Sleep-deprived truck drivers have been a topic of debate, particularly since the traumatic accident that severely injured actor and comedian Tracy Morgan and killed his friend in 2014. There is evidence to show that the truck driver that caused the accident had been awake for more than 28 hours and had been on duty for about 13 and a half hours at the time of the crash. This type of negligent behavior is not isolated to this incident, but unfortunately can be common throughout the trucking industry as companies want to maximize revenue. Attempts have been made to change the laws governing the hours that truck driver may work, but more legislative action is necessary or these types of crashes will continue to take innocent victim’s lives.
Below are five striking statistics with respect to truck-related accidents:
- The death toll in truck-involved crashes rose 17 percent from 2009 to 2013.
- Fatalities in truck-involved crashes have risen four years in a row, reaching 3,964 in 2013.
- During 2013 alone, 691 truck drivers or passengers of large trucks were killed.
- Injuries involving large trucks in 2013 impacted as many as 95,000 people.
- Large-truck drivers in 2013 had the highest percentage (15{7dff60334df83244b79b5471a8769907d27e202ac622cbe5ff51878e61595e62}) of previously recorded crashes compared to drivers of other vehicle types (motorcycles, 12.9{7dff60334df83244b79b5471a8769907d27e202ac622cbe5ff51878e61595e62}; passenger cars, 12.8{7dff60334df83244b79b5471a8769907d27e202ac622cbe5ff51878e61595e62}; and light trucks, 12.4{7dff60334df83244b79b5471a8769907d27e202ac622cbe5ff51878e61595e62}).
These statistics are based on the latest information available as published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Existing Federal Trucking Regulations
Federal regulations do exist to limit the drive time between periods of rest for truck drivers. The latest regulations limit truckers to 60 hours of on duty time per week and 11 hours of drive time per day. Further, there is a mandatory resting period of 34 hours each week, in order for drivers to get at least two consecutive nights of sleep a week. There has been pushback by the trucking industry, who is opposed to these regulations, which can affect their bottom line.
For a full list of the regulations, visit the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration site.
If you have questions about the current rules and regulations impacting truck drivers, or if you have been involved in a trucking-related accident, contact Marc Matthews at McIntyre Thanasides Bringgold Elliott Grimaldi & Guito, P.A.
We can’t lower the fatalities that is happening if our trucking industry don’t know how to manage their truck drivers to be safe always. On the contrary, every Trucking company must have an updated rules and regulations on them. Giving your truck drivers an update to every new rules that being implemented is one way to avoid this situation. Also keep your newly hired driver to have a short briefing about the safeness when they are on the road.