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The current laws and regulations that inhibit truck driver fatigue have proven to be ineffective, reports an authority . A recent National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) ruling on an accident that occurred in 2008, regarding a tractor-trailer driver that had failed to notice that traffic had stopped in front of him and collided with an SUV on I-44 in Oklahoma. The semi-truck then proceeded to override three additional vehicles thereby setting off a chain reaction amongst the vehicles.
The NTSB ruled last fall that driver fatigue was the deciding factor due to the driver experiencing acute sleep loss. The NTSB further went on to add that the current federal regulations fail to address the issue of driver fatigue, a TV Station was told. The NTSB has made specific recommendations to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regarding how to address truck driver fatigue. Some of their changes include:
• Creating comprehensive fatigue management plans for commercial drivers
• Requiring the installation of event and data recorders in all commercial vehicles
• Requiring all heavy commercial vehicles to come equipped with collision warning systems
A Lawyer was also told that some other recommended changes that the NTSB has recommended include video event recorders, fatigue management programs for truck drivers, performance standards for the event recorders, and requirements for vehicles that weigh more than 10,000 to have them installed.
Regulations for the trucking industry are nothing new, reports a rep. Limits on the number of hours per 24-hour period that a truck driver can drive after a break have been in existence for many years. One of the major issues that face not only truck drivers and trucking companies alike is economic.
Since the industry was deregulated in the early 1980’s, transportation rates have been cut, while expenses have multiplied. This places added pressures on an already over-worked workforce. While many companies in The Bronx and Brooklyn operate ethically and legally, there have been a few in recent years that may place monetary gain over the truck driver’s and the public’s overall safety and require drivers to make a choice to either haul the freight they tell you to haul when and how they tell them to haul it, or operate legally and face being starved out of a job. Unfortunately, these are the economic facts and unless or until the regulations and laws are enforced at the source of the problems, the issue of truck driver fatigue will continue to resurface, regardless of how much money and technology is directed at it.
If you or someone you know or love are involved in an accident, do not sign anything with any insurance company until you have consulted with a New York Truck Accident Attorney. A New York Truck Accident Attorney has the skills and the motivation to protect you and your property from unscrupulous agents that would seek to take advantage of you in your time of need.