Trucker hours-of-service rules designed to reduce fatigued driving ...

Driving itself presents many dangerous opportunities. There's always the possibility of running off of the road, or hitting an object, person, or other car. An increasingly troublesome problem is the amount of time truckers are spending driving while they are tired. Fatigued driving creates dangerous opportunities for truck accidents and thus places others on the road at risk.

Federal Hours-of-Service Rules

Property-carrying drivers can drive for a maximum of 11 hours total after taking 10 consecutive total hours off of driving. Other drivers cannot go past 14 hours and must again take a 10-hour rest.

These rules greatly restrict the amount of time a driver has to get from point A to point B as compared to time allowed in the past. Because employers are trying to save money, they often put pressure on drivers to falsify their logs in order to show legal activity, while in fact, they are violating the federal law. According to the Driver Fatigue and Alertness Study, these drivers should be sleeping around seven consecutive hours, but are only sleeping for roughly five. Drivers (and humans in general) are also not very good at assessing their level of alertness, which makes fatigue particularly dangerous.

The Implications

When rules are broken there are, of course, consequences. A driver spending too much time behind the wheel may be caught by an officer and face legal consequences for their choices. Often, however, drivers put in the long hours because of a fear of losing their job. Employees put large amounts of pressure on drivers to get them to work longer without substantial pay. They may even threaten jobs if the drivers refuse.

Even worse consequences take place when a driver hits another on the road due to fatigue. When this happens, innocent people may lose their lives or become permanently disabled. None of these consequences are appealing, but become more and more likely as the number of sleepy drivers increases.

When an Accident Occurs

When a driver does not rest, as a reasonable person would, they ignore their instincts telling them what the right thing to do is. These truckers and/or their employers can be held accountable for their actions in a court of law.

Experienced personal injury lawyers will look for signs of negligence in given cases and help to ensure that injured parties receive all of the just compensation they deserve. Compensation may be granted for damages to vehicles, medical costs, missed time at work and pain and suffering. If you or a loved one has been involved in an accident with a fatigued trucker, it is advisable to contact an experienced attorney with any questions you may have.

Source: http://www.njpersonalinjuryblog.com/2012/10/trucker-hours-of-service-rules-designed-to-reduce-fatigued-driving.shtml

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