Truck Driver Fatigue a Deadly Serious Safety Problem on Texas Highways

The Board Certified Galveston truck crash injury attorneys at Denena Points, PC point out that tired drivers are a major safety problem on Texas highways. Tired truck drivers and the serious truck crashes they cause are deadly serious safety problems on Texas highways, particularly in the booming oil and gas development areas of the Permian Basin and the Eagle Ford Shale.

According to federal regulations, truck drivers are not allowed to work for more than 14 hours at a stretch without taking hours off for a rest break. Of the 14 hours they can legally work, only 11 of those hours can be spent behind the wheel and the other 3 must be spent on other activities like truck cargo loading and unloading.

To show their compliance with federal regulations governing their hours and required rest breaks, truck drivers must log their time and distance driven. Traditionally, most truckers have logged their time in paper logbooks (sometimes referred to by the drivers as “comic books”), which could be easily falsified.

Our Board Certified Galveston truck crash injury attorneys note that industry demands mean that truckers are under pressure to drive as many miles, as many hours, and as many cargo runs as possible. So truck drivers eager to compete for financial rewards might drive longer hours without rest breaks and might falsify their logbooks accordingly.

What’s the Solution to the Problem of Truckers that Falsify Hours in their Logbooks?

To combat the temptation to cheat in paper logbooks, the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Enhancement Act of 2011, which was incorporated into MAP-21, the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act, includes a provision requiring EOBRs (electronic on-board recorders) in all heavy trucks. EOBRs monitor how long the truck’s engine is running. The truck driver is unable to manipulate the EOBR the way he could manipulate and falsify a paper logbook.

A federal safety study found that truck driver fatigue contributed to as many as 13% of all heavy truck wrecks. The purpose of the MAP-21 provision mandating EOBRs in all heavy trucks is to prevent the deadly serious safety problem of truck driver fatigue on our highways. Our Board Certified Galveston truck crash injury attorneys emphasize that the resulting improvement in driver safety and alertness could benefit everyone by preventing some serious truck crashes.

Get the Help You Need if You’ve been Injured in a Truck Wreck: Contact Us

Truck wrecks happen, no matter what safety precautions we all take. When they occur, serious or fatal injuries often result because heavy trucks weigh up to 40 tons, or more if they’ve been overloaded. Our Board Certified Galveston truck crash injury attorneys understand that you might need help coping with the aftermath of a serious truck crash and the resulting injuries and losses.

So we’ve written a book for you that tells you the steps you need to take after a truck wreck has harmed you or a loved one. Download your free book on what to do after a serious truck crash injury. You can also find tons of information on our website in our blogs, informational articles, and FAQs. So feel free to browse the website and use our search function to find the information you need.

And when you have additional questions for which you need answers, don’t hesitate to contact our Board Certified Galveston truck crash injury attorneys for a FREE and confidential legal consultation to discuss your injury case. You have no obligation to hire an attorney. And we won’t charge you attorney’s fees unless we win your case for you. So call us at 281-369-4363 or reach us through our online contact form and put our more than 15 years of experience to work for your financial recovery after a serious truck crash.