FMCSA Provides Data on Safety Risks of Truck Driver Fatigue

July 08, 2011 (Press-News.org) The federal government is in the process of changing the rules that govern the number of hours that interstate truck drivers can spend behind the wheel. Federal hours-of-service regulations are a key strategy for limiting tractor trailer accidents in Colorado and other long-haul destinations.

In addition to speeding, reckless driving, improper maintenance and other causes, driver fatigue is frequently found to be the reason behind a serious or fatal truck accident. Studies included by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in the bureaucratic process for reducing hours demonstrate a relationship between overworked drivers and highway safety.

The titles of the four studies cover all aspects of commercial vehicle operation, including:
- The Impact of Driving, Non-Driving Work, and Rest Breaks on Driving Performance in Commercial Motor Vehicle Operations
- Hours of Service and Driver Fatigue-Driver Characteristics Research
- Analysis of the Relationship Between Operator Cumulative Driving Hours and Involvement in Preventable Collisions
- Potential Causes Of Driver Fatigue: A Study On Transit Bus Operators

The first study looked at a crucial factor in the current rulemaking process: the difference in safety between eleven and ten hours of consecutive driving. Among the authors' key findings was identification of a significant relationship between safety and consecutive time spent driving, especially if a trucker's shift started with non-driving work.

Trucking Accidents Cause Severe Injuries. Overworked Drivers Cause Truck Wrecks.

In Washington, it sometimes takes a well funded study to prove what most of us see as common sense: safety risks increase as truck drivers and bus drivers increase their driving time and workload. New hours-of-service rules that reduce semi accidents will also eliminate a great deal of family heartache caused by catastrophic injuries or wrongful death.

When truckers and other drivers are hurt on the job, they may be eligible for workers compensation in addition to other personal injury damages. The same is true for workers injured in construction accidents by a delivery driver, subcontractor, manufacturer of defective equipment or other third party. An injured worker's legal remedies must be assessed on a case-by-case basis, and a clear and swift assessment of the facts is important to preserve a workplace injury victim's options.

Benefits from multiple sources can be a tremendous asset to a family facing long-term medical expenses and lost income due to a traumatic brain injury, back injury or broken bones. A Colorado personal injury attorney can explain all aspects of the legal complexities that follow a bus accident, semi/automobile collision or other motor vehicle accident.

Article provided by The Frickey Law Firm
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