Last week, we discussed the fatal truck collision involving comedian Tracy Morgan on this St. Louis personal injury law firm blog. Authorities have accused the truck driver in that case of being fatigued when he allegedly caused the deadly crash. While this accident might demonstrate to many people the needs for increased regulations to prevent fatigued truck drivers from taking to the roads across Missouri, Illinois, and the rest of the nation, that doesn’t appear to be the reality. Trucking industry lobbyists seem to be exerting their influence over Congress to see truck driver fatigue laws actually relaxed, not strengthened.
In fact, one such Department of Transportation rule which was passed not quite a year ago was recently dealt a blow by the Senate Appropriations Committee. The new regulation circles around requirements that truck drivers must take at least 34 hours off-duty after working 60 hours in a seven-day consecutive period, or after working 70 hours in an eight-day period.
That doesn’t seem like an overly onerous burden, considering that the average American worker gets at least two days off after working about 34.5
hours in a typical work week. Add in the fact that these truck drivers are handling vehicles that weigh thousands of pounds on our nation’s roadways, and it seems like common sense to make sure these individuals are well-rested before operating such large and dangerous machines.
In fact, the regulation in question was upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit just last year. Unfortunately, however, the trucking industry may be powerful enough to have this rule overturned by Congress.
What makes this even more incomprehensible to many people are the statistics that show just how hazardous truck driver fatigue is to innocent victims. Over the past five years, collisions that involved at least one commercial vehicle over the size of 10,000 pounds went up steadily. Furthermore, deaths in these accidents have risen by approximately 18 percent. According to government data from 2012, over 3,900 people died in large truck crashes that year; with another 104,000 people suffering injuries.
One more shocking statistic indicates that it is certainly the victims in smaller vehicles which suffer the most in collisions with large commercial trucks: over 70 percent of those who perish in these crashes were traveling in the other vehicles rather than the large trucks.
The fate of this Department of Transportation rule governing truck driver fatigue could soon be decided by Congress. The Senate is set to vote on a transportation bill which has a proposal to suspend the 34-hour break rule attached to it. Unfortunately, weakening truck safety legislation like this will almost certainly put the lives of innocent Americans at risk.
My St. Louis personal injury law firm is experienced in helping the victims of truck driver fatigue accidents pursue the justice that they deserve. Missouri and Illinois laws provide the victims of such accidents, or their surviving family members in the event of fatalities, the opportunity to pursue financial restitution in a civil court of law. Please call us toll-free at 1-888-586-7041 as soon as possible. We will schedule a free consultation to discuss the merits of your case and the possibility of filing a personal injury or wrongful death claim against the trucker and/or trucking company responsible for the injuries caused to you or your loved one.
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Source Article: Articles titled “Drowsy Drivers, Dangerous Highways: The Trucking Industry Wants to Weaken Safety Rules” by The New York Times Editorial Board.