Drivers also cannot drive beyond the 14th consecutive hour after coming on duty, after 10 consecutive hours off duty.
Drivers also cannot drive after working 60 hours in a seven day period, or 70 hours during an eight day period. However, if truckers have taken 34 hours off duty, they are allowed to get behind the wheel, or “restart” their hours, which allow them to work 77 hours in seven days, or 88 hours in eight days.
In October 2005, new rules were implemented that allow drivers with sleeper berths in their trucks to split those 10 required hours off duty into two segments, one of at least eight hours in the sleeper berth, and one of at least two hours in the sleeper berth or off duty.
Under law, truck drivers must record their hours in logbooks, which are reviewed by inspectors. However, these logbooks can be easily falsified, and many truck drivers often drive while fatigued, which can result in truck accidents. If you are involved in a collision with a large truck, the truck driver as well as the trucking company can be held liable for your injuries. Call the Missouri tractor-trailer accident attorneys at Page Law, LLC at 314-322-8515 today for a free consultation on your case.
The Obama administration is reconsidering a poor decision made by the Bush administration to extend truck drivers’ hours of service. This previous decision has placed the driving public at the mercy of fatigued truckers who are a genuine threat to public safety. According to a news report, the Bush administration, urged by the trucking industry, issued a federal rule allowing truck drivers to put in up to 11 hours a day and cut down the rest time they must get between work weeks as well. Before this rule was passed, truckers were allowed to work only 10 hours behind the wheel each day. Going over opposition by federal courts and the government’s own Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the White House passed the rule anyway in October 2008.
This situation existed until the Obama administration worked out a deal recently with several safety advocacy groups to reconsider the Bush administration’s 11th hour rule. But here’s the worrisome part. Until the government is done reconsidering this rule, public safety is still in jeopardy because of tired truckers.
Missouri truck accident lawyers know that truck driver fatigue is a significant factor in many tractor trailer versus car, motorcycle, or other auto accidents. When a truck driver falls asleep at the wheel while operating an 80,000-pound vehicle, there is no question about the damage and devastation such a situation has the potential to cause. In a recent survey, 20 percent of long-haul truck drivers admitted to falling asleep at the wheel. That statistic in itself should tell us how often these dangerous situations are created on our roadways.
If you or a loved one has been injured by a tired, sleepy or fatigued truck driver, please contact Page Law to get more information about your legal rights and options. Our personal injury law firm can immediately alert our truck accident team and begin taking the same action as the truck company and their insurance company. Failure to file your claim promptly may forever bar your claim. The statutes of limitations vary from state to state and could limit the amount of time that a personal injury victim has to file a lawsuit. Please do not let this happen to you. Call skilled attorney John Page today at (866) 620-5757 for a free consultation and case evaluation.
Source:http://www.inthesetimes.com/working/entry/5188/driving_their_lives_away/
