Truck driver safety has been hotly debated over the past several decades, with many advocates in Missouri, Illinois and throughout the country pushing for increased regulations to protect the public and truck drivers alike. Unfortunately, it often seems like it takes highly publicized truck accidents for much headway to be made in truck driver safety. For instance, back in 1967, movie star and pin-up model Jayne Mansfield lost her life in a grisly truck accident. The truck accident occurred when Mansfield’s vehicle rear-ended a tractor-trailer; and all adults in the vehicle died due to the height of their heads when their car smashed into the rear of the truck. The children in the vehicle fortunately survived.
In the wake of that infamous truck accident, safety regulations were enacted requiring steel bars to be placed at the back of tractor-trailers to help protect occupants in other vehicles in the event of rear-end collisions. More recently, a deadly semi collision involving famed comedian Tracy Morgan and several fellow comedians made the news and highlighted other safety issues related to commercial truck driving. In the recent crash, truck driver fatigue is believed to be at the heart of the matter and safety advocates are pushing for further reform in the industry.
Officials believe that the truck driver may have been traveling in excess of 20 mph higher than the speed limit at the time of the accident. Additionally, investigators allege that the truck driver had been awake for at least 24 hours before smashing into the back of Morgan’s vehicle. The accident led to serious injuries for several of the occupants, and killed one man.
Tragically, this is only one of many truck accidents which will kill Americans this year. According to national statistics:
- Approximately 4,000 victims die in commercial trucking accidents;
- Nearly 100,000 individuals suffer injuries in truck accidents;
- At least 13 percent of truck accidents are caused by fatigued driving — but the number could be much higher due to suspected underreporting.
Before this accident, some politicians were attempting to actually reverse a more stringent requirement which had been placed on the hours of rest time that truck drivers must take each week. This reversal would also have increased the number of hours a trucker could work in an eight-day period from 70 to 82. It would have allowed truckers to take only a one-night “restart” period before starting the next work week, rather than two.
One bright spot in the extremely tragic truck accident involving Tracy Morgan and the other victims is that this reversal fizzled out, leaving the stricter rules in place: for now.
Those Missouri and Illinois residents who have been impacted by a truck accident suspected to have been caused by a lack of truck driver safety have the right to seek civil restitution in a court of law. By dialing my St. Louis personal injury law firm at 1-888-586-7041, you can learn more about your rights under personal injury and wrongful death laws. Both this phone call and an initial consultation will be free of charge, and we take cases on a contingency basis. Please keep in mind that truck drivers and their trucking companies will have attorneys fighting to protect them in court. It can only help you to make sure that you have an experienced truck accident attorney fighting on your side, as well.
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Source Article: http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2014/09/10/3565820/tracy-morgan-truck-driver-pay-regulations/