Tired truckers are a major, major safety problem on Highway 288, I45, I10 and 59 around the Houston area. Currently, truck drivers are not supposed to work for more than 14 hour stretches without taking hours off. Of those 14 hours, only 11 are allowed for driving with the other 3 allowed for non-driving activity such as loading or unloading. These hours are kept in paper “log books.” If a trucker is pulled over the log books are checked by law enforcement officials to assure the driving restrictions are being followed. The problem is these log books are easy to falsify and in trucking lingo they are often referred to as “comic books.”
Although it is difficult to exactly measure how many big rig crashes are caused by fatigue, one government study found fatigue as a factor is as many as 13% of these crashes. This number would go down dramatically if all trucks had electronic log measuing devices in the cab of the truck. These devices monitor how long the engine is running and the driver is unable to manipulate the device. The skeptic in me wonders if the devices can be manipulated somehow by the trucking company but that will be the subject of a future article. The fact is, the technology is available to solve this problem and this new rule should be implemented as soon as possible.
Truck wrecks happen. We have written a book for you that provides a great deal of information regarding what to do if you, a loved one or a friend has been involved in one of these types of accidents. Download a copy of our FREE informational book here. Also, spend some time on the Trucking informational section of our website to get the valuable information you need to protecte yourself. If you would like to speak with a Board Certified Personal Injury Trial Lawyer, call the Firm at 877-307-9500 to speak directly with Chad Points or Tony Denena.