According to a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) study, 65% of truck drivers report that they experience drowsiness while driving. More alarming is that nearly 50% of drivers surveyed admitted to falling asleep behind the wheel in the previous year. Unfortunately, truck driver fatigue sometimes results in fatal motor vehicle accidents.
Despite growing concern regarding truck driver fatigue, federal regulations to reduce the number of hours truck drivers can drive without rest have stalled. Recent legislation to fund the government has blocked the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrations’s rule enhancing rest requirements even as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that the number of individuals killed in crashes involving large trucks has increased.
Safety groups have blasted the lack of strict regulations as having life and death consequences for truck drivers and other motorists that share the road. They believe the hours-of-service issue must be addressed to allow truck drivers to rest over two nights between hauling loads, with an overall reduction in weekly on-the-road hours. Failure to act may cost lives.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a motor vehicle car crash involving a commercial truck, contact Des Moines, Iowa truck accident lawyer Bruce Stoltze for help. Bruce and the personal injury team at Stoltze & Stoltze PLC Law Offices have assisted many injured Iowans and their families in obtaining compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering and other damages resulting from car and truck accidents. Email or call today at 515-244-1473.
