Truck Driver Fatigue and Truck Accidents

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
District of Columbia, District of Columbia, United States of America (Free-Press-Release.com) January 24, 2012 -- Any time an exhausted driver gets behind the wheel, the odds of an accident occurring exponentially increase. However, if that driver is attempting to operate a large commercial truck, the risk for serious personal injury or death is even greater. Recent studies have revealed that fatigued truckers are responsible for up to 40% of all tractor-trailer accidents.
The FMCSA’s Driver Fatigue Laws

In an effort to combat driver fatigue, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulates the number of hours that truck drivers are allowed to operate a commercial truck on a daily and weekly basis.
Thanks to lobbying from the trucking industry, the number of consecutive hours that truck drivers are allowed to be on the road increased from ten to eleven in 2003. This may seem insignificant, but a study published by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety revealed that the odds of an accident actually double when a truck driver operates a tractor-trailer beyond 10 hours.

Sadly, heavy competition within the trucking industry and unrealistic scheduling demands place pressure on truck drivers to exceed the legal amount of hours they are allowed to drive. Motor carrier companies often pay drivers by the mile, but refuse to compensate them for any time spent inspecting the trucks or using mandated rest hours.
This type of system encourages truck drivers to break the FMCSA’s rules to maximize their paycheck. Some fatigued truckers will even resort to using drugs like speed and methamphetamines to keep themselves awake on long drives.
Truck Accidents Caused by Fatigued Drivers
When truckers do not get enough sleep, the consequences are harsher for other drivers than for the truckers themselves. The National Transportation Safety Board reports that 69% of the people who died in truck accidents in 2008 were in a passenger vehicle.

Several types of serious personal injury can be caused by fatigued drivers, including:
• Brain injury
• Spinal cord injury
• Burn injury
• Fractures and broken bones
These kinds of injuries often have life-altering consequences that leave victims with expensive medical bills, lost income, and in some cases, loss of the ability to work at all. If a tractor-trailer accident caused by a fatigued truck driver ends in wrongful death, the surviving family members may be in desperate need of compensation for the loss of their primary source of income.

If you have been injured, or if your loved one has died in a Maryland semi-truck accident with a fatigued driver, please visit the website of the experienced Maryland truck accident lawyers at Chaikin, Sherman, Cammarata & Siegel, P.C. today for more information.

Auto Accident     maryland     personal injury     product liability     washington dc