Truck Driver Fatigue Causes Serious Trucking Accident

Highways are crowded with trucks full of cargo delivering goods throughout the country. Often times, truck drivers put in very long work weeks and are required to drive considerable hours each day.
U.S. Transportation Secretary, Anthony Foxx, wants to ensure that the Federal Government continues to recognize the importance of reducing truck driver fatigue by ensuring big rig drivers get enough rest to avoid causing commercial truck accidents. Foxx has growing concerns that Congress may be considering a budget deal that could pull back trucking safety rules designed to ensure truck drivers get enough rest. This, in turn, may put innocent people on the roads at risk of being injured trucking accidents.

Truck accidents were on the rise from 2009 through 2012. The Federal Government mandated new rest rules requiring that drivers get at least a 34 hour rest period each week. This mandate along with other regulations related to truck driver fatigue was put into effect in July of 2013. The Federal Government underestimated the impact it would have on businesses that count on goods to be delivered to their stores on time. Revisions are being considered in part as a way to make up lost revenue, but the U.S. Transportation Agency feels that the newly implemented safety measures should remain in effect.

A truck driver experiencing fatigue is often impatient and prone to bouts of unnecessary aggression which can lead to tractor-trailer accidents involving passenger vehicles. Lack of sleep can adversely affect cognitive reasoning, memory, and the ability for truck drivers to maneuver their big rigs without causing truck accident injuries. These effects, coupled with the size and weight of trucks, can cause serious truck accidents.